Contracts & Procurement

Weeks after the Department of Energy authorized operators of nuclear-weapon sites to bill the government for expenses associated with COVID-19 prevention, most of those prime contractors are still working on trickling down relief to subcontractors. One of the primes’ main mechanisms for recouping such expenses is to bill the government in accordance with Section 3610 […]

The Air Force contract to build more than 600 new commercial engines to power the aging, nuclear-capable B-52 bomber through the 2050s will run 17 years, with six years of firm money, according to a solicitation released Tuesday. The service’s Commercial Engine Replacement Program calls for 608 new commercial engines, plus additional spare engines and […]

There’s a good chance of a protest against the recent win by a BWX Technologies team of an Energy Department contract for radioactive waste tank closure at the Hanford Site in Washington state, two industry sources said this week. One one source said he would expect a challenge if for no other reason that one […]

The Energy Department has yet to issue a notice to proceed to the new services contractor selected late last year for the Hanford Site in Washington state, Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS). Typically, most new vendors receive the notice to start transition shortly after either winning the award or prevailing in any protest against […]

The Energy Department anticipates the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina will be better able to “engage with the research community” by having a its own operations contract, according to documents recently posted online. The slides used for an April 28 virtual online meeting on the draft request for proposals for the potential 10-year, […]

The Energy Department has yet to issue a notice to proceed to the new services contractor selected late last year for the Hanford Site in Washington state, Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS). Typically, most new vendors receive the notice to start transition shortly after either winning the award or prevailing in any protest against […]

The Department of Energy could hold virtual debrief sessions this week for bidders on the Hanford Site Tank Closure Contract just awarded to a team led by BWX Technologies. The sessions should happen Thursday and Friday, an industry source said Monday. During these briefings, DOE explains the thinking behind a contract award. Those companies then […]

Three weeks after the Department of Energy authorized operators of nuclear-weapon sites to bill the government for expenses associated with COVID-19 prevention, most of those prime contractors are still working on trickling down relief to subcontractors. One of the primes’ main mechanisms for recouping such expenses is to bill the government in accordance with Section […]

The Energy Department anticipates the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina will be better able to “engage with the research community” by having a its own operations contract, according to documents recently posted online. The slides used for an April 28 virtual online meeting on the draft request for proposals for the potential 10-year, […]

The Government Accountability Office said Tuesday the Energy Department should use best practices when seeking alternatives to the Pretreatment Facility for the Waste Treatment Plant being built at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The Pretreatment Facility is intended to separate radioactive waste into high-level and low-level streams before processing at the Waste Treatment Plant, […]

The Energy Department expects to issue a final request for proposals this month for the Idaho Cleanup Contract, according to a procurement update made public last week. The potential 15-year, $6.4 billion agreement will replace Fluor Idaho’s nearly $2 billion, five-year deal that runs through May 2021. It would also replace Spectra Tech’s roughly five-year, […]

The Government Accountability Office was not convinced by the argument from a Bechtel-led team that it should have received a remediation contract at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state because it proposed a cheaper price for performing the first set of tasks than the rival group that won the business. Late Wednesday, the […]

A team led by BWX Technologies is the winner of the Energy Department’s Tank Closure Contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The DOE’s Office of Environmental Management announced the $13 billion contract award Thursday to Hanford Works Restoration. Along with Lynchburg, Va.-based BWXT, the other members of the team are Texas-based companies Fluor […]

Nearly 120 people tuned in to a recent online presolicitation conference to learn more about a planned stand-alone contract for management of the Energy Department’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) in South Carolina. Representatives for universities, consultants, and DOE contractors ranging from small shops to major corporations participated in the April 28 event on the […]

Federal contractors would get leniency for missing deliverables because of their COVID-19 response plans, and prime contractors would be in line for quicker payments, under a Democratic-authored relief bill slated for a vote Friday in the House of Representatives – and which President Donald Trump has said he would veto. The Senate’s Republican leadership also […]

Congress should keep its eye on cost overruns for the software upgrade that will make the Air Force’s version of the F-35 fighter aircraft nuclear-capable this decade by allowing the Government Accountability Office to keep investigating the program for a few more years, the congressional investigator said this week. The Block 4 package will eventually […]

The environmental liability of the Energy Department’s Office of Legacy Management is sure to increase from its recent $7.35 billion as it assumes responsibility for more remediated properties, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office. Legacy Management conducts maintenance and surveillance following cleanup of radioactively contaminated sites by DOE’s Office of […]

Congress should keep its eye on cost overruns for the upgrade that will make the F-35A  fighter aircraft nuclear-capable this decade by allowing the Government Accountability Office to keep investigating the program for a few more years, the congressional investigator said this week. Block 4 upgrades will eventually allow Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter to […]

The Government Accountability Office was not convinced by the argument from a Bechtel-led joint venture that it should have been issued a long-term contract for remediation at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state because its proposed price tag for performing the first set of tasks was lower than that from the rival group that […]

The Government Accountability Office said Tuesday the Energy Department should use best practices when seeking alternatives to the Pretreatment Facility for the Waste Treatment Plant being built at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The Pretreatment Facility is intended to separate radioactive waste into high-level and low-level streams before processing at the Waste Treatment Plant, […]

An article in Monday’s Weapons Complex Morning Briefing incorrectly indicated a new Department of Energy procurement on mixed and low-level waste treatment services would replace existing providers of disposal for such material. The contracts are separate.

The Energy Department expects to issue a final request for proposals this month for the Idaho Cleanup Contract, according to a procurement update made public Thursday. The potential 15-year, $6.4 billion agreement will replace Fluor Idaho’s nearly $2 billion, five-year deal that runs through May 2021. It would also replace Spectra Tech’s roughly five-year, $45 […]

Nearly 120 people tuned in to a recent online presolicitation conference to learn more about a planned stand-alone contract for management of the Energy Department’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) in South Carolina. Representatives for universities, consultants, and DOE contractors ranging from small shops to major corporations participated in the April 28 event on the […]

The liquid waste vendor for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina will remain in place for up to two years while the Energy Department prepares to solicit a long-term contract that could be worth $21 billion. Amentum-led Savannah River Remediation (SRR) has held the $6 billion business since July 2009; its current extension is […]

The COVID-19 health crisis is so far having only a marginal impact on BWX Technologies, including delay of certain Energy Department contract awards, President and CEO Rex Geveden said Tuesday, . A potential 10-year deal for management of radioactive waste at the DOE Hanford Site in Washington state probably won’t be issued until late summer, […]

While a team led by Huntington Ingalls Industries offered a slightly lower price to provide support services at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Energy Department awarded the contract to a Leidos-led venture because it submitted a better overall package, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Congress’ auditing agency on Tuesday posted a […]

The Government Accountability Office has recently rejected protests against two multibillion-dollar contracts at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state – and that’s not unusual. During fiscal 2019, the government watchdog sustained only 13% of the 2,071 bid protests resolved during the 12-month period, according to a November GAO report to Congress. In […]

The COVID-19 health crisis is so far having only marginal impact on BWX Technologies, President and CEO Rex Geveden said Tuesday. That is largely thanks to the Lynchburg, Va.-based nuclear company’s “essential” role in energy, military, and medical sectors, Geveden said during the quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts. As an example, Geveden noted […]

The Army Corps of Engineers in April issued $140 million worth of contracts to small businesses for radioactive waste cleanup and other environmental remediation services. The contracts from the Army Corps’ Alaska District were awarded on April 22 and posted to a federal procurement website on April 28. They encompass a three-year base period, plus […]

While a team led by Huntington Ingalls Industries offered a slightly lower price to provide support services at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Energy Department awarded the contract to a Leidos-led venture because it submitted a better overall package, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Congress’ auditing agency on Tuesday posted a […]