The Energy Department could debrief parties on the recently awarded Savannah River Site liquid waste management contract as early as Oct. 26, a source said this week, adding that it’s a good bet that at least one protest could be filed afterward.
DOE announced on Oct. 12 that Savannah River EcoManagement, a partnership of BWX Technologies, Bechtel National, and Honeywell International, had won a contract valued at $4.7 billion over 10 years at the South Carolina facility. The agreement includes a transition period of 90 days.
The procurement process includes the opportunity for other bidders to receive DOE debriefings. A source said Tuesday that at least one such session is due on Oct. 26. A second source expected each bidding team, including the winner, to be briefed. All sessions will likely be conducted within the same week in Aiken, S.C., the source said.
Industry sources described the debrief sessions as relatively “scripted” affairs in which DOE representatives go over the award process and their criteria for their ultimate selection. Companies might expect to find out how much weight DOE placed on factors such as cost and risk, an industry source said.
Information learned during debriefings could influence a losing party’s decision on whether to file a protest of the contract award.
“I would bet on it,” the second source said Thursday when asked of the chances of a protest being filed with the Government Accountability Office.
The incumbent contract is held by Savannah River Remediation, a team led by AECOM with partners Bechtel National, CH2M, and BWXT.
The DOE Office of Environmental Management said it received three bid proposals in response to the solicitation for the liquid waste contract. Along with the EcoManagement team, AECOM and CH2M remained partners in the bidding, while the third group was believed to be comprised of Fluor and Westinghouse Government Services.
An AECOM spokesman said immediately after the award that the company was disappointed and looking at its options.
Losing bidders have 10 days after the debriefing to file an initial protest. The congressional auditor can then decide whether it will hear the protest, a third source said.
The Government Accountability Office is required to issue a decision within 100 calendar days of the filing of the protest. There have been cases in which contract awards have been overturned in bid protest cases filed with the GAO.
The SRS contract includes operating existing facilities for storage, treatment, stabilization, and disposal of 35 million gallons of Cold War-era liquid radioactive waste stored at Savannah River. It also includes removing waste from tanks, along with eventual operation of the Salt Waste Processing Facility that has been built by Parsons Government Services and should be commissioned by late 2018.