Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
10/17/14
The Department of Energy this week released a final Request for Proposals for the follow-on contract to operate the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center. The new contract is being set aside for small businesses that meet $38.5 million size standard, and is expected to be worth $100 million to 300 million. It is set to run for up to five years, consisting of a three-year base period and one two-year option period. Bids are due by Dec. 1, and DOE plans to hold a pre-proposal conference and site tour on Oct. 28 with questions subsequently due Nov. 5. The new contract will be largely firm fixed-price, though a cost-plus-award-fee approach will be used for waste processing operations.
The final RFP is largely similar to a draft version issued in July, though the final version includes a slight change in the weight of the evaluation criteria to be used to consider proposals. In the final RFP, past performance and technical understanding and approach are considered equally important, and together are “significantly more important” than key personnel and relevant experience, which are also considered equally important. The draft RFP only had past performance and technical understanding and approach as significantly more important than the other two criteria.
The draft RFP only listed Program Manager under key personnel, but the final version includes two more key positions: Waste Operations Manager and Environmental, Safety, Health and Quality Manager. If a Program Manager leaves before completing a two-year commitment, DOE can reduce the winning contractor’s fee by $200,000, according to the RFP. Changes to any of the other key personnel ahead of a two-year commitment can lead to a fee reduction of $100,000.
The TWPC is used to prepare contact- and remote-handled transuranic waste at Oak Ridge for off-site disposal, and is currently being operated by incumbent Wastren Advantage, Inc. DOE is anticipating a 1.5 month transition period for the five-year contract starting on May 16 that will be completed on July 1, 2015. That means the WAI contract, set to end its base period in January, is likely to be extended through its six-month option period.
