Mike Nartker
WC Monitor
6/27/2014
After months of planning, the Department of Energy officially announced this week that it will compete four new contracts for cleanup activities at the Idaho site post-Fiscal Year 2015. The new contracts—two of which will be competed on an unrestricted basis and two that will be set-aside for small businesses—are intended to replace those currently held by CH2M-WG Idaho (CWI) and Idaho Treatment Group (ITG). CWI is currently responsible for the bulk of the cleanup work currently underway at the Idaho site, while ITG is responsible for the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, which is used to prepare transuranic and other wastes for off-site disposition.
Among the planned new contracts is one DOE has dubbed “ICP Core,” which will largely cover the work currently being performed by CWI and ITG. The new contract will be competed on an unrestricted basis, and similar to CWI’s current contract, will be a cost-plus-incentive-fee-type with both CPIF and milestone fee. The new contract would run for five years, beginning Oct. 1, 2015, with no option periods. Work to be performed under the ICP Core contract will include EM facility infrastructure, environmental remediation, waste management and spent nuclear fuel surveillance, maintenance and stabilization. “At the conclusion of this contract: All Idaho Settlement Agreement TRU waste will be dispositioned out of Idaho and all Agreement to Implement/CERCLA Record Of Decision buried waste will be exhumed,” DOE said in a notice issued this week. DOE plans to issue a draft solicitation for the ICP Core contract in the fourth quarter of FY 2014, with bids to be due by the first quarter of FY 2015 and an award expected by the end of FY15.
Calcine to be Broken Out for Separate Contract
DOE has chosen to break out the calcine disposition project at the Idaho for a second planned contract, which will also be competed on an unrestricted basis. The project involves treating approximately 4,400 cubic meters of high-level waste to meet a commitment DOE has with the state of Idaho to have the material “road ready” for removal from the state by 2035. The Department currently plans to use a hot isostatic pressing method for treating the material. DOE’s planned contract for the calcine disposition project is intended to “develop [a] dual path approach to assess CDP path forward to ensure regulatory compliance” and “pre-design and design of the CDP along with develop and submit Best Demonstrated Available Technology (BDAT) petition to the EPA for the Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) process,” DOE said. The contract would also involve “pre-design and design” for a receiving, packaging and shipping facility for spent nuclear fuel.
The contract would be an Architecture and Engineering Cost-Plus-Award-Fee-type, according to DOE. It would run from Oct. 1, 2015 to Sept. 30, 2024. A DOE official said late this week that a schedule for the procurement for the contract is not currently available.
Small Biz to Compete for Facility Operation, D&D/Construction Work
For small businesses, one of the two planned contracts will cover management-and-operation of Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed spent nuclear fuel facilities. Such facilities include the Fort Saint Vrain (FSV) facility in Colorado; the Three Mile Island-2 (TMI-2) facility at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) in Idaho; and management of the Idaho Spent Fuel Facility (ISFF) license for construction and operation at INTEC in Idaho. This contract would be a firm fixed price-type that would run for five years. DOE plans to issue a draft solicitation for the ICP Core contract in the fourth quarter of FY 2014, with bids to be due by the first quarter of FY 2015 and an award expected by the end of FY15.
The other contract to be set-aside for small businesses would cover D&D and construction activities, including operation of the Idaho CERCLA disposal facility, interim cap construction at the Idaho tank farm and “strip-out” of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, among other activities. The contract would run for five years, beginning Oct. 1, 2016; and would be a firm-fixed price-type with an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract line item number, according to DOE. The DOE official said late this week that a procurement schedule for this contract is also not currently available.
