Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
6/5/2015
Portsmouth D&D contractor Fluor B&W Portsmouth, LLC, is placing a renewed focus on deactivation of the X-326 facility after pushing the project’s completion date from March 2016 to June 2017. The contractor this week instituted an organizational change for X-326 work, including a dedicated project team to focus on accelerated deactivation and schedule recovery. FBP had previously anticipated completing X-326 deactivation by the end of the base period of its contract in March 2016, but funding challenges have caused delays. FBP is now focusing on a new hard date. “I have placed a stake in the ground. FBP will complete the deactivation of the X-326 and attain a cold and dark status by June 30, 2017,” FBP Project Director Dennis Carr said in a May 19 memo obtained by WC Monitor. “While this date is beyond our base contract of March 2016, we will commit whatever resources necessary for the safe, on-time completion of this milestone.”
The renewed emphasis on X-326 comes as the contractor faces funding cuts in the Department of Energy’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget and cuts in the uranium transfers used to help fund cleanup at the site, despite the fact that the FY’15 spending bill approved by Congress included a $76 million boost over proposed levels. “Given the many competing demands for these same federal funds, we must deliver superior performance that is indicative of the commitment the Ohio Delegation, and our appropriators and other stakeholders have made to us,” Carr said in the memo to employees. “You have heard me say many times we must earn our support and funding through excellence in performance. Attaining the accelerated deactivation of the X-326 provides a clear and powerful demonstration of this performance and will certainly be viewed as a major consideration in future Congressional funding decisions and contractual discussions.”
Funding will continue to be a concern for the project. DOE recently announced plans to reduce the uranium transfers used to support Portsmouth cleanup from 2,400 metric tons annually to 1,600 metric tons per year, which is expected to have an impact of about $65 million in FY’16 for FBP. That is on top of DOE’s proposed FY 2016 budget of $167 million for D&D work at Portsmouth, which is a sharp cut from enacted levels that raises the question of layoffs. Carr and Department of Energy Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Manager Bill Murphie were not immediately available for comment on X-326 when approached this week at the Energy Facility Contractor’s Group meeting.
FBP Forms Integrated Project Team for X-326
As part of the focus on X-326, FBP has formed an integrated project team led by Deputy Site Project Director Fred Hughes and also including Ken Whittle, Greg Wilkett and Gary Hazelwood. “I have placed the highest priority on the safe acceleration of X-326 deactivation,” Carr said. “As such, Fred Hughes and his team will be given full access to all resources currently employed by FBP and our support subcontractors. This includes all organizations, from work planning to procurement to maintenance services. This team is to receive first priority except where emergency conditions necessitate a redirection of resources.”
