The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Thursday dismissed the two challenges to the potential $13-billion Tank Closure Contract at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state, but it is unclear if this spells victory for the BWX Technologies-led team that won the award.
Three sources said Monday the congressional auditor dismissed the challenges filed in May by two losing teams so the Energy Department can reconsider its selection of Hanford Works Restoration, which is comprised of BWXT, Fluor, and two smaller firms, Intera and DBD.
The Energy Department informed parties of its action to reconsider the award decision in phone calls last week, one source said. The 10-year contract could potentially be reawarded or rebid to some degree, the sources said.
The Department of Energy declined to comment Monday. BWXT spokesman Jud Simmons declined comment on the status of the award, “but I can tell you that we remain highly committed to the Hanford tank closure mission as an important element of the DOE’s environmental management program.”
Two groups — one comprised of Atkins, Amentum, and Westinghouse, and the other believed to be comprised of Jacobs, Honeywell, and Perma-Fix Environmental Services, both filed protests with the GAO days after DOE’s May 14 contract announcement.
As is standard practice in GAO filings, neither the initial protests nor the dismissal notices posted last week contain any details about the dispute. Public details about contract challenges typically are only disclosed after the case has been contested and the federal watchdog agency publishes a decision that still withholds certain confidential business information.
Washington River Protection Solutions, comprised of Amentum and Atkins, is the incumbent vendor for tank management at Hanford. It holds a $7.8 billion contract that began in October 2008 and is currently set to expire Sept. 30. The Energy Department said recently it intends to extend WRPS’s contract for another year.
Hanford is home to about 56 million gallons of radioactive waste, remaining from decades of plutonium production, which is stored inside 177 aging underground tanks. The contracted work includes managing and closing old tanks and preparing low-activity waste for vitrification at the Waste Treatment Plant being built by Bechtel.
