PARSONS GIVEN EXTENSION IN DISPUTE OVER PROVISIONAL SWPF FEE

Parsons has been given another week to resolve a dispute with the Department of Energy over the return of approximately $20 million in provisional fee paid for work on the Savannah River Site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility. In a May 31 letter, DOE originally gave Parsons until June 15 to “liquidate the debt” owed to the Department, but Parsons requested an extension, which DOE granted late last week. Resolution of the issue is now directed by June 22. DOE has sought the return of the provisional fee because Parsons is expected to breach the cost cap established for the project, but Parsons has rejected DOE’s assessment on a number of grounds, including that its contract does not require provisional fee to be returned over cost issues and that it remains uncertain whether Parsons has indeed breached the cost cap in its contract.

 

In the midst of the dispute over the provisional fee, Parsons achieved a milestone on the project over the weekend, completing the installation of all 10 large vessels. The first six vessels were installed in May, with the remaining four arriving at the site last week and being installed at the facility on Saturday and Sunday. The long-awaited vessels, the fabrication and delivery of which had been delayed numerous times in recent years, were the primary driver in a revised estimated completion that Parsons submitted for the project in March. The revised EAC puts the cost of SWPF at approximately $1.78 billion, an increase of $400 million over previous estimates.