Two bidding groups have filed protests with the Government Accountability Office over the new contract for liquid waste management at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
A group led by AECOM and a team led by Fluor have filed protests, two sources said. The GAO confirmed Wednesday that it had received protests on Oct. 31 from Savannah River Technology and Remediation LLC and Fluor|Westinghouse Liquid Waste Services LLC. Both should appear on the GAO website Thursday.
The Energy Department announced on Oct. 12 that it had awarded the contract worth up to $4.7 billion over 10 years to Savannah River EcoManagement, a partnership of BWX Technologies, Bechtel National, and Honeywell International. The agreement includes a 90-day transition period, after which EcoManagement would officially replace current contractor Savannah River Remediation, a joint venture of AECOM, Bechtel National, CH2M, and BWXT.
The DOE Office of Environmental Management said it received three bid proposals for the contract. Along with the EcoManagement team, AECOM and CH2M remained partners in the procurement, while the third group was comprised of Fluor and Westinghouse Government Services. All bidders were briefed on the contract award last week.
The GAO should decide within weeks if it will consider the protests. If it dockets one or both protests, the transition to the new contractor could be delayed until February, one source said. Should GAO agree to hear the protests, it could take until Feb. 18 to make a decision, according to the agency. The Energy Department could not immediately be reached for comment on the transition timetable.
Official spokespeople for BWXT and Fluor declined to comment for this story. A spokesman for AECOM confirmed that a protest had been filed, but declined to discuss the basis of the filing.
