The top boss for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina said Monday that major contractor awards could be made soon and there have been “somewhere north of 700” total confirmed cases of the coronavirus at the complex so far.
“We continue to get COVID cases at about the rate of the general population” around the 310-square-mile facility next to the Georgia state line, Michael Budney manager of DOE’s Savannah River Operations Office, said during a presentation to the SRS Citizens Advisory Board.
On the procurement front, Budney said that proposals are due today for the potential $21-billion Savannah River Site Integrated Mission Completion Contract, which will replace the liquid waste business now held by Savannah River Remediation.
In addition, a new stand-alone contractor for management of the Savannah River National Laboratory as well as SRS paramilitary security should be awarded in the near future, Budney said. He did not place a timeframe on when the awards might be out. The laboratory is currently included in the SRS operations management contract held by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. The paramilitary security is now provided by SRS-Centerra.
Meanwhile, Savannah River Site has stopped providing cumulative numbers of COVID-19 cases on its emergency information website, although it announced Monday there are 82 employees quarantining as a result of positive tests, up from 71 last week.
“Based on the holidays coming up we have instituted some extra telework,” Budney said during the online meeting. Expanded testing is being offered to anyone who travels these days, he added. Budney did not say how many workers are teleworking.
The SRS Citizens Advisory Board will not meet during December and the body will likely continue to meet virtually during the opening months of 2021, said James Tanner of DOE contractor S&K Logistics, who serves as the administrator for the panel.
