The two losing bidding teams have filed supplements to their protests with the Government Accountability Office over the Energy Department’s award on Oct. 12 of a new $4.7 billion liquid waste management contract at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina.
Savannah River EcoManagement, a joint venture comprised of BWXT Technical Services Group, Bechtel National, and Honeywell International, is preparing following a 90-day transition period to take over from incumbent SRS liquid waste prime Savannah River Remediation, a team of AECOM, BWXT, Bechtel, and CH2M.
Savannah River Technology & Remediation, which consists of AECOM and CH2M, updated its protest with the GAO on Nov. 27, as did the other losing bidder, Fluor Westinghouse Liquid Waste Services.
With the updated bid protest motions, the 100-day deadline for the GAO to act upon the claims is now delayed until March 7, according to the agency’s website.
The losing teams filed their initial protests with the GAO on Oct. 31, and filed their first supplemental protest motions on Nov. 6. The Department of Energy has also sought partial dismissal of the two protests, according to sources.
The protest filings with GAO are not public, so specifics of the supplemental filings and earlier documents are not yet known. In weighing protests, the GAO considers whether federal agencies have complied with statutes and regulations governing procurement.
The liquid waste contract involves overseeing existing radioactive facilities for storage, treatment, and disposal of about 35 million gallons of Cold War-era liquid waste at Savannah River. It also calls for eventually taking over operation of the Salt Waste Processing Facility built by Parsons.
