Overall Hanford contracting plan expected in January

A master plan for major new Hanford contracts should be ready in January, according to a Hanford official.

Marc McCusker of the DOE Office of River Protection spoke at the Bridging Partnerships Small Business Symposium Wednesday in Pasco. About 300 people registered for the conference, which was intended to help small businesses win work on Department of Energy contracts.

Contracts for central Hanford cleanup and management of the Hanford tank farms expire in 2018. The contract for sitewide support services expires a year later.

The two DOE Hanford offices — the Office of River Protection and Richland Operations Office — consolidated acquisition teams this spring and are working on an contract strategy, McCusker said. A master acquisition plan is expected to be completed in January 2017. Draft bid requests then should be released later in the year.

Hanford and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory together bring $3.4 billion annually of federal funding into the Tri-Cities area, said Gary Petersen, Tri-City Development Council vice president of Hanford projects.

A little more than half of that goes to small businesses, including about $500 million spent on local small business contracts and subcontracts, he said.

Hanford leaders who spoke at the conference recommended that small businesses look for innovative ways to provide solutions to get their foot in the door at Hanford.

This story was originally published October 19, 2016 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Overall Hanford contracting plan expected in January."