Transition to new $6B Hanford contract to start. DOE says COVID protections working

The transition to a new Hanford contract worth up to $6 billion will start later this month after a delay because of the coronavirus pandemic.

DOE issued a notice to proceed Thursday to the winner of the 10-year site-wide services contract at the nuclear reservation in Eastern Washington.

“While the start of transition to the new contractor has been delayed because of reduced Hanford Site operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, safety controls implemented at the site have proven to be effective,” Hanford employees were told in an announcement Thursday. “And it is prudent to start the transition to the new contractor in two weeks.”

More than 100 Hanford workers have tested positive for COVID out of a workforce of about 11,000, but none of the cases have been traced back to infections at work. About 40% of workers are currently reporting to the site, up from about 10% early in the pandemic.

The new contractor, Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, will begin a 120-day transition on Aug. 17.

It was confirmed as the winning contractor in April after the Government Accountability Office denied an appeal of its contract award.

The current contract has been held by Mission Support Alliance, which employs about 1,200 people, since May 2009.

Its original 10-year contract has been extended multiple times, most recently until Nov. 25, while DOE worked to get a new contract in place.

Another extension will be granted to complete the transition to the new contractor in mid-December, DOE said.

Leidos, Centerra, Parsons

The company with the expiring contract and the new contractor share much the same ownership.

Hanford Mission Integration Solutions is owned by Leidos Integrated Technology, Centerra Group and Parsons Government Services. Mission Support Alliance, which has had ownership changes since starting work at Hanford, now is owned by Leidos and Centerra.

The new contract covers the services needed by DOE and other contractors performing cleanup work to operate the 580-square-mile nuclear reservation.

It includes security and emergency services, land management, information technology and management of the HAMMER training center. It also covers utility and road services, including maintenance and upgrades to support the upcoming operation of the $17 billion vitrification plant in the center of the site.

It also includes some new work — providing assistance to DOE in soliciting and administering federal small business contracts awarded by DOE at the Hanford.

The estimated value of the contract for up to 10 years is $4 billion to $6 billion, according to DOE.

DOE is spending about $2.5 billion a year on environmental cleanup of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste and contamination at the Hanford nuclear reservation. It was used during World War II and the Cold War to produce plutonium for the nation’s nuclear reservation.

Incoming contractors typically hire most of the expiring contractor’s employees and bring in new management.

Shortly after the transition, the new company is expected to post a website with information on managers and the company’s organizational structure.

Pending Hanford contracts

DOE also has delayed the start of the new contract for central Hanford cleanup because of the pandemic.

It awarded a $10 billion, 10-year contract to Central Plateau Cleanup Co., a team led by Amentum, formerly Aecom, and including Fluor Federal Services and Atkins Nuclear Secured.

DOE has been cleared to start the transition to the new contractor from the company holding the expiring contract, CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co., after the GAO denied an appeal of the new contract award around the start of May.

A third large Hanford contract award is in limbo after DOE agreed in late July to take corrective action in response to an appeal to the GAO over the award to the $13 billion contract for Hanford tank waste.

The corrective action could involve a re-evaluation of proposals, a new award decision or an amendment to solicitation for bids.

The contract had been awarded to a team headed by BWXT with Fluor Federal Services.

This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 11:04 AM.