Tri-Cities Local Business Association: Taking care of business

Local businesses offer highly skilled and experienced technical resources for a successful Hanford cleanup mission. The Tri-Cities Local Business Association is an advocate for these businesses and for the labor organizations that provide essential construction and other craft services at the site.

Our members are distinguished by their Hanford experience and their commitment to safe, high-quality work performance. They have a vested interest in a sustainable economic future for their hometown as cleanup winds down. They care about the quality of life here and are engaged in STEM, economic, social and educational endeavors that benefit our community.

In 2018, TCLBA expanded its membership and participated in community events like Tri-City Connect. We coordinated with TRIDEC, the Hanford Community Alliance, the Regional Chamber of Commerce, elected officials and other local groups in preparing community positions and working on initiatives like a STEM-based identity.

We formed a partnership with FUSE, offering mentorship and support to entrepreneurs launching startup businesses. We created opportunities to exchange information of mutual interest with public officials, DOE managers, contractor presidents, academic leaders, and community organizations.

TCLBA continued to follow the U.S. Department of Energy procurement process for replacing prime contracts at Hanford. These new contracts will significantly impact Hanford work and our community for years to come as DOE refines contract structures, provisions and incentives that focus on end states and cleanup completion.

We want to ensure local businesses have continued opportunities to participate in Hanford cleanup. We have stressed the importance of subcontracting meaningful scopes of work to local businesses; and, when we saw contract issues that might impact businesses, we discussed those concerns with DOE and offered solutions.

For example, we addressed a conflict of interest clause DOE proposed for the Hanford Mission Essential Services Contract, that would restrict subcontractor abilities to support various scope areas and other prime contracts. We explained our members’ perspective and suggested that DOE evaluate subcontracts for potential conflicts on a case-by-case basis, instead of applying a blanket restriction.

TCLBA also pushed for DOE to include Community Commitment contract clauses and performance metrics that would incentivize prime contractors to make investments in the community’s sustainable well-being. More recently, we flagged the need to carefully consider and proactively manage how these new contracts will impact the incumbent Hanford workforce in ensuing years.

TCLBA also takes positions on issues that can help achieve Hanford cleanup more safely, efficiently, sooner, and at far less cost to taxpayers. For example, DOE’s proposal to Reclassify Nuclear Waste has our strong support. The current definition of high-level waste (HLW) is a carryover from 70 years ago when spent fuel was being reprocessed. It was reasonable at the time to define waste according to where the waste was generated, but now it makes more sense to define and manage it based on what it actually is, not its origin.

In 2019, TCLBA will strengthen its outreach as a community voice informed by our members’ technical expertise. We have an imperative to speak up because this is our community! We are affected most, understand the issues better and cannot allow sensationalized reporting or misinformed individuals to obscure our voices and derail sound, science-based decisions that enhance cleanup progress and outcomes.

TCLBA is committed to helping local businesses and community leaders build a vibrant economy that endures beyond cleanup. A clear strategy is in leveraging the Hanford workforce and assets to accelerate growth in business areas like clean energy, environmental protection, manufacturing and more. Ultimately, it will lead us to a prosperous STEM-based future that differentiates the Tri-Cities as one of the best places to live and work.

This story was originally published April 18, 2019 at 12:05 AM.