Depending on protests, transition to new Y-12, Pantex contractor could start in November

The transition to a new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, could start later this month—after the period for protests is over, federal officials said Friday afternoon.

The protest period ends around Nov. 25, the National Nuclear Security Administration said. The transition could start the day after the protest period ends and last four months, but the NNSA will ask the new contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC of Reston, Va., to complete the transition quicker if possible.

It’s not clear yet if the two teams that submitted unsuccessful bids will lodge new protests. There have already been two rounds of protests over the contract, which could be worth up to $22.8 billion during a 10-year period, and they have delayed the transition. The NNSA said it will not speculate on the possibility of any new protests.

CNS said it appreciated the NNSA’s reaffirmation that its contract award, first announced in January, “provides the best value to the government for managing and operating the Pantex and Y-12 sites.”

The CNS team of Bechtel National, Lockheed Martin, ATK, SOC, Booz Allen Hamilton, and General Atomics provided a highly credible solution, spokesman Jason Bohne said.

“We have maintained a high state of readiness since the contract award in January,” Bohne said. “We are prepared to resume and execute an effective transition. We look forward to working with the NNSA and with the employees of Pantex and Y-12 to ensure mission delivery with safety, security, reliability, and efficiency.”

He said more details could be available Monday.

Meanwhile, B&W, which has filed two protests, one in January and the other in June, said it still believed its proposal was the best choice.

“We are disappointed, as we believe our proposal, including revisions submitted after the Government Accountability Office sustained our initial protest, was the strongest choice, as originally determined by the Source Evaluation Board,” said George Dudich, president of Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Group Inc. “We will carefully evaluate information received during NNSA’s debriefing process in determining our next steps. In the interest of ensuring a transparent process, our team agreed to an open, two-part debrief, and we hope that will be possible.”

Based in Charlotte, N.C., the company said it and and partners provide valuable services to NNSA across the nuclear weapons complex.

“We remain committed to making contributions to national security and providing exceptional service to the Department of Energy and NNSA,” Dudich said.

See this earlier story on the Friday afternoon announcement from the NNSA reaffirming its January decision to pick CNS to manage and operate Y-12 and Pantex.