B&W says it’s pleased with federal decision on Y-12, Pantex contract protests

One of the two teams that lost a bid to manage two nuclear weapons facilities in Tennessee and Texas said it was pleased by a federal decision announced Monday that upheld protests of the five-year contract, which was awarded in January.

The decision by the U.S. Government Accountability Office also recommended that the procurement be re-opened.

The contract is reported to have a total value of $22 billion, and it was awarded to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, a team that includes Bechtel National Inc. and Lockheed Martin Services Inc.

But a team that includes Babcock and Wilcox Co. filed a protest. So did a team that includes Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. and Fluor Federal Services Inc.

On Monday, B&W said its team—which also includes URS, Northrop Grumman, and Honeywell—believes its proposal was a “very strong choice for moving closer to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s vision of a consolidated nuclear security enterprise and for continuing the tradition of excellence B&W has maintained at both Y-12 and Pantex over the past 12 years.”

The team is known as Nuclear Production Partners LLC.

“B&W and our Nuclear Production Partners team believe the GAO’s decision supports our concerns about the initial award of this contract,” said E. James Ferland, B&W president and chief executive officer. “While we await a final decision on the path forward from NNSA, B&W remains focused on operating both sites safely and securely.”

B&W has been the lead management and operating contractor at Y-12 and Pantex, and the company said it has made “significant improvements in the operations and infrastructures at both locations since 2001, including meeting or exceeding production goals and modernizing the infrastructure.”

The company then went on to list some of its accomplishments.

More information will be added as it becomes available.