Oak Ridge Today

B&W-led team files new protest on Y-12, Pantex contract

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The bidding team led by the Babcock and Wilcox Co. has filed a third protest over the contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, pictured above, and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. (Photo courtesy B&W Y-12)

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The bidding team led by the Babcock and Wilcox Co. has filed a third protest over the contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

B&W announced the protest by the bidding team, Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, on Wednesday night. It was filed with the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

“This protest encompasses concerns identified in NP2’s June 17, 2013, protest of the revised Request for Proposals,” a B&W press release said. “The protest also reflects information received during the National Nuclear Security Administration’s debriefing session held on November 15.”

The June protest was the second filed by NP2, of Lynchburg, Va. The company had also filed one after the National Nuclear Security Administration announced in January that it had selected Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC of Reston, Va., to manage the two nuclear weapons plants. [Read more…]

NNSA reaffirms decision to have CNS manage, operate Y-12, Pantex

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View


The National Nuclear Security Administration on Friday reaffirmed its January decision to pick Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Friday reaffirmed its January decision to pick Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC  to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

That earlier decision, announced almost 10 months ago, had been challenged in two rounds of bid protests. Those protests delayed the transition to a new contractor, and it wasn’t clear Friday if the NNSA’s new decision might also be challenged.

The five-year extendable contract, which could be worth up to $22.8 billion over 10 years, includes project management of the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 and an unexercised option for Savannah River Tritium Operations at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.

“Our nuclear production capabilities are critical to our national security, and CNS represents the best value to the government as evidenced by its superior technical and management approach and its lower evaluated cost,” NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held said. “Additionally, this award puts NNSA in a position to improve mission delivery by focusing on improving the way we operate, saving taxpayer dollars, and aligning ourselves for the future.” [Read more…]

No comment from NNSA on next step for Y-12, Pantex contract

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Y-12 National Security Complex Sign

Federal officials declined to comment Wednesday on the next step in the process to award a consolidated contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

Federal officials declined to comment Wednesday on the next step in the process to award a consolidated contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office announced in an eight-page decision that it had denied or dismissed three elements of a bid protest filed June 17 by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, a team led by Babcock and Wilcox Co. But it wasn’t clear what would happen next.

“No comment,” Kate Black, a contractor for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said in a brief e-mail response to a question about the next step on Wednesday afternoon. [Read more…]

Federal decision on new protest of Y-12, Pantex contract due Sept. 25

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

Federal officials have a Sept. 25 deadline to rule on a new protest filed last week by one of the two teams that lost a contract competition earlier this year to manage two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The new bid protest was filed on June 17 by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, a team led by Babcock and Wilcox Co. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has 100 days to respond to the latest protest but could issue a decision earlier.

The bid protest is related to the consolidated management and operating contract at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. [Read more…]

B&W team says it’s the best choice for Y-12, Pantex contract

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

One of the two teams that did not win the $23 billion contract to manage and operate two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas said newly released federal documents show it had the best bid.

The contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, was awarded to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, of Reston, Va., on Jan. 8. The consolidated contract, the first ever for the National Nuclear Security Administration, is expected to save money.

But the two losing teams—Nuclear Production Partners LLC of Lynchburg, Va., and Integrated Nuclear Production Solutions LLC of Oak Ridge—filed bid protests. On April 29, the U.S. Government Accountability Office upheld those protests in part. The GAO questioned whether the NNSA had properly evaluated the expected savings, and the agency recommended that the contract procurement be re-opened and more information requested from the bidders. [Read more…]

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

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Y-12 National Security Complex

The Babcock and Wilcox Co., the lead management and operating contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex, said it was pleased with a federal decision Monday upholding protests of a five-year consolidated contract to manage Y-12 and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

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. [Read more…]

Parts of Y-12, Pantex contract protests upheld; GAO says procurement should be re-opened

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Y-12 National Security Complex

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has upheld parts of two protests filed over the January award of a five-year contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex, pictured above, and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. (Submitted photo)

A federal agency has upheld parts of two protests challenging a five-year contract to manage two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office also recommended re-opening the contract procurement, raising questions about the status of the $22.8 billion contract awarded to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, in January. CNS was one of three bidding teams who competed for the contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

At the heart of the GAO decision, announced Monday, were questions about proposed savings. In particular, the agency seemed to question whether the National Nuclear Security Administration, which awarded the consolidated contract to CNS on Jan. 8, had properly evaluated the expected savings.

“NNSA failed to follow the publicly stated solicitation criteria, which provided that the agency would evaluate the feasibility and size of each offeror’s proposed cost savings resulting from the consolidation of the management and operation of these sites,” Ralph O. White, GAO managing associate general counsel for procurement law, said in a statement released Monday afternoon. [Read more…]

Second protest challenges Y-12, Pantex contract award

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

A second protest has been filed challenging the federal decision to award a five-year contract to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The second protest was filed Jan. 25 by Integrated Nuclear Production Solutions LLC.

The first was filed Jan. 17 by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, a team led by Babcock and Wilcox.

[Read more…]

Debriefings today on Y-12/Pantex consolidated contract

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Debriefings scheduled for today were offered to the teams that bid unsuccessfully on a consolidated contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The unsuccessful bidders have up to 10 days to protest the decision to award the five-year contract to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, a team that includes Bechtel National Inc. and Lockheed Martin Services Inc. The contract award was announced Tuesday, Jan. 8.

[Read more…]

D’Agostino, companies celebrate contract award, key step in NNSA transition

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

Less than two weeks before his retirement, a federal official celebrated the consolidated contract award announced Tuesday, calling it a key element in a long list of decisions and actions designed to reduce redundancies in national nuclear security work and make operations more efficient.

It reflects a change in how the National Nuclear Security Administration does business, NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino said during a Tuesday teleconference. The transition began several years ago.

“We embarked on a journey from an old Cold War nuclear enterprise to a 21st Century nuclear enterprise,” D’Agostino said. “I’m immensely proud of the team.”

The NNSA announced Tuesday that, after months of anticipation and three to four years’ worth of work, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, had won a five-year contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. The company will also manage construction of the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 and, after the first year, could manage tritium operations at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.

[Read more…]

Bechtel, Lockheed Martin team wins contract to manage Y-12, Pantex

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC has been selected to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, and the company will take over from B&W Y-12 on May 1.

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, a team that includes Bechtel National Inc. and Lockheed Martin Services Inc., has won a five-year contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, federal officials announced Tuesday morning.

The winning team also includes ATK Launch Systems Inc. and SOC LLC. Besides managing and operating Y-12 and Pantex, Consolidated Nuclear Security, or CNS, will also manage construction of the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 and could manage tritium operations at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.

Including the possible tritium work, the contract has a total available fee of up to $446 million for CNS to manage the three sites for the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration. CNS may also earn up to an additional $263 million as their share of savings, an NNSA announcement said, although CNS cannot share any savings related to employee benefits.

The four-month transition to CNS will begin immediately, and CNS will take over the work on May 1, the NNSA said in a Tuesday morning announcement. The contract will be administered by the NNSA Production Office, or NPO, which which was created in June and oversees nuclear production missions at Y-12 and Pantex.

[Read more…]