Oak Ridge Today

B&W: No more protests of $22 billion Y-12, Pantex contract

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

After more than one year and three protests, a team led by the Babcock and Wilcox Co. will no longer oppose the transition to a new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, pictured above, and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.

Note: This story was last updated at 8:43 a.m. March 20.

After more than one year and three protests, a team led by the Babcock and Wilcox Co. will no longer oppose the transition to a new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.

The team, Nuclear Production Partners LLC, had challenged the National Nuclear Security Administration’s decision to award the consolidated contract to another team, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS. That decision was first announced in January 2013 and reaffirmed in November. The contract could be worth $22.8 billion during a 10-year period.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the third and final protest by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, on Feb. 27, but it wasn’t clear if the B&W-led team might continue to challenge the contract award. The case could have been appealed to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C.

In the meantime, federal officials and CNS said they had started the four-month transition to CNS at Y-12 and Pantex. The transition had originally been scheduled to be complete by May 2013, but it had been delayed by protests. Among other things, the protests had led the NNSA to seek additional cost savings information from the three bidding teams. [Read more…]

New Y-12, Pantex contractor website includes employment information

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Jim Haynes

Jim Haynes

The transition website for the new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Pantex Plant was posted online on Thursday afternoon. The new website for Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC is available at http://www.cnstransition.com.

CNS is the new managing and operating contractor at Y-12 in Oak Ridge and Pantex in Amarillo, Texas. The contract award, worth up to about $23 billion over 10 years, was first announced in January 2013 but delayed by a series of protests. The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the third and final protest on Thursday, Feb. 27. On Monday, officials at the National Nuclear Security Administration said the transition to the new contractor had started and was expected to last four months.

On Thursday, CNS spokesman Jason Bohne said the company would be adding much more information to the transition website during the next few weeks and months, including more details on the senior management team, proposed organization, messages to employees, and more.

The transition website includes a message from CNS President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Haynes, who has been senior vice president and deputy general manager for the current Y-12 contractor, B&W Y-12. Other members of the CNS leadership team include Michael Jones, transformation; Darrell Graddy, mission support; and Carl Strock, project director for the Uranium Processing Facility. [Read more…]

Consolidated Nuclear Security resuming contract transition at Pantex, Y-12

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC has been authorized by the National Nuclear Security Administration to resume its transition to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, the company announced Thursday.

The announcement comes one week after the U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the third and possibly final protest by one of the two teams that unsuccessfully bid on the $22 billion contract to manage the two nuclear weapons plants. The protests had been filed by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, a team led by The Babcock and Wilcox Co., which is currently the lead contractor at Y-12 and Pantex.

The decision to award the consolidated contract to CNS, first announced in January 2013, has now been upheld by the NNSA and GAO, the company said. The five-year contract with the NNSA includes options that could allow the contract to be extended for up to five more years, based upon performance.

“The CNS team submitted a very strong and credible solution for managing and operating the Pantex and Y-12 sites, and we are eager to begin implementing our proposal together with the dedicated employees of Pantex and Y-12,” said Jim Haynes, CNS chief executive officer. “We look forward to partnering with the communities of Amarillo and Oak Ridge.” [Read more…]

Transition to new contractor under way at Y-12, Pantex

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The transition to a new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex, pictured above, and Pantex Plant in Texas is already under way and could be completed in four months.

Note: This story was last updated at 10:22 a.m. March 4.

The transition to a new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Texas is already under way and could be completed in four months, federal officials said Monday.

The transition to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC of Reston, Va., had originally been scheduled to be complete by May 2013, but it was delayed by three rounds of protests. The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the third and possibly final protest by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, of Lynchburg, Va., on Thursday.

On Monday, the National Nuclear Security Administration said CNS will start managing and operating the weapons production plants at Y-12 and Pantex at the end of the four-month transition period. [Read more…]

GAO denies third protest of $22 billion contract to manage Y-12, Pantex

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

Federal officials have denied the third protest by one of the two teams that unsuccessfully bid on a $22 billion contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, pictured above, and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

Note: This story was updated at 6:45 p.m.

Federal officials have denied the third protest by one of the two teams that unsuccessfully bid on a $22 billion contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

In the protest, Nuclear Production Partners LLC of Lynchburg, Va., had challenged a November decision by the National Nuclear Security Administration to reaffirm its earlier decision, announced in January 2013, to award the consolidated contract to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC of Reston, Va.

On Thursday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office announced that it had denied the third protest. It’s the final GAO protest, but the case could be appealed to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C.

Statistically, that’s not likely; the GAO hears 2,500 protests per year, and the court has about 84. But there is a large amount of money at stake with this contract.

The GAO had upheld one part of an earlier NP2 protest and denied or dismissed three elements of a second. [Read more…]

Officials say little about Monday hearing on Y-12, Pantex contract

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Y-12 National Security Complex

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

Officials said little about the federal hearing held Monday to discuss the consolidated but contested contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The hearing is related to the protest filed by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, which has contested the decision to award the contract to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC of Reston, Va. Originally announced in January 2013, the contract could be worth up to $22.8 billion over a decade.

The hearing had originally been scheduled for Jan. 29, but it was rescheduled. [Read more…]

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…]

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

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Y-12 National Security Complex Sign

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 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. [Read more…]

NNSA to decide on Y-12, Pantex contract in early November

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The National Nuclear Security Administration will make a selection decision in early November on the consolidated contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, pictured above, and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The National Nuclear Security Administration will make a selection decision in early November on the consolidated contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, officials said.

The contract, which could be worth up to $22.8 billion over 10 years, was initially awarded in January, but it has been held up by bid protests. The NNSA is hoping to avoid a third round of protests and has asked the three bidding teams if they are willing to share confidential information to help avoid challenges “based on incomplete information and suspicions that are unfounded.”

In a statement this week, the NNSA, a separate agency within the U.S. Department of Energy, said its technical experts have finished evaluating the offers in response to corrective action taken in June, and federal officials will give each bidding team a debriefing. The three teams are Integrated Nuclear Production Solutions LLC of Oak Ridge; Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, of Lynchburg, Va.; and Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, of Reston, Va. [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…]

GAO denies, dismisses second protest of Y-12, Pantex contract award

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Tuesday rejected a three-part protest filed in June by one of the two teams that lost a competition earlier this year to manage two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas, a contract that could be worth up to $22.8 billion. Pictured above is one of the plants, the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy B&W Y-12)

The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Tuesday denied or dismissed three elements of a protest filed in June by one of the two teams that lost a competition earlier this year to manage two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas, a contract that could be worth up to $22.8 billion.

The bid protest was filed on June 17 by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, a team led by Babcock and Wilcox Co. NP2 was one of three bidding teams that sought to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. [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…]