Oak Ridge Today

Council approves Protomet tax break, ends recycling rewards program

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A five-year, 100 percent tax break for parts manufacturer Protomet was approved in a 4-1 vote by the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday.

The tax break could be used to help Protomet more than double the size of its 15,000-square-foot plant in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park, consolidate operations with a Blount County facility, and add 20-30 workers.

Also Monday, the City Council agreed in a voice vote, with no objections, to end the RecycleBank Reward Program and determine later what to do with the savings of $0.84 per household per month. The savings are expected to add up to about $124,000 each year. [Read more…]

NSPS now provides security services at DOE sites in Oak Ridge

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National Strategic Protective Services LLC announced Monday morning that it now provides guard services at U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge.

NSPS won the protective force services work under a five-year, $182 million contract announced in January. The company will guard the East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Joe L. Evins Federal Building, and part of the Oak Ridge Reservation. [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.

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Y-12, Pantex contractor expected to save $3.27 billion, details later

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Note: This is a repost of an earlier post removed through a technical error.

The new company selected to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, has promised to help the federal government save $3.27 billion during the next decade.

But many of the details will have to be announced later, possibly after the NNSA and the new contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, have had more discussions.

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Bids on consolidated Y-12, Pantex contract expire today

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Note: This story was updated at 11:12 a.m.

Bids expire today on a nuclear production contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex plant near Amarillo, Texas.

On Monday, NNSA Public Affairs Director Joshua McConaha said the National Nuclear Security Administration could either announce a winner today (Tuesday) or extend the expiration date. The NNSA announced Tuesday morning that top officials, including Administrator Thomas D’Agostino, will have a 4:15 p.m. teleconference to discuss a major contract award.

McConaha said the contract bids were submitted last year, and the expiration date has been extended once already.

McConaha said he can’t confirm the total number of bids or the bidding teams.

When announced, the winner will have the first consolidated contract to manage and operate Y-12 and Pantex. The government also has the option to have the winner manage tritium operations at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.

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B&W Y-12 takes over guard force, hires 560 WSI workers

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Note: This story was updated at 11:07 p.m.

After a four-week transition, B&W Y-12 has taken over the security guard force at the Y-12 National Security Complex and hired 560 WSI Oak Ridge employees.

The transition ends three months after an unprecedented security breach at Y-12 and one month after B&W Y-12 announced it would terminate its contract with WSI Oak Ridge. That company, also known as Wackenhut and G4S Government Solutions, had provided security guards at the nuclear weapons complex for about a dozen years.

“The transition from WSI Oak Ridge to B&W Y-12 has gone very smoothly, and we welcome these new employees to the company,” said retired Brig. Gen. Rod Johnson, deputy general manager for security. “We’ve already seen improvements in security performance following previously announced contracting changes, and we believe we’ll see additional successes with the protective force fully integrated into B&W Y-12.”

B&W Y-12 announced it would end the WSI Oak Ridge contract after a Sept. 28 recommendation from the National Nuclear Security Administration. B&W Y-12 manages and operates Y-12 for the NNSA.

The transition from WSI to B&W Y-12 began Oct. 1. B&W had said it would offer employment to active Y-12 security police officers and other active union WSI Oak Ridge employees at Y-12 and the Central Training Facility in Oak Ridge.

B&W Y-12 had also said it would evaluate non-union WSI Oak Ridge employees who supervise and support Y-12 guards.

WSI became a subcontractor to B&W Y-12 after the July 28 security breach. Before that highly publicized intrusion, WSI had operated under a separate contract with the NNSA.

The contracting change was among many made after three anti-nuclear weapons activists, including an 82-year-old nun, sneaked into Y-12 before dawn on July 28, cut through three fences with bolt cutters, and vandalized a building where bomb-grade uranium is stored. The breach also led to federal investigations and critical reports, congressional hearings, staff re-assignments and suspensions, and at least one firing.

B&W Y-12 said it has made many improvements in security in the past three months, significantly reducing false and nuisance alarms, successfully completing two intensive force-on-force exercises to test protective force readiness, and installing new security cameras.

DOE’s Oak Ridge Office awards $10 million information technology contract

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office has awarded a $10.6 million contract to Global Engineering and Technology-Nuclear Safety Associates LLC, or GET-NSA, for information technology support services. The three-year contract will employ about 30 people in Oak Ridge and at the Pacific Northwest Site Office, a press release said.

“We are pleased with the selection of GET-NSA as the next information technology support contractor for the Oak Ridge Office,” ORO Manager Larry Kelly said. “The services provided under this contract are vital to our success, and we look forward to building a productive, professional relationship with GET-NSA.”

Tasks performed under the contract include a broad array of support activities that include cyber security operations, network operations, information engineering and systems development, and end-user support and help-desk type services.

The press release said GET-NSA is based in Oak Ridge, and it is a joint venture between Global Engineering and Technology Inc., based in Miami, Fla., and Nuclear Safety Associates Inc. of Johnson City. The contract’s period of performance is three years, including all options, the release said.

Council raises city manager pay, extends contract

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Council gave City Manager Mark Watson a 1.5 percent pay raise Monday and extended his contract by two years.

Council had been expected to consider a proposal, developed after committee and Council meetings, to have the city reimburse Watson for tuition and textbooks as he pursues a doctorate at the University of Tennessee. But Watson had withdrawn that request after a public outcry.

Council rejected a proposal by Council member Anne Garcia Garland to remove a provision that would pay Watson a cash equivalent for accrued emergency leave as part of his severance package.

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