CLEANUP
DOE Approves Start of Salt Waste Processing Facility at Savannah River Site
DOE | 8/18/2020
Yesterday, the Department of Energy (DOE) approved Critical Decision-4 (CD-4) and Authorization To Operate for the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) at Savannah River Site (SRS), authorizing
“hot” or radioactive operations to begin at the facility. CD-4 signals project completion and the transition from project phase to operations.
“This is a considerable achievement for EM's (Environmental Management) cleanup program and will drive significant progress in treating the tank waste at SRS in the next decade,” said Senior Advisor for EM to the Under Secretary for Science William “Ike” White.
The SWPF is the last major piece of the liquid waste system at SRS and will process the majority of the Site’s salt waste inventory by separating the highly radioactive waste—mostly cesium, strontium, actinides, and waste slurry—from the less radioactive salt solution. After the initial separation process is completed, the concentrated high-activity waste will be sent to the nearby Defense Waste
Processing Facility. The decontaminated salt solution will be mixed with cement-like grout at the nearby Saltstone Facility for disposal on site. Removing salt waste, which fills over 90 percent of tank space in the SRS tank farms, is a major step toward emptying and closing the Site’s remaining 43 high-level waste tanks.
“SWPF provides the final piece enabling completion of tank closure activities at SRS,” said Manager of DOE’s Savannah River Operations Office Mike Budney.
The approval comes five months ahead of the current baseline CD-4 completion date of January 31, 2021. Parsons Corporation, who designed and built the first-of-a-kind facility, will operate it for one year.
The SWPF remains on track to start normal operations later this year following completion of hot commissioning. By 2030, it is expected that nearly all of the salt waste inventory at SRS will be processed.
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Speakers announced for ECA legislative insights roundtable
ECA’s upcoming roundtable will feature a panel of Washington insiders who will discuss what to expect from Congress and DOE prior to the November election.
Speakers on the roundtable include:
- Colin Jones, Vice President and General Manager for North American Nuclear, Jacobs
- Martin Schneider, Senior Vice President, Longenecker & Associates
- Dylan Kama, Program Director, Energy Communities Alliance
- Seth Kirshenberg (Moderator), Executive Director, Energy Communities Alliance
The meeting will also feature remarks from Melissa Burnison, DOE Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, and an introduction from JJ Chavez, Carlsbad City Council Member.
Hear the latest updates on the National Defense Authorization Act, FY 2021 appropriations, a potential next phase of COVID relief legislation, and how the upcoming elections may impact DOE issues.
Please contact Dylan Kama with any questions at DylanK@energyca.org or (202) 828-2465.
CONTRACTING
DOE Issues Draft RFP for the Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup Contract
DOE | 8/18/2020
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) issued a Draft Request for Proposals for the Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup Contract (ORRCC) procurement at the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR), in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The purpose of the Draft RFP is to solicit input from interested parties to assist DOE in developing a Final RFP for this procurement. DOE invites all interested parties to thoroughly examine the Draft RFP and the accompanying procurement website in their entirety and to submit comments to DOE.
DOE anticipates an Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract with a ten-year ordering period from which Firm-Fixed-Price and/or Cost-Reimbursement-type task orders may be issued, with an estimated contract ceiling of approximately $8.3 billion over the ordering period. It is anticipated that task order performance may extend up to five years beyond the end of the ordering period.
The ORRCC procurement will support EM’s mission by performing environmental clean-up on the ORR including decontamination and demolition (D&D), remediation, waste treatment and disposal operations, and other environmental clean-up support activities. The ORR includes the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP).
The ORRCC contractor will be responsible for cleanup and remedial actions at ETTP; cleanup of excess facilities at ORNL and Y-12; design, construction, and operation of the new onsite disposal facility, Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF); operational activities and surveillance and maintenance for multiple EM operational and non-operational facilities; and core functions for central and
project services.
Additionally, a pre-solicitation conference and one-on-one sessions with interested parties are anticipated to be held virtually the week of September 7, 2020. Registration information will be available via the procurement website.
EM is pursuing a streamlined selection process under EM’s End-State Contracting Model (ESCM) for this procurement, which focuses on the most discriminating evaluation elements of key personnel, past performance, management approach, and cost to support a qualifications-based selection of the offeror team that represents the best value to the government. The streamlined ESCM also shifts focus on
post-award partnering to determine the most appropriate requirements and technical approach to achieve the greatest amount of cleanup progress.
Additional information is available via the procurement website here.
Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local
governments.
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