The annual federal budget process begins with a detailed proposal from the President. The FY19 President's budget was released on February 12, 2018. The President's budget request - developed through an interactive process between federal agencies and the President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that begins the previous spring (or earlier) - plays three important roles.

First, it tells Congress what the President recommends for overall federal fiscal policy, as established by three main components: (1) how much money the federal government should spend on public purposes; (2) how much it should take in as tax revenues; and (3) how much of a deficit (or surplus) the federal government should run, which is simply the difference between (1) and (2). Second, the President's budget lays out his relative priorities for federal programs - how much he believes should be spent on defense, agriculture, education, health, and so on. Third, the President's budget signals to Congress his recommendations for spending and tax policy changes.

The President Trump's Budget for FY 2019 requests is good news for Savannah River Site (SRS) and the Department of Energy (DOE). It suggests $30.6B in funding for DOE to advance U.S. national security and economic growth through transformative science and technology innovation that promotes affordable and reliable energy through market solutions and meets our nuclear security and environmental cleanup challenges. Included in the overall DOE budget is $1.7B for SRS, that's $287M above the FY 2017 Enacted budget. These suggested funds are to be used to support the Liquid Tank Waste Management Program, including a significant increase in the production at the Defense Waste Processing Facility and startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility.

Again, all great news!

However, there's more! The president just suggests a budget. Under the Constitution, Congress is the entity that passes the appropriations bills. Congress - and in particular, the House of Representatives - is invested with the "power of the purse," the ability to tax and spend public money for the national government.

Therefore, we need to pay close attention to what Congress does as it considers the President's budget. In the best interest of SRS, we hope they follow the President's lead and provide an adequate and stable budget for SRS. Keep in mind that SRS was the only DOE site to see a reduction in the President's FY18 budget request from both the House of Representatives and the Senate proposed funding. This does not meet our definition of an adequate and stable budget. Furthermore, the FY18 budget is still not resolved.

On June 30, 2016, the Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center (EMCBC) released its official notice to prospective offerors of the Final Request for Proposal (RFP) DE-SOL-0008913 for the Savannah River Site (SRS) Liquid Waste Services procurement. With this proposal, the Department of Energy (DOE) was seeking a contractor to provide liquid waste services at the Savannah River Site (SRS) for 10 years.

The liquid waste services include but are not limited to: operations of existing radioactive liquid waste facilities for storage, treatment, stabilization, and disposal of waste; waste removal from tanks and tank closures; construction of additional saltstone disposal units; operation of the Salt Waste Processing Facility after facility commissioning, startup, and one year of operation; and liquid waste program and regulatory support. The established due date for receipt of proposal submissions was 60 calendar days from the issuance of the Final RFP.

Sixteen (16) months after the final RFP was released (Oct. 12, 2017), DOE awarded the contract to Savannah River EcoManagement, a joint venture of BWXT Technical Services Group, Bechtel National, and Honeywell International. Within the same month (Oct. 31, 2017), the two other bidders - Fluor Westinghouse Liquid Waste Services and Savannah River Technology and Remediation, a joint venture of AECOM and CH2M - filed protests with the Government Accounting Office (GAO).

On February 8, 2018, the GAO revealed it had sustained the protest brought by the AECOM-CH2M team, which had "challenged the propriety of the agency's evaluation in connection with the award of the contract," according to the statement from the congressional auditor. To review the  GAO decisions, click here.

By sustaining the protest (which means that the agency violated a procurement statute or regulation and that the violation prejudiced the protester), the GAO may recommend that the agency take one of the following actions:

According to the GAO, its decision expresses no view as to the merits of the proposals submitted. Ultimately, it is up to DOE to decide whether it is necessary to reopen negotiations or re-evaluate the contract.

The GAO ruling was originally  issued under a protective order because the decision might include proprietary information. However in the last few days, the GAO released its decision, found here.  While the GAO did not disclose the specifics of the proposals, the decision did indicate that Savannah River EcoManagement, LLC (SRE) proposed processing waste at higher molarity than the other bidders. And by processing waste at higher molarity, GAO noted that SRE would be able to reduce dilution of tank wastes and, ultimately, to reduce the total amount of tank waste that would need to be processed. In that way, GAO said SRE could propose a considerably lower price for DOE than the other bidders. GAO noted, "Under these circumstances, we conclude that the agency unreasonably failed to evaluate the viability of SRE's proposed technical solution. We therefore sustain this aspect of Savannah River Technology & Remediation, LLC, (SRTR)'s protest."

GAO recommended that DOE "at a minimum" should reevaluate the three competing proposals for the SRS contract and make a new selection. "In the alternative, the agency may conclude that it is in the agency's interest to engage in further discussions with [SRE, the winning contractor] in order to clarify its proposal," GAO said. "In that circumstance, we recommend that the agency engage in discussions with all offerors; solicit, obtain, and evaluate revised proposals; and make a new source selection decision."

There has not been an official release from DOE about the GAO recommendations or a timeline for its action.