SRS Liquid Waste Contract
On June 30, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued its Final Request for Proposal (RFP) for liquid waste services at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The total estimated value of the contract is approximately $4-6 billion over the prospective period of performance of up to ten years, including the option period. Final proposals are due 60 days from this June date. The current liquid waste services contract at SRS is held by Savannah River Remediation (SRR) LLC, and expires on June 30, 2017.
The Final RFP primarily includes cost-plus-award-fee contract line items for the purpose of providing liquid waste services at SRS. Available award fee is defined as the amount of award fee that may be earned under the Contract. The final fee may also include a Target Activity PBI Fee which is defined as the amount of fee that may be earned for Activity Completion Milestone Performance Based Incentives (PBIs) or "incentive fee". As an example, in FY 2015 SRR received $28.9 million out of a possible $30.2 million - or 95.8 percent - of its available award and incentive fee from the Department of Energy as part of the current liquid waste services contract. At this time, the annual available award and incentive fee associated with the new contract is not known but will be negotiated before award.
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 Final RFP provides for full and open competition, and includes requirements for meaningful work to be performed by small business concerns. The SRSCRO was pleased to see the Final RFP incorporated a comment previously made to limit the percentage of work which may be self-performed by the large business(es) and carve out a percentage of the work required to be subcontracted. The Final RFP requires a minimum of 30% of the total estimated contract cost to be subcontracted. Furthermore, the Final RFP also establishes the goal of 50% small business for all subcontracts which must be incorporated into the small business plan submitted as part of the Contractor's proposal. This would result in at least 15% of the total contract scope to be performed by small businesses.
In addition, the SRSCRO had requested that DOE also include in the new contract a Community Commitment clause as required by the Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation. This requirement requires the Contractor to submit to DOE an annual plan for community commitment activities and report on program progress semi-annually. The Contractor's annual plan for community commitment activities will identify those meaningful actions and activities that the Contractor intends to implement within the surrounding counties and local municipalities. This may include regional educational outreach programs, regional purchasing programs, and community support activities.
An additional concern addressed by the SRSCRO in the Draft RFP centered on the anticipated workforce attrition (significant potential retirees) in particular the recruitment, training, and retention of anticipated new hires for workforce needs. In the Final RFP, the Contractor will be evaluated on its approach to ensuring an adequate workforce is available with the appropriate skills and qualifications necessary to safely and effectively accomplish the work over the term of the contract. In addition, DOE will evaluate the Contractor's approaches to recruit, train, and maintain its workforce, including interim fluctuations in workload, ramp-up and ramp-down, as well as the source of the Contractor's personnel.
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