Final_TOC JOFOC_24 mo. ext_ JRB 08112023.pdf

Tank Operations Contract JOFOC 1

Justification for

Other than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC)

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act as implemented by Federal

Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.3 and in accordance with FAR 6.303-1, Requirements, the use of the statutory authority under 41 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 3304(a)(1) is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2, Content, as follows:

1. Agency and Contracting Activity: As authorized by 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(1) and implemented in FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or

Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of River Protection (ORP), proposes to extend the period of performance on existing contract DE-AC27-08RV14800 for a period up to 24 months so that services provided under this contract in unique circumstances can continue without disruption or harm to the government and the public. The Tank Operations Contract (TOC) currently supports the DOE-ORP mission.

2. Nature of the Action Being Approved: Authorization pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 for

DOE-ORP to negotiate, on a sole source basis, an extension of up to 24 months of the

TOC with Washington River Protection Solutions LLC (WRPS) for environmental cleanup work at the Hanford Site, including management of the underground tank farms.

WRPS is a Limited Liability Corporation owned by Amentum and Atkins.

The startup of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) is one of DOE’s top priorities. The TOC contractor is responsible for critical activities and construction projects preceding the startup and initial operations of WTP. These activities include operation and maintenance of the existing Tank-Side Cesium Removal waste pre-treatment system, as well as work to progress additional treatment capabilities including the Advanced Modular Pre-treatment System, West Area Risk Mitigation, and the Test

Bed Initiative. Activities are also necessary to complete upgrades to tank farm systems and modifications to the Effluent Treatment Facility, as well as tank waste transfers and evaporator campaigns to support initial waste treatment and tank space management.

The current TOC expires on September 30, 2023.

Extension of the TOC is needed to allow the current acquisition team to complete the on-going procurement and award of the follow-on contract, the Hanford Integrated Tank

Disposition Contract (ITDC). Transition to the new contract has been delayed by a protest. It is necessary to extend the existing contract to provide continuity of operations.

Extending the TOC through Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 would avoid stoppage of critical work operating the tank farms and managing the hazards associated with approximately 56 million gallons of mixed radioactive and hazardous waste at the Hanford Site. The contract extension will include language to allow the TOC contract to be terminated and activities turned over to the new contractor after the follow-on contract becomes available for transition to full performance during the proposed extension period.

Extending the TOC eliminates the risk of a disruptive transition of tank farm nuclear operations to a new contractor, maintains the schedule for initiating waste treatment in

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FY 2025, and holds the existing TOC contractor accountable for ongoing activities supporting WTP’s startup.

3. Description of Services: The supplies and services required for the extension are the same as or similar to the work defined in the current TOC. The services to be provided include Base Operations and Projects, Tank Retrieval and Closure, and Waste Treatment and WTP Support. An expanded listing of the services to be provided are in Attachment

1.

4. Identification of statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition: The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended, authorizes this action. Specifically, 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(1) provides for the use of other than competitive procedures when the property or services needed by the executive agency are available from only one responsible source and no other type of property or services will satisfy the needs of the executive agency. This action will be implemented under FAR 6.302-1.

5. Demonstration that the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

WRPS is the incumbent TOC contractor; the TOC was initially awarded in 2008 through full and open competition. The current contract will expire September 30, 2023. Over the last 15 years WRPS’s performance has met contract requirements. WRPS has been rated Very Good over the last three years in Contractor Performance Assessment Report ratings. In addition, WRPS has been responsive in shifting work scope priorities to meet directional changes made by DOE; examples include implementation of the TSCR system to support Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) treatment, development of the Test Bed Initiative (TBI) system as a demonstration of an alternative treatment method, and responses to budgetary fluctuations.

Extending the current contract will ensure that DOE receives continued, uninterrupted high-quality support for work essential to the overall success of DOE-ORP’s mission.

The incumbent contractor is in the best position to provide the necessary management team, proven operational processes, regulatory relationships, and experience onsite to continue this critical mission work without disruption until the protest to the follow-on award can be adjudicated.

6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable: A Notice of Intent was posted on the SAM.gov website (under Contract Opportunities) on July 12, 2023, that identified DOE’s intent to extend the TOC contract for up to 24 months. This Notice of Intent also identified that interested parties believing they have all the capabilities to perform the identified services may submit capability statements to DOE. One response was received. The company communicated its understanding that the government “may need additional time to fully consider the path forward on the active…procurement,” and stated that it “does not object to the proposed extension of up to 24 months as outlined in the Notice.”

7. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable: The anticipated cost of the extension for up to 24 months is

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$800 million per year. The Contracting Officer will request that WRPS submit a proposal for a 24-month extension period. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers will develop an independent government cost estimate and complete a technical evaluation of the proposal to help determine that the negotiated costs are fair and reasonable. The

Contracting Officer will also get an audit of the proposal to aid her determination whether the negotiated costs are fair and reasonable.

8. Description of Market Research: As part of market research, a Notice of Intent was posted on the SAM.gov website (under Contract Opportunities) on July 12, 2023. The only company that provided a capability statement did not take exception to the current course of action to continue under the current contract and the ongoing procurement activity. Market research was also conducted by performing an internet search to determine if any other DOE contractors could transition seamlessly to the performance of the TOC tasks already underway. While there are contractors with various degrees of nuclear capabilities, none had the current abilities to adequately transition without being a detriment to meet requirements of the March 11, 2016, Amended Consent Decree entered in State of Washington v. Brouillette, No. 08-5085-RMP (E.D. Wash.) (“the Amended

Consent Decree”) and the Tri-Party Agreement.

Discussions were held with various subject matter experts to ascertain if other companies would have the ability to assume responsibility for the TOC as an ongoing project. The subject matter experts believed that a new contractor for the limited duration would not have the knowledge or capability to take on a project of this magnitude and momentum without impacts to costs and schedule.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition: If DOE-

ORP was required to suspend all tank farm operations activities until an interim contractor could be put in place, it would likely severely impact DOE’s ability to comply with certain legal requirements such as in the Amended Consent Decree and the Tri-Party

Agreement. DOE could face the possibility of State or judicial enforcement for failing to meet its legal obligations. Major contract activities that could be impacted include:

A/AX Farm retrievals, DFLAW activities, 242-A Evaporator operations in support of tank waste management, Effluent Treatment Facility operations in support DFLAW and the safe storage and management of approximately 56 million gallons of mixed nuclear waste.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest to the acquisition: Hanford Tank Disposition Alliance, LLC, who did not object to the extension.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for required supplies or services: DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) and Environmental

Management Consolidated Business Center (EMCBC) have awarded a contract for the

ITDC, the follow-on contract to TOC. The ITDC has been acquired using full and open competition. Once the protest on the new award is adjudicated, EM will no longer require these services from WRPS, eliminating the need for any subsequent sole source

Tank Operations Contract JOFOC 4 acquisition to this vendor. The continuity of critical tank farms operations and management would be significantly impacted if an extension were not granted.

Tank Operations Contract JOFOC 5

Certification.

The information contained in this Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition is certified accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Jenise C. Connerly Date Contracting Officer

Reviews:

Shelby Nicole Schuller Date Procurement Director

Gregory A. Jones Date Hanford Competition Advocate

Delmar L. Noyes Date Senior Program Official

Mark D. Silberstein Date Chief Counsel

Brian J. Stickney Date Deputy Manager

Brian T. Vance Date Manager

Digitally signed by JENISE CONNERLY Date: 2023.07.28 10:21:00 -07'00'

Shelby N. Schuller Digitally signed by Shelby N. Schuller Date: 2023.07.28 11:02:16 -07'00'

Gregory A. Jones Digitally signed by Gregory A. Jones Date: 2023.07.31 15:30:32 -07'00'

Delmar L. Noyes Digitally signed by Delmar L. Noyes Date: 2023.08.01 12:46:57 -07'00'

MARK SILBERSTEIN Digitally signed by MARK SILBERSTEIN Date: 2023.08.02 15:13:00 -04'00'

Digitally signed by Brian J. Stickney Date: 2023.08.02 13:58:14 -07'00'

Brian T. Vance Digitally signed by Brian T. Vance Date: 2023.08.02 15:21:52 -07'00'

Tank Operations Contract JOFOC 6

Approvals

Amber M. Gray Date

EM Competition Advocate

Angela Watmore Date

EM Head of Contracting Activity

Janella E. Davis Date

DOE Competition Advocate

John R. Bashista Date

DOE Senior Procurement Executive

Tank Operations Contract JOFOC 7

Attachment 1 - Description of Services for the Tank Operations Contract

Tank Operations Contract JOFOC 8

ATTACHMENT 1

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES FOR THE TANK OPERATIONS CONTRACT

Services at the DOE Hanford Site as listed below are contemplated as part of the contract extension. These services may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Base Operations and Projects

• Prepare for increased pace of operations to support current and future DFLAW and Waste

Treatment mission operations

• Maintain and operate the single-shell and double-shell tank farm facilities

• Maintain and operate the 242-A Evaporator to support tank waste retrievals, direct-feed low-activity waste (DFLAW) operations, and support waste returns from waste treatment operations

• Maintain and operate the Effluent Treatment Facility and support facilities, and carry out necessary facility modifications

• Manage storage space in the double-shell tank system, including waste transfers using existing systems, and upgrade waste transfer systems

• Maintain tank and pipeline integrity and monitoring programs

• Manage Tank Farm hazards including radiological, chemical, industrial hygiene, physical, and other hazardous conditions to maintain safety of the workforce, public, and environment.

Tank Retrieval and Closure

• Design, procure, permit, construct/fabricate, and operate single-shell tank waste retrieval systems that remove waste from the single-shell tanks, then transfer it to the double-shell tanks or treatment systems. Complete tank AX-101 retrieval and support preparations for, and execution of, A Farm retrievals and additional retrieval activities in support of mission execution

• Perform waste management area closure activities in accordance with site-wide integrated closure strategies

• Support the Integrated Disposal Facility performance assessment as necessary, waste incidental to reprocessing determinations, and permitting activities associated with the

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 and Clean Air Act

• Design and construct interim tank-farm surface barriers and monitor existing barriers for effectiveness

Tank Operations Contract JOFOC 9

Waste Treatment and Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Support

• Maintain and operate low-activity waste pretreatment facilities and perform necessary modifications to the tank farms in support of DFLAW. Operate the tank side cesium removal system and support facilities as necessary to maintain adequate pretreated feed in support of

DFLAW

• Design, procure, permit, construct/fabricate facilities in support of the West Area Risk

Management and Advanced Modular Pretreatment capital projects

• Perform design, engineering, environmental permitting, and operations necessary to complete the Test Bed Initiative

• Provide integrated system planning for the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of River

Protection mission and perform project planning, system upgrades/replacements, and operations to accomplish waste-feed delivery to the treatment facilities

• In collaboration with the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) prime contractor, implement an integrated management strategy to ensure successful startup and hot commissioning of DFLAW treatment under the existing Tank Operations Contract and

Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant contract

• Support the procurement of spare parts for future operation of the WTP as necessary