Recovery Act - Tank Operations Contract

 Recovery Act - Synopsis of DOE Contract Award Action

 Contract Modification 020 obligates American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to the Tank Operations Contract (TOC), contract number DE-AC27-08RV14800.  The original scope and purpose of the contract will not change with the addition of the ARRA Stimulus Funds.  The Total Contract Price will not increase as a result of this modification. 

 The TOC Contract is a $7.1B performance-based cost plus award fee contract with specific performance-based incentives awarded to Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC (WRPS) May 29, 2008.   The purpose of the contract is to furnish safe, compliant, cost-effective and energy-efficient services to further the Department of Energy, Office of River Protection (ORP) mission to store, retrieve and treat Hanford tank waste, store and dispose of treated waste, and to close the Tank Farm waste management areas to protect the Columbia River. 

 Modification 020 obligates ARRA funding in the amount of $188.4 million dollars to meet the original contract funding profile and accelerate work that was contemplated in the five-year (5) base period and first option period.  The specific period of performance is as follows:

 Base Period: October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2013,

Option Period 1: October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2016,

Option Period 2: October 1, 2016 through September 2018  

 Modification 020 also revised Sections B, C, G and J-15 to clarify the ARRA funded projects and milestones to be executed during the base contract period of performance.  

Rationale for using other than a fixed price and/or competitive award:

Contract Clause I.103, FAR 52.243-2 Changes - Cost Reimbursement (AUG 1987), ALT II (APR 1984), ALT III (APR 1984), ALT IV (APR 1984) of the contract authorizes the Contracting Officer to make changes within the general scope of the contract.

The work scope considered for acceleration as a result of the receipt of the ARRA funds is clearly within the scope of the contract and specifically identified in Sub-CLIN 1.2, Safe, and Compliant Operations, Sub-CLIN 1.3, Analytical Laboratory Support, and Sub-CLIN 3.1, Treatment Planning, Waste Feed Delivery, and WTP Transition.  Offerors were provided ample opportunity to propose to this specific scope of work during the initial TOC competition.  Not only was this work specifically identified in the TOC SOW, but also in the WBS Dictionary sheets and within Section J, Attachment J. 11 Supplemental Work Description Tables provided to Offerors during the TOC solicitation.  Offerors were further put on notice via Section B.14, DOE Authorization of Work, that the ORP reserved the right to "turn work on/off" as funding was made available through the contract period of performance.  

 The prospects for performing the TOC scope of work under a firm fixed-price (FFP) contract were evaluated prior to the recent TOC competition.  The work contemplated is highly complex and many variables exist that do not lend themselves to being FFP. This, coupled with the fact that the work scope has already been defined, competed, and awarded under the TOC, a Cost Plus contract with Performance-Based Incentives, FFP efforts at the prime level are not possible.  ORP has communicated to the TOC contractor that FFP subcontracts shall be utilized to the maximum extent possible in accomplishing the specific tasks executed with ARRA funds.