B-294910; B-294910.2; B-294910.3; B-294910.4; B-294910.5; B-294910.6; B-294910.7, EPW Closure Services, LLC; FFTF Restoration Co., LLC, January 12, 2005

B-294910; B-294910.2; B-294910.3; B-294910.4; B-294910.5; B-294910.6; B-294910.7, EPW Closure Services, LLC; FFTF Restoration Co., LLC, January 12, 2005 TITLE: B-294910; B-294910.2; B-294910.3; B-294910.4; B-294910.5; B-294910.6; B-294910.7, EPW Closure Services, LLC; FFTF Restoration Co., LLC, January 12, 2005 BNUMBER: B-294910; B-294910.2; B-294910.3; B-294910.4; B-294910.5; B-294910.6; B-294910.7 DATE: January 12, 2005 *************************************************************************************************************************************************** B-294910; B-294910.2; B-294910.3; B-294910.4; B-294910.5; B-294910.6; B-294910.7, EPW Closure Services, LLC; FFTF Restoration Co., LLC, January 12, 2005 DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: EPW Closure Services, LLC; FFTF Restoration Co., LLC File: B-294910; B-294910.2; B-294910.3; B-294910.4; B-294910.5; B-294910.6; B-294910.7 Date: January 12, 2005 Richard B. Oliver, Esq., and Charles H. Pomeroy, Esq., McKenna Long & Aldridge, for EPW Closure Services, LLC; and Kenneth B. Weckstein, Esq., Shlomo D. Katz, Esq., and Michael D. Maloney, Esq., Epstein, Becker & Green, for FFTF Restoration Co., LLC, the protesters. Pamela J. Mazza, Esq., Andrew Hallowell, Esq., Philip M. Dearborn, III, Esq., Jennifer M. Morrison, Esq., and Jennifer M. Seeley, Esq., Piliero, Mazza & Pargament, for SEC Closure Alliance, LLC, an intervenor. Gena E. Cadieux, Esq., Mary M. McKnight, Esq., Judith A. Sukol, Esq., and Joseph B. Schroeder, Esq., Department of Energy, for the agency. David A. Ashen, Esq., and John M. Melody, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest against award for deactivation and decommissioning of nuclear reactor is sustained where, although solicitation provided that agency was committed to achieving an accelerated closure of the site, agency accorded little or no weight in the evaluation to the degree to which offerors proposed to accelerate completion ahead of required site closure date. 2. Protest against award for deactivation and decommissioning of nuclear reactor is sustained where, because agency was unable to conclude that proposed allowances for contingencies reasonably reflected the likely risks of offerors' proposed approaches, there was no basis for agency to conclude that the cost figures upon which source selection decision was based reasonably represented the differences in costs to be incurred under competing proposals. DECISION EPW Closure Services, LLC and FFTF Restoration Co., LLC (FRC) protest the Department of Energy's (DOE) award of a contract to SEC Closure Alliance, LLC (SCA), under request for proposals (RFP) No. DE-RP06-04RL 14600, for deactivation and decommissioning of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). EPW and FRC protest the evaluation of proposals. We deny EPW's protest and sustain FRC's protest. BACKGROUND The FFTF is a 400-megawatt (thermal) liquid-metal (sodium) cooled fast neutron flux nuclear test reactor owned by DOE and located in the 400 Area of DOE's Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. The FFTF complex consists of equipment and several support buildings arranged around the central reactor containment building. The reactor is located in a shielded cell at the center of the containment building. During reactor operations, heat was removed from the reactor through three heat transfer system (HTS) loops. The three primary loops, which include pumps, piping, and an intermediate heat exchanger, carried liquid sodium through the reactor vessel and circulated the heated sodium to the intermediate heat exchanger, where the heat was transferred to a secondary sodium loop. The secondary loops, which include pumps, piping, flow meters, and heat exchangers, removed the heat from the secondary loops by circulating sodium to air-cooled dump heat exchangers, which transferred the heat to the ambient air. Source Evaluation Board (SEB) Report sect. 1.0. FFTF currently is being managed and operated by Fluor Hanford, Inc., DOE's primary contractor at the Hanford Site. Fluor Hanford currently (and at the time the solicitation was issued) is proceeding with deactivation of the FFTF. The sodium coolant is being maintained in a molten state in the reactor vessel and fuel storage vessels. Fuel has been removed from the reactor vessel and has been transferred to two sodium-filled fuel storage vessels or to above-ground dry, interim storage casks.