The Office of Environmental Management (EM) is responsible for environmental restoration, waste management, technology development as well as facility transition and management. EM oversees an annual budget of approximately $7.2 billion dollars, over 90 percent of which is contracted to industry. With such a significant portion awarded to outside contractors each year, achieving excellence in the department’s management of contracts is a main priority of EM’s. The EM Office of Acquisition and Project Management, working closely with EM sites, supports EM’s mission by overseeing the award and execution of contracts. In accordance with DOE P 547.1A, Small Business First Policy, approved March 30, 2018, the department is committed to maximizing opportunities for small business contracts and subcontracts. This policy ensures prime contracting opportunities are made available to the maximum extent practicable. Additionally, the department implemented a policy aimed at pursuing the increased use of fixed price and fixed unit rate contracts. This practice places the appropriate amount of risk and responsibility on the contractor while providing maximum incentive for the contractor to control costs and perform work safely and efficiently.
EM activities are being conducted through more than 40 prime contracts having a total value of over $90 billion and annual expenditures of over $5 billion. Awards are generally made to teams of individual companies that in turn procure equipment and services from numerous subcontractors. Both large and small businesses help us deliver quality facilities, projects, and services that meet the DOE mission and help ensure a safe and secure environment at legacy DOE sites for generations to come.
One of the major focuses of the EM federal workforce is to carry out an effective and efficient process for acquiring services for construction, deactivation and decommissioning, waste management, and environmental cleanup. EM created the EM Acquisition Center (EMAC) to provide a centralized focus on the major procurements that are required for EM to fulfill its mission. The EMAC provides an integrated business system that supports operations and field offices in the planning, procurement and managing of major EM acquisitions. The EMAC, along with representatives from the sites, develop and implement site and project specific acquisition and contract strategies, including the awarding of major contracts. This is achieved through collaboration with the Office of Acquisition Management. Upon award, contracts are administered by the operations and site offices.
All EM procurement offices execute their acquisition and oversight responsibilities through a standardized process with a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities. EM continues to focus on increasing the efficiency of conducting major procurements through improved planning, integration, communication, and tracking, as well as ensuring the necessary resources and expertise are available.
End-State Contracting
The Office of Environmental Management’s (EM) goal is to safely do the right work, at the right time, for the right cost, serving as responsible stewards of taxpayer money, while maintaining high safety standards. In support of that goal, EM is using a contracting structure known as end-state contracting for the first-time at EM cleanup sites to reinvigorate the completion mindset. Site closure and focused, accelerated site cleanup by EM contractors is contingent on awarding contract vehicles to the best-qualified, best value contractor through a rigorous, competitive source selection process. To achieve success similar to that experienced at the Rocky Flats, Mound, and Fernald Sites, EM must negotiate contracts with appropriate requirements, incentives, and risk models.
The End -State Contracting Model (ESCM) focuses on accelerating cleanup, while reducing financial risk and environmental liability to the government, and fairly sharing risk between the government and contractor to achieve desired end states. The model has two main phases:
- Best value award of competitive, qualifications-based, single award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts
- Post-award negotiation of discrete scopes of work under Firm Fixed Price or Cost Reimbursement Task Orders
End-state contracting supports EM’s desire to partner with industry and stakeholders in negotiation of the risk-based end states needed to complete projects on its sites. The change in EM’s contracting model incorporates industry feedback.
End-state contracting will be applied to the following EM cleanup projects:
- Hanford Central Plateau Cleanup Contract
- Hanford Tank Closure Contract
- Nevada Environmental Program Services
- West Valley Decommissioning
- Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup
- Portsmouth D&D
- Idaho Cleanup Project
- Savannah River Site Integrated Mission Completion