CARLSBAD, N.M. - The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) management and operations contractor earned approximately 84 percent of the available fee for fiscal 2016, according to a from the EM Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO).
Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC (NWP) earned more than $8.5 million of the possible $10.1 million in performance-based incentive; and about $2.7 million of the nearly $3.4 million in fee available for the subjective portion of the award, as determined by CBFO Manager Todd Shrader.
Contractor award fee evaluations determine what will be paid based on performance against stated objectives in accordance with annual award fee plans. EM releases information relating to contractor fee payments to further transparency.
CBFO evaluated the contractor’s performance in mission and management performance; environmental health and safety; and cost control. NWP made significant progress in recovering the facility. The facility resumed waste emplacement operations in January 2017 following a nearly three-year suspension.
Work during this evaluation period represents some of the most significant challenges necessary to reopen the facility. Notable achievements included:
* Closure of 143 corrective actions necessary to address the findings of the DOE Accident Investigation Board;
* Improvements to the execution of procedures governing work planning and control;
* Development and implementation of a new documented safety analysis;
* Installation and operation of an interim ventilation system; and
* Progress on catch-up bolting in key areas of the WIPP underground necessary for the resumption of waste emplacement.
Located about 26 miles east of Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico, WIPP is the nation’s only deep geologic repository for transuranic (TRU) waste. TRU waste consists of byproducts of nuclear weapons production and disassembly.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
