90-day effort underway for safe transfer of management and operations
CARLSBAD, New Mexico — Tularosa Basin Range Services (TBRS) doing business as Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO) announced today the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has authorized the company to lead a 90-day effort that will safely transition the management and operations for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to a new contract. TBRS dba SIMCO is the company recently chosen by DOE to manage and operate WIPP, a work scope valued at up to $3 billion over 10 years if all options are exercised.
The methodical and comprehensive transition will include a detailed set of scheduled activities to onboard employees, inspect facilities, review procedures, and establish the structure and processes for managing and operating the plant under the new contract. SIMCO’s core values of safety, quality, productivity, and cost effectiveness will guide its approach to contract transition and into eventual operations.
“The WIPP and its workforce have a proud legacy of supporting our nation’s nuclear cleanup mission, and we’re excited to begin a transition to ensure we achieve safe and productive operations for today and well into the future,” said Ken Harrawood, SIMCO’s President and Program Manager at WIPP. “We are looking forward to working collaboratively with the DOE, incumbent employees, regulators, and our local community and stakeholders during this transition phase so that we maintain continuity from the first day we assume responsibility of WIPP.”
SIMCO is a single-purpose entity comprised of Bechtel National, Inc. SIMCO will utilize Los Alamos Technical Associates as a New Mexico-based small business teaming subcontractor.
About the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
WIPP, the United States’ only deep geological repository for nuclear waste, is a system of disposal rooms mined out of an ancient salt bed more than 2,000 feet underground. It has operated since 1999, accepting waste from 22 government sites across the U.S. The waste consists of clothing, tools, rags, debris, soil, and other items contaminated with small amounts of plutonium and other human-made radioactive elements, known as transuranic or TRU waste. The waste has been accumulating since the 1940s as part of the nation’s nuclear defense program.
About Bechtel National, Inc.
Bechtel National, the U.S. government services arm of Bechtel Corp., has more than 44 years of experience successfully managing DOE sites in Washington, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Through Bechtel’s global operations, the team brings world class mine construction, safety, and maintenance experience including cutting edge design and operations knowledge, and methods and tools to improve safety, schedule, and cost.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is the nation’s only deep geologic long-lived radioactive waste repository. Located 26 miles southeast of Carlsbad, New Mexico, WIPP permanently isolates defense-generated transuranic (TRU) waste 2,150 feet underground in an ancient salt formation. Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO) is leading a 90-day effort that will safely transition the management and operations for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to a new contract.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) has operated since 1999, accepting waste from 22 government sites across the U.S. The waste consists of clothing, tools, rags, debris, soil, and other items contaminated with small amounts of plutonium and other human-made radioactive elements, known as transuranic or TRU waste. Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO) has begun a methodical and comprehensive transition that will include a detailed set of scheduled activities to onboard employees, inspect facilities, review procedures, and establish the structure and processes for managing and operating the plant under its new DOE contract.