Previous DOE Transportation Acquisition Efforts for Spent Fuel Shipments: An Analysis of Comments Received on Contract Structure

Disclaimer: This is a technical abstract that does not take into account the contractual limitations under the Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste (HLW) (Standard Contract) (10 CFR Part 961). Under the provisions of the Standard Contract, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) does not consider SNF in multi-assembly canisters to be an acceptable waste form, absent a mutually agreed to contract amendment. To the extent discussions or recommendations in this abstract conflict with the provisions of the Standard Contract, the Standard Contract provisions prevail.DOE is planning for future large-scale transport of commercial SNF and HLW to eventual disposal and/or storage facilities. Various options for procuring transportation services were evaluated by DOE. To inform this work, a review of past comments received on DOE transportation acquisition activities in the early 1990s through 2016 was conducted. Through the course of data collection, staff analyzed submitted comments from eight DOE initiatives, including DOE’s Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) and Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) Requests for Expression of Interest, Notices of Program Interest, Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and vendor surveys. In total, 365 discrete comment letters were analyzed. Past issues identified by a wide variety of commenters were examined, including nuclear industry, cask vendors, nuclear utilities, purchasers, states, Tribes, local governments, rail carriers, non-governmental organizations, trade organizations, engineering firms, and members of the public. This paper summarizes key themes arising from these comments, focusing primarily on comments regarding potential contracting strategies. Analysis focuses on the following areas: Potential Limitations of Fixed-Price Contracts; Risk Allocation; Alternative Contracting Structures (Phased Contracts, Pay-as-You-Go Structure, Cost Plus Contracting); Contracting Uncertainties (Equipment leasing, Schedule delays, Contract extension/re-bidding, Congressional appropriations). By analyzing these comments, insight can be gained on previous privatization efforts, allowing DOE to better understand and anticipate the key issues relevant to the nuclear industry and other stakeholders, draw from lessons learned, and identify likely areas of transportation related concerns moving forward. This paper would fall under the “Regulatory & Institutional Issues” topic area.