A U.S. watchdog agency has denied two bid protests of a large federal contract award to a Bechtel-led team, clearing the way for it to take over construction and operation management of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico—the key U.S. underground disposal site for transuranic nuclear waste.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the protests over the last week by two losing bidders for the US Energy Dept.contract, which will be worth up to $3 billion over ten years.