Aptim Federal Services, LLC (APTIM), a market leader in decommissioning and environmental solutions, announced today that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Baltimore District has awarded the Company a contract to Decommission and Dismantle the SM-1A Reactor Facility located at Fort Greely, Alaska. In addition to managing the decommissioning and dismantlement of the decades-old reactor, the APTIM-led team will integrate and utilize mature, proven innovations to dispose of both hazardous and radioactive soil and debris from the remote Alaskan installation to the lower-48.
The contract was awarded to APTIM-Amentum Alaska Decommissioning, LLC (A3D), which is a joint venture led by APTIM and Amentum Technical Services, LLC. Other members of A3D’s team include Heritage – M2C1 Joint Venture, a HUBZone small business location in Delta Junction, AK; Lynden Logistics; Brice Environmental; Oak Ridge Technologies; ReNuke Services; AECOM Technical Services; and Delta Junction Medical.
The standalone C-contract has an estimated value of $95.5M, over a 6-year ordering period. The work to be performed under this contract includes planning, permitting, and engineering; site preparation; demolition and disposal of facilities, including components from the deactivated and defueled nuclear reactor, related wells and utility corridors, plus other ancillary facilities. The contract also includes remediation of contaminated soils, a final status survey, and site restoration.
David Lowe, Senior Vice President of APTIM’s Nuclear Decommissioning business unit, said, “APTIM and our heritage companies have a long history of supporting USACE and the Army Reactor Office (ARO) and have managed numerous Decontamination and Decommissioning projects across the federal complex. Our extensive experience performing reactor decommissioning projects for USACE and the ARO enables us to bring advanced innovations and solutions to complete the work safely and effectively at Fort Greely.” Mr. Lowe continued, “We will partner with USACE , regulators, and community stakeholders to eliminate the environmental liabilities of this legacy, aging nuclear facility.”
“We appreciate USACE’s confidence in APTIM and our partners to perform this critical work. We have a tremendous track record of successfully managing high hazard decommissioning work and look forward to bringing innovations and an experienced team to the last standing nuclear reactor constructed as part of the Army Nuclear Power Program (ANPP),” said Steve Moran, APTIM’s Army Reactor Program Manager and the Project Manager for the SM-1A project.
The SM-1A reactor achieved criticality in 1962 and was shut down in March of 1972, followed by the removal and disposition of the spent nuclear fuel in 1973. The primary mission of the single-loop, 20.2 megawatt-thermal pressurized water reactor was to establish a cold-weather nuclear power plant to support power to Fort Greely, with a secondary mission to study the economics of operating a nuclear electric power plant as compared to operating a conventional oil-fired system in a remote location.
An on-site kickoff meeting at Fort Greely will in late October 2023, paving the way for our preparatory work at the site. The team is targeting a full mobilization to the site by mid-2024. Project completion is currently anticipated by 2029. Project information can also be found on the USACE website www.nab.usace.army.mil/SM-1A/.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District has awarded a $17.6 million contract to Mark Cerrone, Inc. to install approximately 23-acres of engineered non-permeable caps at the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, Seaway Site, Tonawanda, N.Y.
Construction of the engineered cap, designed to limit exposure at the site, will occur within areas A, B, and C, and is scheduled to begin no later than spring 2024.
The process will not require the removal of contaminated materials, but does include grading of the access roads, conducting surface water calculations and stormwater management, gas monitoring (including radon and decomposition gases), erosion resistance model and erosion control materials specifications, slope stability analysis, venting system design, planting of vegetative soils to limit erosion, and installation of composite engineered cap materials.
Protecting human health and the environment remains the Corps of Engineers’ highest priority. Throughout the process updates and timelines will be communicated frequently to ensure the public remains informed.
Additional information regarding the Seaway Site can be found on the project website at https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/HTRW/FUSRAP/Seaway-Site/.
The Seaway Site is within the 100-acre Seaway Industrial Park located along River Road in the Town of Tonawanda, Erie County, New York, north of Buffalo and just south of the Niagara River. The site was operated as a landfill by Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) through 1993. After ceasing operations, most of the landfill was capped by BFI in accordance with the requirements of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).
The Seaway Site was created when materials containing low levels of residual radioactivity were disposed of on the adjacent federal government leased Ashland 1 property. These radioactive residues were the result of activities conducted at the former Linde Site to support the nation’s nuclear weapons program. This material was later relocated by Ashland Oil to the Seaway Site Areas A, B, C, and the Ashland 2 Site.
Under FUSRAP, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is cleaning up sites with contamination resulting from the Nation’s early atomic energy program. FUSRAP was initiated in 1974 to identify, investigate and, if necessary, clean up or control sites throughout the United States contaminated as a result of Manhattan Engineer District (MED) or early Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) activities. Both the MED and the AEC were predecessors of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Please email fusrap@usace.army.mil or call 800-833-6390 (Option 4) for additional information. The Administrative Record for the Seaway Site contains documents that support the CERCLA process for the site. It is available for review electronically on the project website https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/HTRW/FUSRAP/Seaway-Site/.
The Buffalo District delivers world class engineering solutions to the Great Lakes Region, the Army and the Nation in order to ensure national security, environmental sustainability, water resource management, and emergency assistance during peace and war.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District is pleased to announce that it has awarded a $40 million contract to Enviro-Fix Solutions LLC for Niagara Falls Storage Site (NFSS) Remedial and Site Services.
The first task order was awarded on Aug. 4, 2023 for $11,984,341.90, which includes remediating contaminated media in accordance with the Record of Decision for the Balance of Plan (BOP) and Groundwater Operable Units (OU). This work is being carried out under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).
Selected Remedy:
The selected remedy in the Record of Decision for the Balance of Plant and Groundwater Operable Units (OUs) Niagara Falls Storage Site is the complete removal of contaminated media and off-site disposal at a properly permitted or licensed facility. Following completion of excavation and off-site disposal, the site would be remediated to levels suitable for industrial use (i.e., protective of construction, industrial, and maintenance workers, as well as adolescent and adult trespassers).
The major components of the selected remedy for the NFSS BOP and Groundwater OUs include:
Next Steps/Anticipated Schedule:
Site Services:
In the future, the USACE intends to utilize available contract capacity to support ongoing NFSS Interim Waste Containment Structure Disposal (IWCS) Remedial Design Activities. Activities may include environmental and geotechnical data collection and site infrastructure construction.
NFSS Project Information Website:
All documents (fact sheets, reports, video, etc.) related to the Niagara Falls Storage Site project can be found at:
https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/HTRW/FUSRAP/Niagara-Falls-Storage-Site/.
Administrative Record:
All documents used during the decision-making process for FUSRAP activities at the NFSS site are available at:
