KENNEWICK—Two familiar faces at the Hanford site are among the leadership of the winning bidders to provide up to $45 billion of work at the nuclear reservation’s tank farms and start waste treatment at the vitrification plant.
H2C started the transition to become the new contractor Oct. 15 and last week released more information on its plans, including confirming its subcontractors and discussing plans for subcontracting to small businesses and its commitments to the Tri-Cities community.
The contractor, owned by BWX Technologies, Amentum and Fluor companies, will complete the transition from the current tank farm contractor in mid February.
Washington River Protection Solutions was awarded a 10-year tank farm contract in 2008, which was repeatedly extended while the Department of Energy worked to award a new contract and overcome legal challenges.
As H2C, short for Hanford Tank Waste Operations and Closure, brings in its leadership team, it plans to hire almost all of the current tank farm workers, which was 2,800 at the start of the transition, including subcontractor employees.
It will begin operating the vitrification plant after contractor Bechtel National finishes commissioning the part of the plant that will initially treat the least radioactive waste in underground tanks. Commissioning with radioactive waste is expected to start in late summer 2025 and could take a year.
The Hanford site in Eastern Washington near Richland was used from World War II through the Cold War to produce nearly two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program.
HC leadership
H2C’s strong leadership team was a deciding factor for DOE as it awarded the contract, according to a federal court document.
The team includes:
- Carol Johnson, the H2C president and program manager, has been living in the Tri-Cities area.
A chemist, she has 40 years of experience directing environmental cleanup, production operations and national nuclear security missions.
- Karthik Subramanian, currently the chief operating officer for the Hanford tank farm project, will be the H2C chief engineer and innovation manager. He will lead engineering execution of operational and capital project and champion ways to improve safety and efficiency.
- Phil Breidenbach, most recently president of Savannah River Remediation in South Carolina, is the H2C chief operating officer.
- Kliss McNeel, is the H2C environment, safety, health and quality manager, bringing to the job 34 years of experience leading environmental and regulatory compliance programs.
- Jeff Stevens, who most recently led the contract transition for the Savannah River Mission Completion Contract in South Carolina, is the H2C program integration manager.
Johnson said H2C is “ready to get started on this program of immense importance” to residents of Washington and DOE.
“We understand the significance of this effort, and we look forward to working closely with Hanford’s many stakeholders to achieve the end states that will benefit everyone in the area,” she said.
H2C small business opportunities
H2C will start its new contract by offering more than $300 million to small businesses in its first year, which is 18 percent of its contract value for the year.
It plans to increase that by 0.5 percent each year until fiscal 2027 to reach 20 percent of that year’s contract value. H2C plans to subcontract for specific tasks, it indicated in a fact sheet.
DOE Hanford contractors are not allowed to limit bids on subcontracts to Tri-Cities area or Washington companies, but many local businesses have won substantial Hanford subcontracts from other contractors at the site.
