BOISE, ID, March 23, 2005 (PRNewswire-FirstCall) -- Washington Group International Inc. announced today that CH2M-WG Idaho LLC has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to lead the $2.9 billion environmental cleanup of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site in Eastern Idaho. CH2M-WG Idaho LLC is comprised of Denver-based CH2M HILL and Boise-based Washington Group.
The project, named the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP), will be a seven-year undertaking to safely perform the cleanup of the 890-square-mile site.
"This is the second major contract award for Washington Group at the Idaho National Laboratory in the last few months, and we are thrilled to continue our involvement in work so vital to our state and nation," said Stephen G. Hanks, president and CEO of Washington Group. Hanks noted that the company is part of the Battelle Energy Alliance that was selected by the DOE for a $4.8 billion contract to operate the INL in November 2004.
Under the contract announced today, CH2M-WG Idaho will be responsible for treatment and disposal of radioactive waste; retrieval, disposal, and other remediation related to buried waste; safe management of spent nuclear fuel; disposition of nuclear materials; disposition of reactor and non-reactor nuclear facilities; and other environmental remediation activities.
The DOE announced that CH2M-WG Idaho is expected to work closely with the public, regulators, and other contractors working at the Idaho site to ensure success of the cleanup. The CH2M-WG Idaho team will immediately begin transitioning into its new role and take over management of the cleanup work on May 1, 2005. The contract runs through Sept. 20, 2012.
The contract specifically states that the more than 2,600 employees currently employed in the cleanup effort will be offered employment by CH2M-WG Idaho. According to the DOE, CH2M-WG Idaho was selected for the contract as a result of a competition to determine the best value for the taxpayer.
"Washington Group has been a contractor at the site for more than a half-century during which time we either designed, built, or operated many of the primary facilities on the site," said Hanks. "Today's announcement and Washington Group's participation with the Battelle Energy Alliance team certainly says a great deal about our company's ability to take on a broad range of complex and challenging projects."
Washington Group International Inc. (www.wgint.com) provides integrated engineering, construction, and management solutions for businesses and governments worldwide. With about 25,000 employees at work in over 40 states and more than 30 countries, the company provides professional, scientific, management, and development services in more than two dozen major markets: power generation, transmission and distribution, and clean air solutions; environmental remediation; heavy civil construction; mining; nuclear services; defense, homeland security, and global threat reduction; industrial, chemical, and pharmaceutical processing; manufacturing; facilities operations and management; transportation; and water resources.
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