Agency delays decision on lab pact

Agency delays decision on lab pact


By Sue Vorenberg
Tribune Reporter
November 24, 2005

Two words: government paperwork.

That's why the National Nuclear Security Agency expects a short delay before it's ready to announce who will operate Los Alamos National Laboratory, agency spokesman Al Stotts said.

The decision was originally scheduled for Dec. 1, but on Wednesday Stotts said the agency pushed it back to better prepare its report analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the two bidders: Lockheed Martin and the University of Texas team or the University of California and Bechtel.

"It's not supposed to be a significant delay," Stotts said. "The Source Evaluation Board simply needs a little more time to finish its report. It won't delay implementation down the line."

The agency hasn't announced a new date for the decision yet, he said.

UC has held the operating contract for the lab since it was founded in the 1940s. That contract expires on May 1. The deadline and transition will continue as planned despite the delay, Stotts said.

The news likely adds to the stress of Los Alamos employees wondering what will happen to their benefits and daily lives under a new contractor, said Doug Roberts, a former lab employee who operates a popular blog on the topic at www.lanl-the-real-story.blogspot.com.

"I imagine the news of the delay is disappointing - people would like to get the announcement behind them so they can move on," Roberts said.

"Los Alamos is a funny place, though. For the people thinking about it, I'm sure it's stressful, but there's not an insignificant fraction of people who aren't stressing at all. They're just going about their jobs."

Traffic on his blog has increased over the past few weeks, as rumors spread that the National Nuclear Security Agency might make an announcement before the Dec. 1 deadline, Roberts said.

"It's certainly the most common topic of conversation around town," he said. "People are hungry for news. They want to know what's going on."

The news didn't change plans for either of the bidding teams, spokesmen on both sides said.

Jeff Berger, a spokesman for the UC-Bechtel team, said his group is eager to hear the results but understands the process is difficult.

"We've been preparing all along to effect a smooth transition if we're selected, and we'll continue with those preparations," Berger said.

Don Carson, a spokesman for the Lockheed-UT team, said his group also isn't reading anything into the delay.

"We delivered a pickup truck full of boxes with copies of our proposal," Carson said. "Each copy was about a foot high. That's a lot of information. This is a very complex and detailed proposal, and I think the selection committee is just making sure it does its job right."