Friday, May 30, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
DOE gets OK to award contract
Firm would help agency prepare Yucca license application
By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- A federal court has cleared the way for the Energy Department to hire a new law firm for the Yucca Mountain Project.
A New York firm's bid to block DOE from awarding a legal services contract was denied late Wednesday by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, attorneys confirmed.
With the obstacle removed, DOE could announce a multimillion-dollar award soon, since a 30-day congressional waiting period expires today.
DOE spokesman Joe Davis declined to say when the department would grant the contract. "We continue the process, and we are moving expeditiously," he said.
The selected firm would help DOE prepare its license application for a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It also would represent the department in license hearings before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Department officials had estimated contract value at between $17 and $21 million through 2007, when the NRC could complete its repository evaluations.
LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, a New York-based firm, sought an injunction to block DOE from hiring anyone else for the job. The firm is already embroiled in a court dispute with the Energy Department after being passed over for a Yucca Mountain legal contract in 1999.
The firm that won that job, Chicago-based Winston and Strawn, departed in November 2001 amidst conflict allegations.
Michael McBride, a LeBoeuf, Lamb partner, said Thursday his firm will continue to pursue its already filed lawsuit against the government. Oral arguments are scheduled Sept. 16.
"Our legal position is that we are entitled to the work," McBride said. "We are going to put DOE on notice we intend to continue to pursue the case until it is decided on the merits."
The legal services contract also has drawn comment from critics of the Yucca Mountain Project because DOE has chosen to bypass the government's customary formal bidding process in selecting a winner.
