Repository program update: Management and operating contractor and program transition activities

To help assure that the work on the spent-fuel and high-level nuclear waste management system would proceed in a well-structured, systematic, and integrated manner, the US Department of Energy (DOE) concluded in early 1987 that it should obtain a management and operating contractor. To this end, in October 1987, DOE issued a request for a proposal of a management and operating contractor to be responsible for overall systems engineering, development, and management of the nuclear waste management system, (NWMS). On December 9, 1988, DOE announced the selection of Bechtel Systems Management, Inc. (BSMI) for an initial term of 10 yr. At the present time, site characterization work is being carried out by nine major organizations under contract to the Yucca Mountain Project Office in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bechtel Systems Management, Inc., will ensure that work on the NWMS proceeds in an integrated manner to meet technical, schedule, cost, safety, environmental, and quality assurance requirements; that the work meets regulatory requirements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Environmental Protection Agency; and that the work is consistent with applicable DOE orders. The transition plan is described.