Centerra begins new Savannah River Site security contract

Jul. 21—The protests are over and the time for working has begun: Centerra recently began a new five-year contract at the Savannah River Site.

Centerra, the paramilitary security provider at the Department of Energy-owned site south of Aiken, began working under a new contract on July 15.

Centerra is a subsidiary of Constellis. The company has provided paramilitary security services for the Department of Energy-owned site located 20 miles south of Aiken since 1983. It also provides paramilitary security services to six other Department of Energy sites.

Mark Bolton, Centerra's Savannah River Site general manager, said the company is very pleased the Department of Energy chose it to continue protecting the site located around 20 miles south of Aiken.

"We look forward to continuing our tradition of safely providing effective, cost-efficient and professional security services at the Site," Bolton added in a news release.

The Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management awarded Herndon, Va.-based Centerra a contract of up to 10 years and just over $1 billion Jan. 12. The contract begins as a cost-plus-award-fee agreement for five years. There are also two options that would extend the contract a total of five more years.

The Office of Environmental Management is the Department of Energy office responsible for the management of the Savanah River Site and other Department of Energy-owned sites where nuclear waste was produced during the Cold War.

The new contract also calls for Centerra to continue to partner with subcontractors Critique, Innovative Technology Partnership, LLC; Innovative Reasoning, LLC; and Westech International, Inc.

The Office of Environmental Management originally awarded the security services contract to SRS Critical Infrastructure in 2021.

Two protests were filed to the Government Accountability Office over the award. The Government Accountability Office denied the protests but recommended changes to the solicitation process which led to the selection of Centerra.