LOS ANGELES — (BUSINESS WIRE) — April 30, 2015 — AECOM (NYSE: ACM), the world's #1-ranked engineering design firm, announced today that an AECOM-led joint venture with CH2M Hill, commonly known as UCOR, has been authorized by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to perform optional work within the existing contract to continue cleanup of Tennessee's Oak Ridge Reservation.
The options exercised are valued at $104 million, against the current $2.5-billion value of UCOR’s performance-based contract. Since beginning work in August 2011, UCOR’s mission has been to remove environmental hazards and millions of square feet of legacy facilities from the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, now called East Tennessee Technology Park, and repurpose the land and buildings for use by new job-creating, commercial ventures. The joint venture is also responsible for cleanup work at other DOE Oak Ridge Reservation sites, surveillance and maintenance of select reservation facilities slated for demolition, and disposal of wastes.
“We are grateful for DOE’s confidence in our performance and in our UCOR employees, as expressed through this exercised work scope,” said James Taylor, executive vice president and general manager of AECOM’s nuclear and environment business unit. “We will continue our momentum in completing cleanup of the East Tennessee Technology Park and move forward with other critical initiatives designed to support cleanup and preserve the history of this site.”
According to Taylor, UCOR’s impressive safety record during its tenure played a role in the DOE’s decision to exercise the options, pointing out that employees and subcontractors have worked more than three million safe hours.
The scope calls for UCOR to continue cleanup of the East Tennessee Technology Park while performing ongoing environmental-management missions, such as facility surveillance and maintenance and various waste management operations at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 Nuclear Security Complex. During this phase, UCOR will support the construction of commemorative facilities as part of the National Historic Preservation Project.
The Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant – originally known as the K-25 Site – began operations during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project. The wartime mission was to produce enriched uranium for use in atomic weapons. The plant also produced uranium for the commercial nuclear power industry from 1945 until 1985.
UCOR is a joint venture between URS, which is now part of AECOM, and CH2M Hill. UCOR is responsible for cleanup of the East Tennessee Technology Park (formerly the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant) as well as other sites on the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation.
About AECOM
AECOM is a premier, fully integrated professional and technical services firm positioned to design, build, finance and operate infrastructure assets around the world for public- and private-sector clients. With nearly 100,000 employees — including architects, engineers, designers, planners, scientists and management and construction services professionals — serving clients in over 150 countries around the world, AECOM is ranked as the #1 engineering design firm by revenue in Engineering News-Record magazine’s annual industry rankings, and has been recognized by Fortune magazine as a World’s Most Admired Company. The firm is a leader in all of the key markets that it serves, including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, oil and gas, water, high-rise buildings and government. AECOM provides a blend of global reach, local knowledge, innovation and technical excellence in delivering customized and creative solutions that meet the needs of clients’ projects. A Fortune 500 firm, AECOM companies, including URS Corporation and Hunt Construction Group, had revenue of approximately $19 billion during the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2014. More information on AECOM and its services can be found at www.aecom.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking statements" for purposes of federal and state securities laws, including statements relating to the future value and performance of our service agreement as well as future economic and industry conditions. Actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in any of our forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements are set forth in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, 2014, and our other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AECOM does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements.