Prior information notice
This notice is for prior information only
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Nuclear Waste Services Limited
05608448
Pelham House, Pelham Drive,
Calderbridge, Seascale
CA20 1DB
UK
Contact person: Patrick Butler
E-mail: patrick.butler@nuclearwasteservices.uk
NUTS: UKD1
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/nuclear-waste-services/about
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/nuclear-waste-services/about
I.3) Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Other: Disposal of Nuclear Waste
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
PIN Peer Review of Initial Site Evaluations
Reference number: C25208
II.1.2) Main CPV code
73000000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
The Consultant’s team should consist of a minimum of two peer reviewers. The peer reviewers should be independent of the Employer’s work to develop the ISE and the associated permit applications. Give the novel nature of the ISE and associated permit application, direct experience of the staged regulation guidance and ISE development is therefore not possible.<br/><br/>The peer reviewers should have significant (10 years +) international experience of the development of Environmental Safety Cases for geological disposal facilities and the associated regulatory requirements. The Consultant should describe in their tender how the skills and experience of their team will benefit the peer review process and overall quality of the ISE submissions.<br/><br/>We are looking for Suppliers to provide views on:<br/><br/>· Firm bidding intention<br/><br/>· The Contract Technical Specification (CTS)<br/><br/>· Availability and feasibility of the procurement timescale
II.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT:
500 000.00
GBP
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
73200000
90712000
73210000
73110000
44421722
90711200
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UK
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Nuclear Waste Services is responsible for implementing geological disposal of the UK’s most hazardous radioactive waste and is currently working towards identifying potential sites for a geological disposal facility (GDF). Non-intrusive investigations and site evaluations have found that Search Areas under consideration have the potential to host a GDF. Further site investigations, including intrusive (deep borehole) investigations, are now needed to underpin GDF feasibility and environmental safety arguments. These assessments will then support decision-making on the preferred locations for the surface and sub-surface elements of a GDF associated with each Search Area.<br/><br/><br/>The Environment Agency has set out a process of ‘staged regulation’ of the GDF implementation process [3]. Staged regulation begins with an application for an environmental permit to undertake surface-based intrusive investigations to obtain information about sub-surface conditions. Preparation of an Initial Site Evaluation (ISE) to support such an environmental permit application is consistent with the environmental regulators’ guidance on implementing geological disposal (the GRA) [3] and preliminary guidance on the scope and content of an ISE (the 2014 ISE Guidance) [7]. The development of an ISE for a GDF has no precedent and EA has never determined a Schedule 23 application for intrusive investigation works. Consequently, there is a degree of uncertainty surrounding the approaches and expectations from both an applicant and regulatory perspective.<br/><br/>This PIN should be read in conjunction with the following documents, all of which can be viewed on Atamis: https://atamis-2464.my.site.com/s/Welcome<br/><br/>• Contract Technical Specification<br/>• Request for Information<br/>• Atamis Supplier User Guide<br/>• Overview of the BATs Marketplace<br/>You will be required to register on Atamis, and once registration is complete you can search for this PIN using the Atamis search box and using the title as a reference – PIN BATs - PEER REVIEW OF INITIAL SITE EVALUATIONS (ISE) - C25208
II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice:
02/05/2025
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
06/05/2025