The Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office may have an ongoing requirement for management and operation of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is a government reservation located in the southeastern Idaho desert. At 890 square miles (569,135 acres), INL is roughly 85 percent the size of Rhode Island. It was established in 1949 as the National Reactor Testing Station, and for many years was the site of the largest concentration of nuclear reactors in the world. Fifty-two nuclear reactors were built, including the U.S. Navy’s first prototype nuclear propulsion plant. During the 1970s, the laboratory’s mission broadened into other areas, such as biotechnology, energy and materials research, and conservation and renewable energy. At the end of the Cold War, waste treatment and cleanup of previously contaminated sites became a priority.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is only the most recent inhabitant of the desert on which INL sits. Prehistoric campsites, historic homesteads, roads and canals are evidence of earlier inhabitants. The INL Cultural Resource Working Group, which includes historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, and representatives of the Shoshone-Bannock tribes and DOE, works to identify artifacts on the site and to protect and preserve their integrity.

Today, INL is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to meeting the nation’s environmental, energy, nuclear technology, and national security needs. INL is a multi program, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) emphasizing applied engineering to provide solutions for use across the DOE complex, as well as regionally, nationally, and world wide.

• Establish the INL as the preeminent, internationally-recognized laboratory in nuclear energy technologies (including advanced fuel cycles)
• Establish the INL as a major national security technology development and demonstration center
• Develop and implement innovative approaches and adopt practices that foster continuous improvement and efficiency in accomplishing the INL missions
• Maintain capabilities essential to support the INL’s principal and supporting missions
• Enhance the INL’s role as a multi-disciplinary research center contributing to other national goals and obtain international recognition in the science and engineering fields
• Use innovative approaches to achieve the DOE vision effectively and efficiently
• Consistent with its missions, make INL’s unique scientific and technical capabilities, resources and services available to DOE, other Federal agencies, state and local governments, academia, and the private sector
• Market INL capabilities to strengthen programmatic results and impacts
• Solve technical, financial, and regulatory issues associated with program objectives
• Significantly improve the cost effectiveness of the INL and accept financial and programmatic responsibility for Contractor and Subcontractor conduct
• Establish and implement an effective Contractor Assurance System
• Identify national or commercial standards and best business practices that can be used in place of DOE requirements and implement those approved by DOE
• Conduct activities and the work in a manner that instills public confidence in the INL
• Conduct public outreach in a manner that sufficiently informs the public about, and actively generates support for, INL programs
• Actively recruit and retain minorities and women in senior technical and management positions
• Work in a manner that is safe to workers, the public, and the environment
• Comply with legal requirements and the terms and conditions of this contract
• Provide for the long-term sustainability of the INL