Bechtel has secured a three-year contract extension from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to continue managing and operating the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The extension reinforces confidence in the performance of the Bechtel-led Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO), which has exceeded waste-shipment targets every year since the contract began.
Under SIMCO’s leadership, WIPP reached its 1,000th waste shipment earlier this year, marking a significant milestone for the nation’s only deep geologic repository for defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste. The facility safely receives waste from 22 generator sites across the United States.
Since taking over operations in 2022, SIMCO has delivered major infrastructure upgrades while maintaining uninterrupted waste processing. In 2025 alone, the team completed more than two million safe work hours with no lost-time incidents, underscoring a strong safety culture and disciplined operational performance.
Key achievements during the contract period include the delivery of the Underground Ventilation System, the largest containment ventilation system in the DOE complex. The system was completed more than a year ahead of schedule and $10 million under budget, with minimal disruption to WIPP operations. Now fully operational, it supplies 540,000 cubic feet per minute of clean air to the repository, significantly improving worker safety and enabling multiple underground activities to occur simultaneously.
SIMCO also completed construction and commenced operations of a new utility shaft more than a year ahead of schedule and $5 million under budget. The shaft increases ventilation capacity and provides an additional access and emergency egress route. In addition, the team completed a $15 million refurbishment of the salt pocket and salt hoist, restoring critical functionality needed to support ongoing underground mining for future waste emplacement panels.
Located more than 2,100 feet underground, WIPP consists of a network of disposal rooms excavated in a stable salt formation that naturally encapsulates radioactive waste over time, isolating it from the environment for thousands of years. The facility has been in continuous operation since 1999.
Bechtel’s involvement with WIPP dates back to 1978, when it led site investigations, geologic and seismic studies, and early engineering work. Over the decades, the company has played a central role in the design, construction, operation, and long-term safety planning of the facility.
The contract extension reflects Bechtel’s longstanding partnership with the DOE and its more than 75 years of experience delivering complex nuclear operations, environmental remediation, and waste management projects, contributing to a safer, cleaner, and more secure future.
