Bechtel announced it received a three-year extension from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to continue managing and operating the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Under the leadership of the Bechtel-led Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO), the site has surpassed its waste-shipment targets every year since the start of the contract, reaching its 1,000th shipment earlier this year.
“We are pleased to extend SIMCO’s contract for the next three years,” said Mark Bollinger, Manager of DOE’s Carlsbad Field Office. “SIMCO has been an exceptional partner, safely emplacing waste from across the nation while completing critical infrastructure projects ahead of schedule and under budget, all without disrupting WIPP’s mission or compromising safety.”
Since 2022, the SIMCO team has strengthened the nation’s only deep geologic repository for defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste by delivering major infrastructure upgrades, ensuring uninterrupted waste processing, and completing more than 2 million safe work hours in 2025 with no lost-time incidents.
“Bechtel’s close partnership with DOE, our strong safety culture, and delivery focus has enabled us to lay the groundwork for safe, compliant and effective operations at WIPP for decades to come,” said Ben Souther, Bechtel’s General Manager of Environmental and Security. “The progress we’ve made over the past three years under SIMCO is a true credit to our people who continue to drive safe, smart solutions at WIPP.”
Other recent milestones by Bechtel-led SIMCO include capital infrastructure improvement projects such as:
Delivery of the Underground Ventilation System (UVS), the largest containment ventilation system in the DOE complex, over a year early, $10 million under budget, and with minimal impact to WIPP activities. Now operational, the UVS delivers 540,000 cubic feet per minute of clean air into the repository, more than tripling previous airflow. This substantial increase enhances worker safety and enables key activities like waste emplacement, mining and ground control to occur simultaneously.
Completion of construction and start of operations for the new utility shaft (i.e., achievement of Critical Decision-4), more than a year ahead of schedule and $5 million under budget. This project adds ventilation capacity while also serving as another access and egress point into the mine.
Completion of the $15 million refurbishment of the salt pocket and salt hoist, the sole channel for transporting mined salt to the surface. Years of geologic pressure had deformed the original 55-foot-deep cavity, requiring a full recut to restore function. Now complete, the upgrade enables WIPP to safely continue underground mining activities for Panel 11, the next waste emplacement panel.
Located more than 2,100 feet underground, WIPP is a network of disposal rooms carved from an ancient salt formation. Originally designed, engineered and constructed by a team that included Bechtel, WIPP has operated since 1999, safely accepting TRU waste—including clothing, tools, rags, residues, debris, soil and other items contaminated with small amounts of plutonium and other human-made radioactive elements—from 22 generator sites nationwide. Over time, the salt naturally encapsulates the waste emplaced in disposal rooms and safely isolates it from the environment for thousands of years.
Bechtel’s involvement with WIPP started in 1978, initially leading the site investigation and conducting geologic and seismic analyses. The team also handled mathematical modeling for waste and underground rooms, along with heat transfer and salt creep studies. Once the decision was made to move forward, Bechtel led engineering and major equipment procurement, managed construction planning and scheduling, and prepared safety analyses and environmental reports.
For more than 75 years, Bechtel has partnered with the DOE to deliver nuclear operations, project management, construction, cleanup, decommissioning, remediation and closure at legacy nuclear and hazardous waste sites, making the world cleaner, safer and more secure.