The Naval Nuclear Laboratory has transitioned to a new contractor. 

Fluor Marine Propulsion, a subsidiary of the Fluor Corporation that has the contract for the Idaho Cleanup Project, now has the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Navy's contract to run the Naval lab facilities. It took over from Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation; its contract expired on Sept. 30.

Naval Nuclear Laboratory employees work at the Naval Reactors Facility at Idaho National Laboratory and three other facilities — two in the Albany, N.Y., area and one in Pittsburgh — plus numerous shipyard and vendor locations.

The estimated combined award value of these contracts is approximately $30 billion over 10 years if all options are exercised, a July DOE news release said.

"The contracts awarded to (Fluor Marine Propulsion) represent the best value to the Government and will provide 10 years of stability for the (Naval Nuclear Laboratory)," the July news release said.

The Naval lab's mission is unchanged, the Naval Nuclear Laboratory said in a news release, and the entire workforce will transition to work under the new management.

In August 2017, the Naval Reactors Facility on the DOE desert site west of Idaho Falls held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new spent nuclear fuel handling facility.

The new handling facility, slated to open in 2024, will better equip workers to handle spent aircraft carrier fuel. The facility is expected to serve storage needs until 2060. Construction of the facility is expected to create about 350 on-site jobs. Total cost for the project is estimated to be $1.65 billion.

Fluor Marine also is the Navy's contractor for support to the naval nuclear fleet and training of naval reactor plant operators.