Lockheed Sues Over Canceled Contract

Lockheed Martin Corp. filed suit in federal court against the Energy Department, which terminated a $200-million contract with the company to clean up a radioactive waste site in Idaho. Lockheed filed its lawsuit the same day the Energy Department ended its contract with the Bethesda, Md.-based company. Lockheed contends the cleanup will cost more than triple the $179-million estimate in the 1994 contract, and it has petitioned the department for more money. The department and Lockheed have been battling for months over who should pay for huge cost overruns on the contract, which involves decontaminating a one-acre patch of toxic soil at the department’s Idaho Falls national laboratory site called “Pit 9.” The Lockheed suit claims “that DOE’s interference hampered and prevented [Lockheed’s] performance,” the company said. Lockheed said it “will vigorously contest this termination but will continue to explore alternate means for resolving its dispute with DOE.”