How to Write a Plant Decommissioning Scope of Work

Most decommissioning projects that go badly went badly at the bid stage. The owner sent out a one-page request, got back four numbers that varied by a factor of three, picked one, and then spent the project arguing about change orders — because the four bidders were each pricing a different job.

A decommissioning scope of work does not have to be long. It has to be specific about six things.

1. Define the end state, precisely

This is the most important sentence in the document. What does "done" look like?

• Building empty and broom-clean, structure intact?
• Building stripped to bare shell, all MEP removed?
• Structure demolished, slab remaining?
• Structure and slab removed, site graded, seeded, and stormwater-compliant?

Write it as a physical description someone can stand on the site and verify. "Decommission the facility" is not an end state; "all process equipment and piping removed, electrical distribution removed to the main disconnect, slab and foundations remaining, floors swept" is.

2. Specify equipment disposition, item by item

The most valuable part of the document. For each significant asset, state which of four things happens:

• Owner retains — do not touch, protect in place, or the owner removes it
• Relocate — move to another owner facility
• Sell — contractor or owner monetizes; specify who keeps proceeds
• Dispose/scrap — the contractor handles it

Attach an equipment list with nameplate data, and mark anything with resale value. This single attachment is what separates bids that are comparable from bids that are not, because a contractor who is keeping the salvage prices very differently from one who is not.

And state explicitly how salvage value is handled: does the contractor keep it, is it credited as a line item, or is it split? Silence here is where money quietly disappears.

3. Nail down hazardous and regulated materials

State what surveys exist and attach them. Specify who is responsible for:

• Asbestos survey and abatement — see asbestos survey requirements
• Lead paint assessment
• Refrigerant recovery and documentation
• Process chemicals, fuels, and tank cleaning
• PCB-suspect transformer oil and lighting ballasts
• Universal waste — lamps, batteries, mercury devices
• Contaminated soil, if any is known or suspected

If surveys have not been done yet, say so, and either put them in the contractor's scope or make it clear the pricing excludes abatement pending results. Unstated hazmat is the number one source of change orders in this business.

4. Address utilities explicitly

Which utilities stay live during the work — because crews need power and water — and which get disconnected, when, and by whom? Who pays for the disconnects and the utility company's charges? Which systems have to remain functional at the end, if any: fire protection, security, lighting, or the service to an adjacent building sharing the feed?

This is a common trap on partial decommissionings where one part of a campus keeps operating.

5. Set the schedule and the constraints

Include the milestone dates that matter, and every constraint the site imposes: allowed work hours, whether adjacent operations continue, whether shutdown windows exist, noise and dust limits, access and haul routes, badging and safety orientation requirements, and lease or sale deadlines that cannot move.

If there is a hard end date driven by a lease expiration or a closing, say so prominently. It changes crew sizing and therefore price.

6. Define documentation and closeout deliverables

State what you need in your file at the end:

• Waste manifests and disposal receipts
• Refrigerant recovery documentation
• Abatement clearance reports
• Utility disconnect confirmations
• Permit closeout
• Final photos of the end state
• Equipment disposition record with values

Owners who ask for this up front get it. Owners who ask afterward get a shrug.

What to attach

Site plan with the work area marked, floor plans, the equipment list, existing surveys, prior environmental reports, and photos. Then hold a mandatory site walk — mandatory, because bids from contractors who never saw the building are not bids.

What you get back

With a scope like this, bids become comparable, salvage is priced honestly instead of buried, and the change orders that do come up are genuine surprises rather than gaps you left open.

We bid decommissioning work this way as a matter of course, and we will help you build the equipment list if you do not have one — because we are the buyer for most of what is on it. See plant cleanup, and the plant decommissioning checklist for the field-level version of this document.

Call (689) 323-4676 or request a quote.