URS-Led Partnership Receives Contract Extension to Manage the U.S. Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

URS Corporation (NYSE: URS) today announced that a URS-led partnership has received a two-year contract extension to manage and operate the U.S. Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico. Under the terms of the extension, the partnership, Washington TRU Solutions, will manage and operate WIPP from October 1, 2010 through September 2012. The two-year contract has a maximum value of $428.5 million to the partnership.

The contract includes performance goals to accelerate the cleanup of nuclear waste left over from the production of nuclear weapons and related research, including protective clothing, tools and other contaminated material. WIPP is the world’s first underground repository certified for the safe and permanent disposal of transuranic radioactive waste, which is material contaminated with man-made radioisotopes that are heavier than uranium. In addition to managing the repository, which is located in a 2,150-foot-deep geologic salt formation, Washington TRU Solutions coordinates the transportation of materials to WIPP and classifies incoming waste.

"We are very pleased that the Department of Energy has reinforced its confidence in our performance by extending our contract through 2012,” said Thomas Zarges, President, Energy & Construction, URS Corporation. "URS is a leader in the management of nuclear and hazardous waste facilities for the DOE, and we look forward to continuing to assist the agency in its important work at WIPP.”

WIPP is a cornerstone of the nation’s nuclear cleanup effort. Recently, the plant’s Environmental Management System received the ISO 14001 certification for best environmental management practices and the 2009 "Best in Class” award from the U.S. Department of Energy for conservation efforts. In addition, the drivers who haul the defense-related transuranic waste to WIPP recently surpassed 10 million safe, loaded miles. The first of more than 8,450 shipments to WIPP arrived 11 years ago from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico. Washington TRU Solutions won its initial contract for work at WIPP in 2000.

URS Corporation (NYSE: URS) is a leading provider of engineering, construction and technical services for public agencies and private sector companies around the world. The Company offers a full range of program management; planning, design and engineering; systems engineering and technical assistance; construction and construction management; operations and maintenance; and decommissioning and closure services. URS provides services for power, infrastructure, industrial and commercial, and federal projects and programs. URS Corporation has approximately 42,000 employees in a network of offices in more than 30 countries (www.urscorp.com ).