Hanford Site

A major defense policy bill would effectively block the U.S. Department of Energy from applying its new interpretation of high-level radioactive waste during fiscal 2020 in Washington state. That would cover the Hanford Site, a former plutonium production complex that is DOE’s largest cleanup project and home to much of its high-level waste. The fiscal […]

The Washington state Department of Ecology is threatening to fine the U.S. Energy Department for withholding important data about operations at the Hanford Site. For its part, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management claims the state misunderstands the level of access allowed under the 1989 Tri-Party Agreement that governs cleanup at the former plutonium production complex. […]

The U.S. Energy Department said Thursday it has awarded a potential 10-year, $10 billion contract for ongoing remediation of the Hanford Site Central Plateau in Washington state to a joint venture of AECOM, Fluor, and Atkins. The proposal by Central Plateau Cleanup Co., as the partnership is known, provides the best value to the federal […]

Cost and schedule issues at the Waste Treatment Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state have prompted the U.S. Energy Department to downgrade the performance of facility construction and operations contractor Bechtel National. That’s one of the observations in a semiannual report from the DOE’s Office of Inspector General regarding its work. This report […]

A compromise defense policy bill published Monday would authorize all the nuclear weapon spending the Department of Energy sought for fiscal 2020, bar the agency from downgrading the hazard classification of certain nuclear waste in Washington state, and prohibit defense funding for the proposed Yucca Mountain permanent waste repository. The House is set to vote […]

The Washington state Department of Ecology is threatening to fine the U.S. Energy Department for withholding important data about operations at the Hanford Site. For its part, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management claims the state misunderstands the level of access allowed under the 1989 Tri-Party Agreement that governs cleanup at the former plutonium production complex. […]

AECOM has named Bruce Covert as deputy general manager at the Waste Treatment Completion Co., based at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Waste Treatment Completion Co. is a joint venture formed by Bechtel and AECOM in January 2017 that acts as a subcontractor to Bechtel National for startup of low-activity waste vitrification […]

Less than two months after U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) announced plans to leave Congress, several declared candidates are jockeying to take his place. Three Democrats and two Republicans have filed to run in their respective party primaries on May 19, 2020, according to the Ballotpedia website. The victors would then square off in the […]

Washington state Department of Ecology Director Maia Bellon said Monday she would retire at the end of this month. Ecology is the state regulator for the U.S. Department of Energy’s sprawling Hanford Site through a variety of permits including the dangerous waste, or site-wide, permit. Bellon announced her pending retirement after 25 years as a […]

The U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management on Thursday awarded a potential 10-year, $4 billion contract for support services at the Hanford Site in Washington state to a slightly updated version of the incumbent vendor. Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) is comprised of Leidos Integrated Technology, Centerra Group, and Parsons Government Services. Leidos also […]

Oversight of contractors and environmental remediation remains at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Energy’s management challenges for fiscal 2020, according to a Nov. 15 special report from DOE’s Office of Inspector General. Other major concerns include nuclear waste management, cybersecurity, safeguards and security of DOE installations, civilian stewardship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, […]

A federal mediator will assist the U.S. Energy Department and the Washington state Ecology Department in their talks over cleanup milestones at the Hanford Site. The parties have agreed to use the services of a federal mediator to assist in the “holistic talks” on Hanford remediation issues, according to a slide presentation from Suzanne Dahl, […]

Based on conversations with the U.S. Department of Energy, the state of Idaho expects the long-awaited Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) will start operating in late 2020 at the Idaho National Laboratory. However, the state for now will continue to assess financial penalties over DOE’s failure to meet the deadline for beginning operations at the […]

Dan Brouillette was sworn in Wednesday as the 15th U.S. secretary of energy, after the Senate voted 70-15 to confirm him for the Cabinet spot earlier this week, a Department of Energy spokesperson said. Brouillette had served since 2017 as the deputy secretary of energy under Rick Perry, who resigned as secretary effective Sunday. The […]

Perma-Fix Northwest accepted a $23,275 fine for its failure in 2013-2014 to ensure it had sufficient third-party liability coverage for its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) radioactive waste facility in Richland, Wash., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. Representatives for the federal agency and the company signed a consent agreement on Aug. 12. […]

Jacobs Engineering on Nov. 25 posted $3.4 billion in revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 27, a step up from $3 billion from the same period a year earlier. The Dallas-based multinational reported earnings for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2019 before the market opened for the day. Its earnings per diluted share was […]

A federal mediator will assist the U.S. Energy Department and the Washington state Ecology Department in their talks over cleanup milestones at the Hanford Site. The parties have agreed to use the services of a Justice Department mediator to assist in the “holistic talks” on Hanford remediation issues, according to a slide presentation from Suzanne […]

Perma-Fix Northwest accepted a $23,275 fine for its failure in 2013-2014 to ensure it had sufficient third-party liability coverage for its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) radioactive waste facility in Richland, Wash., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. Representatives for the federal agency and the company signed a consent agreement on Aug. 12. The […]

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has not received a status report yet from the U.S. Department of Energy on procurement of a new multibillion-dollar contract for the Hanford Site in Washington state. “We haven’t received a response yet,” a Feinstein spokesman said via an email Tuesday. On Sept. 27, Feinstein, along with Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), […]

Washington state Department of Ecology Director Maia Bellon said Monday she would retire at the end of this month. Ecology is the state regulator for the U.S. Department of Energy’s sprawling Hanford Site through a variety of permits including the dangerous waste, or site-wide, permit. Bellon announced her pending retirement Monday after 25 years as […]

Oversight of contractors and environmental remediation remain at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Energy’s management challenges for fiscal 2020, according to a Nov. 15 special report from DOE’s Office of Inspector General. Other major concerns include nuclear waste management, cybersecurity, safeguards and security of DOE installations, civilian stewardship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, […]

Dallas-based Jacobs said Monday it is “rebranding” itself, but one thing that remains constant is the company’s heavy reliance on the U.S. government for a large chunk of its revenue. The international provider of construction, business, and technical services is changing its legal name from Jacobs Engineering to Jacobs Solutions, as it puts less emphasis […]

Jacobs Engineering on Monday posted $3.4 billion in revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 27, a step up from $3 billion in the same period a year earlier. The Dallas-based multinational reported earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 before the market opened for the day. Its earnings per diluted share was $0.16, a […]

CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation must stop work in radiologically contaminated areas of Building 324 at the Hanford Site in Washington state until it gets a handle on troubling incidents of contamination, according to a recent order from the U.S. Energy Department. The DOE’s Richland Operations Office “expects that workers at Hanford are protected from personnel […]

The U.S. Energy Department has formally signed a six-month extension for the incumbent support services vendor at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “We have received notice this morning that extends our period of performance six month, through May 25, 2020,” Rae Moss, a spokeswoman for Leidos-led Mission Support Alliance (MSA), said in a Thursday […]

AECOM said Friday that CEO and Chairman Michael Burke plans to retire by next year, either once his successor is found or ahead of the company’s 2020 yearly shareholders meeting scheduled for March. Burke will be the last executive to hold the dual title, the Los Angeles-based infrastructure and engineering multinational said in a press […]

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed another stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government running nearly three months into the 2020 budget year. Major news organizations reported the president signed the agreement after the Senate earlier in the day voted 74-20 to pass a House amendment that extends the current continuing resolution to […]

The U.S. Senate will vote Dec. 2, its first day back in Washington after Thanksgiving holiday break, on Dan Brouillette’s nomination to head the U.S. Department of Energy. The floor vote should occur around 5:30 p.m. ET that day, according to a Thursday Twitter post by the Senate’s Republican majority staff. Earlier Thursday, the Senate […]

Bechtel National has failed to sufficiently review the costs of subcontractors supporting construction of the $17 billion Waste Treatment Plant at the U.S. Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state, according to a recent agency audit. Between December 2000 and June 2018, Bechtel paid nearly $2 billion for 392 subcontracts with flexible prices, such as […]

CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation must suspend work in radiologically contaminated areas of Building 324 at the Hanford Site in Washington state until it gets a handle on certain “negative trend,” according to a recent order from the U.S. Energy Department. The DOE’s Richland Operations Office “expects that workers at Hanford are protected from personnel radiological […]