Office of Environmental Management (EM)
DOE’s Office of Environmental Management runs the cleanup of Cold War nuclear weapons production sites, the largest environmental remediation program in the world. Coverage tracks EM budgets, contract awards, tank waste treatment, and site closure milestones across Hanford, Savannah River, Oak Ridge, Idaho, Portsmouth, and Paducah.
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Cleanup & Remediation
Cost continues to rise for most Environmental Management megabuck projects
The Department of Energy’s projected cost for cleaning up the radioactive waste legacy of the Cold War and Manhattan Project continues to mount, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report made public this week. “As of May 2025, EM [DOE’s Office of Environmental Management] estimated that the remaining cleanup work at all its […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Knerr joins Navarro as vice president of tech services
Reinhard Knerr, a Department of Energy executive who retired in January after more than a quarter-century federal career, is now vice president of technical services at Navarro Research & Engineering. Knerr announced his new position in a post on his LinkedIn page within the past week. “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Landlord contractor HMIS settles Hanford fire safety overbilling case
The landlord contractor for the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., has agreed to pay roughly $5 million to settle Justice Department litigation alleging the company “fraudulently overcharged” the Department of Energy for hours not actually worked over many years. Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) must pay the feds roughly $3.45 million — including $1.73 […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Knerr joins Navarro as vice president of tech services
Reinhard Knerr, a Department of Energy executive who retired in January after more than a quarter-century federal career, is now vice president of technical services at Navarro Research & Engineering. Knerr announced his new position in a post on his LinkedIn page within the past week. “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
N3B sets Wednesday briefing on discharge permit issues
The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office and its cleanup contractor will update stakeholders on storm water runoff issues Wednesday starting at 2 p.m. Mountain Time. Specifically, DOE and contractor Newport News Nuclear-BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) will discuss the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s storm water individual permit. The permit is issued through […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Cost continues to rise for most Environmental Management megabuck projects
The Department of Energy’s projected cost for cleaning up the radioactive waste legacy of the Cold War and Manhattan Project continues to mount, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report made public this week. “As of May 2025, EM [DOE’s Office of Environmental Management] estimated that the remaining cleanup work at all its […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Coming up:
Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: March: 04: Hearing: House Armed Services Committee will hear testimony from secretaries from different arms of the military on energy, environment and installations at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on Capitol Hill. 05: Hearing: House Armed Services Committee will hear from Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary […]
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National Laboratories
Florida International lands $20M in DOE nuclear research funding
Florida International University (FIU) will receive $20 million in financial assistance from the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management to support advanced nuclear cleanup technology, DOE said Friday. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management announced the five-year grant benefitting FIU’s Applied Research Center in a Feb. 27 press release. The five-year deal that starts Sunday […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Administration not renewing nuclear cleanup advisory board
The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Advisory Board is being discontinued after 30 years, the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) said Tuesday. Members of the Environmental Management Advisory Board (EMAB) were recently informed that DOE during the second Donald Trump administration has decided “to sunset the board,” ECA said in a member email Tuesday. The EMAB […]
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Vitrification & Grout
DOE seeks Hanford permit mod to grout some secondary waste
The Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office has asked Washington state for a permit change that could enable the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) to process up to 20% more tank waste. The feds said in a Wednesday press release they want to use grout to solidify some of the secondary waste generated at […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE to review responses to draft RFP on Los Alamos legacy cleanup biz
The Department of Energy is reviewing responses to a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the Legacy Cleanup Contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The deadline for responding to the draft RFP was Thursday Feb. 26. The DOE Office of Environmental Management plans to eventually issue a final RFP to continue legacy remediation at […]
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Reindustrialization & Redevelopment
Environmental Management hires reindustrialization specialist
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said this week it is hiring an executive to help industrial redevelopment at DOE nuclear sites. In a Monday post on LinkedIn, Environmental Management head Tim Walsh said the nuclear cleanup office has appointed Jim Kahler, who Walsh described as a “seasoned adviser and strategist.” Kahler will […]
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Decommissioning
K West exhaust stack comes down at Hanford
A Department of Energy contractor has demolished a 175-foot-tall K West Reactor exhaust stack at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., DOE said Friday Feb. 20. Last week’s implosion of the exhaust stack marks another big step by Amentum-led contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company towards cocooning the last of nine Hanford reactors being placed into […]
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Vitrification & Grout
DOE seeks Hanford permit mod to grout some secondary waste
The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site has asked the Washington state Department of Ecology for a permit change that could enable the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) to process up to 20 percent more tank waste. The feds said in a Wednesday press release they have asked to use grout to solidify some of the secondary […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Administration not renewing nuclear cleanup advisory board
The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Advisory Board is being discontinued after 30 years, the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) said Tuesday. Members of the Environmental Management Advisory Board (EMAB) were recently informed that DOE during the second Donald Trump administration has decided “to sunset the board,” ECA said in a member email Tuesday. The EMAB […]
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Decommissioning
K West exhaust stack comes down at Hanford
A Department of Energy contractor has demolished a 175-foot-tall K West Reactor exhaust stack at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., DOE said Friday Feb. 20. Last week’s implosion of the exhaust stack marks another big step by Amentum-led contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company towards cocooning the last of nine Hanford reactors being placed into […]
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Reindustrialization & Redevelopment
Environmental Management hiring reindustrialization specialist
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said Monday it is hiring an executive to help industrial redevelopment at DOE nuclear sites. In a post on LinkedIn, Environmental Management head Tim Walsh said the nuclear cleanup office had appointed Jim Kahler, who Walsh described as a “seasoned adviser and strategist.” Kahler will “drive reindustrialization […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Draft RFP responses on Los Alamos legacy cleanup biz due this week
The Department of Energy is seeking responses to a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the Legacy Cleanup Contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory by Thursday Feb. 26. The DOE Office of Environmental Management plans to eventually issue a final RFP to continue legacy remediation at Los Alamos. The business is now held by […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Wrap Up: Amentum details JV holdings; White House appoints nuclear policy adviser; Illinois could add nuclear; mini-reactor goes to military base; more
Virginia-based Amentum holds an ownership stake in about 30 active joint ventures, the company said in a financial filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Amentum’s ownership percentages in these joint ventures, typically limited liability corporations or LLCs, “range from 25% to 50%,” the company said in an SEC filing around the […]
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Data Centers & Energy Demand
Paducah data center presentation draws big crowd
More than 100 company and individual attendees took part in a Department of Energy session in December on development plans for an artificial intelligence data center at the Paducah Site in Kentucky, according to an online procurement notice. Amentum, Ameresco, Big Rivers Electric Cooperative, Burns & McDonnell, BWXT, Catawba, Fluor, General Matter, Geosyntec, Global Laser […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Fluor reports lower earnings for quarter, year
Earnings fell at Fluor, Irving, Texas, during the fourth quarter of 2025, which the engineering and construction company partly attributes to a share buyback program and losing an overseas court ruling. Net earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31 were a net loss of $1.6 billion or a loss of $9.87 a share, down from […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP commences winter maintenance outage
The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. is in the midst of a winter outage that could last through mid-March, according to a site spokesperson. During the outage, receipt of transuranic (TRU) waste from various sites across the DOE complex is on hold. The spokesperson could not immediately provide Exchange […]
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Decommissioning
EM makes headway on taking down Idaho Naval prototype facilities
The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office said this week it is making solid progress on taking down a pair of old Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program prototype facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory. In a Tuesday press release, the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) said it is tearing down 1960s era structures around the […]
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Decommissioning
EM makes headway on taking down Idaho Naval prototype facilities
The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office said this week it is making solid progress on taking down a pair of old Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program prototype facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory. In a Tuesday press release, the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) said it is tearing down 1960s era structures around the […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP commences winter maintenance outage
The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. is in the midst of a winter outage that could last through mid-March, according to a site spokesperson. During the outage, receipt of transuranic (TRU) waste from various sites across the DOE complex is on hold. The spokesperson could not immediately provide Exchange […]
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Data Centers & Energy Demand
Paducah data center presentation attracts big crowd
More than 100 company and individual attendees took part in a Department of Energy session in December on development plans for an artificial intelligence data center at the Paducah Site in Kentucky, according to an online procurement notice. Amentum, Ameresco, Big Rivers Electric Cooperative, Burns & McDonnell, BWXT, Catawba, Fluor, General Matter, Geosyntec, Global Laser […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: Centrus earnings dip; DOE nuclear records go digital; Hanford cyber team looks for threats; Paducah land cleared for major projects
Earnings fell at Centrus Energy, Bethesda, Md., in the fourth quarter, which the uranium broker attributed to the decreased revenue from its uranium sector. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 were $17.8 million, or $0.79 a share, down from $53.7 million, or $3.20 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue was […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Amentum reports mixed earnings, CEO bullish on nuclear
Earnings rose at Amentum, Chantilly, Va., in its first quarter, which the international engineering and technology company attributed to surging interest in nuclear both to power the grid and to support space exploration. Net earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 ended Jan. 2 were $44 million, or $0.18 a share, up from $12 […]
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Transuranic Waste
NMED takes action against DOE over rate of Los Alamos WIPP shipments
The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) is taking enforcement action against the Department of Energy, saying DOE has failed to prioritize legacy nuclear cleanup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In a Wednesday press release, NMED said it was issuing orders to hold DOE “accountable” for foot-dragging in moving old defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste from […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
‘Energy dominance parks’ coming to DOE nuclear complex
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup complex will soon become host to “energy dominance parks,” Tim Walsh, the assistant secretary of energy for Environmental Management, said here Tuesday evening. In coming months, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management will make announcements for both data centers for artificial intelligence (AI) and new nuclear power, […]










