Archive

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.

  • Former Communications Director Becomes New EM Chief of Staff

    Mike Nartker, a former communications director at the Department of Energy’s Office’s Office of Environmental Management is now chief of staff, according to a new organizational chart posted online last Wednesday. In the post, Nartker reports to DOE’s acting assistant secretary for environmental management (EM) William (Ike) White.  In addition to supporting White and principal […]

  • Radwaste Summit Rescheduled for November

    The Exchange Monitor’s RadWaste Summit has been rescheduled to Nov. 3-5 at the J.W. Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa in Summerlin, Nev. For more information, please contact Beth Wagner, associate brand director for the RadWaste Summit.

  • Citizens Group Wants Longer Comment Period for Hanford 2,000-Gallon Test Bed

    An advocacy group wants the Department of Energy to provide at least 60 days, rather than 14, for public comment on a draft environmental assessment of a federal plan to grout up to 2,000 gallons of low-activity tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington and ship the material out of state.  The current 14-day […]

  • House Committee’s 2022 NDAA Authorizes Big Outlay for Defense Cleanup

    The House Armed Services Committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2022 would authorize the full $6.84 billion sought by the Joe Biden administration for Defense Environmental Cleanup at Department of Energy nuclear sites, according to the chairman’s mark. The House Armed Services Committee early Thursday approved its version of the 2022 […]

  • Portsmouth Cleanup Contractor Pockets 85% of Potential Fee

    Overall, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth claimed $30 million, or 85% of a potential $35.3 million in total available fee, for its work at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site for an 18-month period ending March 31. The Fluor-led contractor earned $7.4 million or 70% out a potential $10.6 million in subjective fee, according to the scorecard from […]

  • Momentum Builds for Employee Vax Orders Across Weapons Complex

    There have been 29 deaths from COVID-19 across the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup enterprise, 6,141 confirmed cases since the pandemic began and at least two prime contractors at major federal sites that say they will order employees to get vaccinated. Those are a few of the pre-Labor Day developments confirmed by Weapons Complex Monitor […]

  • Navarro Takes Over as Carlsbad Tech Contractor After Protest Dismissed at GAO

    Navarro Research & Engineering took over this week as the new Carlsbad Technical Assistance in New Mexico after a challenge to its $76-million award from the Department of Energy was dismissed. According to a notice filed Friday, Aug. 27, on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) website, the challenge lodged July 26 by Pecos Technical Solutions […]

  • Veolia Wins 89% of Fee in Final 7 Months at 222-S Lab

    Veolia earned about 89% of its potential fee from the Department of Energy during its last seven months of analytic work at the Department of Energy’s 222 S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Washington state. That is according to a fee scorecard published by DOE earlier this month. A Veolia unit took home $148,707 […]

  • Wrap Up: Odors Prompt Temporary Hanford Take-Cover Order; WIPP Plans Panels

    The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state lifted a take cover order about four hours after workers detected strange odors Wednesday morning in the 200 West Area of the cleanup complex. Crews investigating reports of odors near the Reduction Oxidation (REDOX) plant found no evidence of radiation or a chemical release near the […]

  • Judge Says SBA Erred in Finding Swift & Staley Too Big for Set-Aside

    An appeals panel within the Small Business Administration erred in May when it found Swift & Staley was too big to qualify for a $160-million Department of Energy set-aside contract for services at the Paducah Site in Kentucky, a U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge ruled. The ruling turned on whether a Swift & Staley […]

  • UCOR Reaps 98% of Potential Fee in 1H 2021

    For the second review period in a row UCOR, the Amentum-Jacobs cleanup team at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, is pocketing 98% of its potential fee from the Department of Energy. The contractor earned 100% of its almost $7.9 million potential fee for the first half of fiscal 2021, from Oct. 1, 2020 through […]

  • West Valley Contractor Eyes Demo of Main Plant Building Early Next Year

    The Department of Energy’s Jacobs-led contractor for remediation of the West Valley Demonstration Project in western New York could begin taking down the Main Plant Process Building this year, a manager said at a public meeting Wednesday. Deactivation of the contaminated facility should be finished later this fall, although the schedule could always slip due […]

  • Centerra Bid Protest on SRS Security Contract Dismissed for Now

    The Government Accountability Office has formally dismissed a bid protest brought last month by incumbent Centerra over the Department of Energy’s $1-billion security contract award to a rival at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina — but that might not be the end of the dispute. In a notice dated Aug. 9, the Government […]

  • State, DOE to Discuss Plans for New Waste Panels at WIPP

    A public meeting is set for 5 p.m. Mountain Time today as the New Mexico Environment Department reviews plans by the Department of Energy and its prime contractor for two new underground disposal panels at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad. The Amentum-led Nuclear Waste Partnership, which includes BXW Technologies, will present information on […]

  • Take Cover Order Lifted Hours After Hanford Workers Smell Odors

    The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state lifted a take cover order about four hours after workers detected strange odors Wednesday morning in the 200 West Area of the cleanup complex. Crews investigating reports of odors near the Reduction Oxidation (REDOX) plant found no evidence of radiation or a chemical release near the […]

  • UCOR Reaps 98% of Potential Fee in 1H 2021

    For the second review period in a row UCOR, the Amentum-Jacobs cleanup team at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, is pocketing 98% of its potential fee from the Department of Energy. The contractor earned 100% of its almost $7.9 million potential fee for the first half of fiscal 2021, from Oct. 1, 2020 through […]

  • Portsmouth Cleanup Contractor Pockets 85% of Potential Fee

    Overall, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth claimed $30 million, or 85% of a potential $35.3 million in total available fee, for its work at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site for an 18-month period ending March 31. The Fluor-led contractor earned $7.4 million or 70% out a potential $10.6 million in subjective fee, according to the scorecard from […]

  • Judge Says SBA Miscounted Size of Swift & Staley JV in Ruling Out Company for Small Biz Award

    An appeals panel within the Small Business Administration erred in May when it found Swift & Staley was too big to qualify for a $160-million Department of Energy set-aside contract for services at the Paducah Site in Kentucky, a U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge ruled. The ruling turned on whether a Swift & Staley […]

  • West Valley Contractor Eyes Demo of Main Plant Building Early Next Year

    The Department of Energy’s Jacobs-led contractor for remediation of the West Valley Demonstration Project in western New York could begin taking down the Main Plant Process Building this year, a manager said at a public meeting Wednesday. Deactivation of the contaminated facility should be finished later this fall, although the schedule could always slip due […]

  • DOE Gears Up Vaccine Vetting, Testing Program at Hanford

    The Department of Energy is implementing an electronic system for employees and contractors to either verify they are vaccinated against COVID-19, or refuse to reveal their status, according to a Monday letter to workers at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “On Friday, DOE launched an electronic vaccination attestation form to obtain information from federal […]

  • Challenge to Carlsbad Tech Contract Dismissed at GAO

    A bid protest filed in July after Navarro Research & Engineering won the $76-million Carlsbad Technical Assistance Contract from the Department of Energy has been dismissed. According to a notice filed Friday on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) website, the challenge lodged July 26 by Pecos Technical Solutions has been dismissed. At DOE’s direction, Oak […]

  • Draft of House Version of 2022 NDAA Authorizes Big Outlay for Defense Cleanup

    The House Armed Services Committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2022 would authorize the full $6.84 billion sought by the Joe Biden administration for Defense Environmental Cleanup at Department of Energy nuclear sites, according to the chairman’s mark. Defense cleanup of 16 Cold War and Manhattan Project sites accounts for most […]

  • Veolia Wins 89% of Fee in Final 7 Months at 222-S Lab

    Veolia earned about 89% of its potential fee from the Department of Energy during its last seven months of analytic work at the Department of Energy’s 222 S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Washington state. That is according to a fee scorecard published by DOE earlier this month. A Veolia unit took home $148,707 […]

  • N3B Los Alamos Lacks Mandate, But Most Vaccinated

    While the management contractor for the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has ordered its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by this fall, the legacy nuclear cleanup contractor at the site had not, at deadline. Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) “encourages vaccinations against COVID-19 among its employees and […]

  • Swift & Staley Gets Favorable Ruling in Paducah Small Biz Lawsuit

    Swift and Staley may yet keep a key small business support contract at the Paducah Site in Kentucky after the Court of Federal Claims last week granted motions sought by the contractor in a lawsuit.  A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Friday issued a written opinion, not yet publicly available, in an appeal Swift […]

  • With No SRS Waste Award Yet, Bid Offers Could Get Stale

    If the Department of Energy does not make an award soon for the Integrated Mission Completion Contract at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, the agency might need to contact bidders to ensure offers on the multibillion-dollar procurement are still good, sources said this week. The DOE issued its request for proposals nearly 11 […]

  • Centerra Bid Protest on SRS Security Contract Dismissed for Now

    The Government Accountability Office has formally dismissed a bid protest brought last month by incumbent Centerra over the Department of Energy’s $1-billion security contract award to a rival at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina — but that might not be the end of the dispute. In a notice dated Aug. 9, the Government […]

  • Comments Sought by DOE on Draft Environmental Review for 2,000-Gallon Test Bed

    The Department of Energy is taking public comment on a draft environmental assessment of its plan to grout up to 2,000 gallons of low-activity tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington and ship the material out of state.  The 14-day public comment period on the Test Best Initiative, officially started Saturday and runs through […]

  • WIPP Bounced Back with 41 Shipments in July

    The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant received 41 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste in July, making it one of the busier months since the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading in the United States in early 2020. Last month’s total is up from the 23 shipments in July 2020, during deep pandemic times. It is […]

  • White House Considering EM-1 Nominees, Source Says

    President Joe Biden’s administration is starting to weigh potential nominees for a permanent assistant secretary for environmental management, including one who has held the post before, an industry source said last week. Under consideration for a possible return to the nuclear-weapons cleanup office is Monica Regalbuto, who led the office from 2015 until 2017 and […]