Office of Environmental Management (EM)

As the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) seeks a larger-than-expected budget increase for 2021, another branch of the Department of Energy is seeking much less funding for cleanup of excess nuclear-weapon production sites The Office of Environmental Management (EM) is requesting about $200 million for remediation at NNSA-owned facilities in the budget year beginning Oct. 1, […]

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) on Thursday expressed dismay at the dramatically reduced level of money the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state would receive under the White House latest budget request. The agency has a moral and legal obligation to clean up 56 million gallons of liquid waste, generated by decades of plutonium production […]

While remediation is nearly complete at a couple of the 16 sites overseen by the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management, other cleanup efforts could last late into this century, according a roundup included in the Donald Trump administration’s budget request for fiscal 2021. The Energy Department announced in June 2019 that demolition of facilities […]

Liquid waste management at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina is in line to receive $1.05 billion in fiscal 2021, including a significant spike in spending on treatment activities that would cover the soon-to-be-operational Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). The $1.05 billion, if approved by Congress, would be a $144.7 million […]

Amentum, the Maryland-based successor to AECOM’s Management Services branch, announced a pair of executive promotions this week. Tom Foster, president and project manager at the Savannah River Remediation joint venture in South Carolina, on Wednesday was named chief operating officer for Amentum’s Nuclear & Environment business unit. On Thursday, the company said it is promoting […]

Operations at the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) project in Utah resumed within just a few days earlier this month after a truck overturned while carrying a load of waste, an Energy Department spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. A truck carrying a container of uranium mill tailings rolled onto its side while rounding a corner […]

The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management is taking resumes for the permanent job of managing the Hanford Site in Washington state, a post currently held by Brian Vance. In addition, Environmental Management soon seek applicants to replace Jeff Griffin, the associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations, who is leaving DOE to join […]

Nuclear remediation sites overseen by the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management would receive another small bump in funding for safeguards and security in fiscal 2021, according to budget tables released by the Donald Trump administration early Monday. The proposal for $321 million in the budget year beginning Oct. 1 is a step up from […]

While BWX Technologies lost out on a multibillion-dollar remediation contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state, President and CEO Rex Geveden said Tuesday he is optimistic about a “robust” pipeline of potential Energy Department projects. “Unfortunately, we were not awarded the Hanford Central Plateau Cleanup contract,” Geveden said during the Lynchburg, Va.-based company’s quarterly […]

The Department of Energy has requested a roughly $250 million reduction in cleanup funding for the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee as crews complete major demolition at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP). The Trump administration has asked for $431 million in environmental management (EM) funding for Oak Ridge in fiscal 2021, which starts Oct. […]

The Department of Energy is seeking comments on plans to use grout to shore up a trio of underground waste structures in danger of collapse at the Hanford Site in Washington state. In a notice Tuesday, DOE said the comment period is between March 23 and April 24 on its plans for the facilities located […]

The Energy Department said Feb. 21 it intends to extend its contractual arrangement for decommissioning of the Portsmouth Site in Ohio with vendor Fluor-BWXT by up to two years. The DOE Office of Environmental Management intends to negotiate a sole-source 12-month extension with two six-month options, according to a notice posted on a federal procurement […]

Operations at the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) project in Utah resumed within just a few days earlier this month after a truck overturned while carrying a load of waste, an Energy Department spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. A truck carrying a container of uranium mill tailings rolled onto its side while rounding a corner […]

A former head of the prime contractor for the Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, Philip Breidenbach, will lead the vendor team in charge of managing liquid waste at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Amentum, the successor to AECOM’s government contracting branch, announced Thursday that Breidenbach will replace Tom […]

Jeff Griffin, the associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations at the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management, is leaving to take a post with the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories in Chalk River, Ontario. Griffin’s departure, effective March 11, was announced in an email sent to staff members Tuesday from Environmental Management Principal Deputy Assistant […]

The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina enacted an emergency response Tuesday morning when a vehicle attempting to enter a secure area activated explosive detection systems. Site barricades remained open through the duration of the emergency response and there was “no indication of a consequence beyond the Savannah River Site boundaries,” according […]

While BWX Technologies lost out on a multibillion-dollar remediation contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state, President and CEO Rex Geveden said Tuesday he is optimistic about a “robust” pipeline of potential Energy Department projects. “Unfortunately, we were not awarded the Hanford Central Plateau Cleanup contract,” Geveden said during the Lynchburg, Va.-based company’s quarterly […]

Amentum, the Maryland-based successor to AECOM’s Management Services branch, on Wednesday named longtime industry manager Tom Foster as chief operating officer of its Nuclear & Environment business unit. Foster has more than 35 years of experience in the nuclear industry, from decommissioning to operations, according to a company press release. Most recently, he was president […]

The Department of Energy is seeking comments on plans to use grout to shore up a trio of underground waste structures in danger of collapse at the Hanford Site in Washington state. In a notice Tuesday, DOE said the comment period is between March 23 and April 24 on its plans for the facilities located […]

The Energy Department is accepting resumes for the job of managing the Hanford Site in Washington state, a post currently held by Brian Vance. The agency on Tuesday formally invited expressions of interest for the job of overseeing both the Richland Operations Office and Office of River Protection (ORP) at Hanford, the sprawling complex that […]

Nuclear remediation sites overseen by the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management would receive another small bump in funding for safeguards and security in fiscal 2021, according to budget tables released by the Donald Trump administration early Monday. The proposal for $321 million in the budget year beginning Oct. 1 is a step up from […]

Energy Department contractor BWX Technologies took in $501 million of revenue during the fourth quarter of 2019, a 5% uptick over $478 million a year earlier. In addition, the Lynchburg, Va.-based company reported late Monday that revenue of nearly $1.9 billion for the 12 months ended Dec. 31 set a new record and represented a […]

The Department of Energy on Monday said it would “leverage past experience” and apply best practices to make remediation of 16 nuclear sites more cost-effective in upcoming fiscal year. The language is found in the introduction to the detailed 415-page report for the $6.1 billion budget proposed for the Office of Environmental Management in fiscal […]

The Energy Department said Friday it intends to extend its contractual arrangements for decommissioning of the Portsmouth Site in Ohio with vendor Fluor-BWXT by up to two years. The DOE Office of Environmental Management intends to negotiate a sole-source 12-month extension with two six-month options, according to a notice posted Friday on a federal procurement […]

The Department of Energy said last week it wants to promptly shore up some aging facilities at risk of failure at the Hanford Site in Washington state, which could endanger human health and the environment. The agency conducted structural analyzes at several old structures following the May 2017 partial collapse of Tunnel 1 at the […]

An article in the Feb. 18 issue of Weapons Complex Morning Briefing should have reported the Energy Department could keep the incumbent remediation contractor for the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee in place through July 2022.

Utah-based Petersen Inc. has scored two subcontracts worth $37.8 million to provide stainless-steel containers and an extra melter for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) being built at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Plant construction and operations prime Bechtel National announced the award Tuesday. The vitrification plant will convert much of […]

The Energy Department declined several requests from prospective vendors to extend the Feb. 3 deadline for bidding on a potential 10-year, $3 billion Nationwide Deactivation, Decommissioning, and Removal Contract for excess facilities. The Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center last month published 152 questions and answers from potential bidders on the final request for proposals (RFP) […]

Twenty firms attended the Feb. 11 industry day for a potential five-year contract to provide support services at the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Kentucky. In addition to incumbent Swift & Staley, participants included Spectra Tech, Atkins Nuclear, GEM Technologies, Navarr0 Research and Engineering, ARS Aleut Remediation, Banda Group International, Boston Government Services, and […]

The Department of Energy on Feb. 14 confirmed the potential $21-billion integrated mission contract for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina will last up to 15 years. “Task orders may be placed any time during the 10 year ordering period and the execution of the actual work may extend up to 5 years” afterward, […]