Office of Environmental Management (EM)

AECOM disclosed Nov. 29 that Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Carla Christofferson was resigning her post effective immediately. The Los Angeles-based infrastructure multinational said its leadership and Christofferson “mutually agreed” she would resign her management position, but would remain a “non-executive” employee of AECOM through Dec. 16, according to a filing with 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 Monday after 25 years as […]

The U.S. Energy Department’s prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., is optimistic the state will green light its plans for a new utility shaft that is opposed by two local advocacy groups. “The project remains on course as we prepare for the construction process,” Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP) spokesman Bobby […]

The U.S. Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico received 275 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during the first 10 months of this year, compared to 272 during the same period in 2018. October is the last full month for which shipment information is available through WIPP’s public database. It shows that the […]

Rick Perry ended his tenure as U.S. secretary of energy on Sunday, but not before issuing a press release highlighting the progress of cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) in Ventura County, Calif. “I am proud of the work the Department of Energy (DOE) has done to advance the final cleanup of the […]

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, […]

After already being delayed several times, publication of a draft record of decision (ROD) for a proposed new landfill at the U.S. Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee could slip into 2020. The document is supposed to be issued Dec. 19, but DOE managers have informed the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation of […]

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 […]

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 […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite one soil sample that showed an elevated level of radioactive contamination, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) thinks land near the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant poses no significant threat to people. “Our state experts and toxicologists do not believe there is any immediate threat to public […]

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 […]

Weapons Complex Monitor will not be published on Nov. 29 in observance of the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Friday, Dec. 6.

An employee of the Savannah River Site’s liquid waste contractor believes he has lost out on tens of thousands of dollars in salary by being wrongfully demoted in favor of younger, less-experienced employees. In a lawsuit filed on Oct. 21 in U.S. District Court, Jeffery Risher, 59, alleged he and several other workers were subjected […]

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 […]

The U.S. Energy Department has roughly 6,500 cubic meters of transuranic waste yet to be shipped from the Idaho National Laboratory to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, an agency spokesperson said by email Nov. 15. That is about 10% of the 65,000 cubic meters of transuranic waste supposed to move from […]

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 […]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has set a March 3, 2020, primary followed by a May 12 special election to replace U.S. Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), who resigned on Nov. 1 after being targeted for investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Hill, who represented the state’s 25th Congressional District that adjoins the Santa Susana Field […]

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 […]

Nuclear contractor UniTech Services Group, which provides laundry services for radioactive clothing in North America and Europe, has hired industry veteran Kevin Bumpus as business development manager for government accounts. Bumpus has 36 years in the nuclear business, including management experience in facilities and operations, and helped support key U.S. Energy Department initiatives, the company […]

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 […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday advanced three of the four Trump administration nominations for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The nominees approved on voice vote were: Bruce Hamilton, current DNFSB chairman; current board member Jessie Hill Roberson; and Thomas Summers, former vice commander of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air […]

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 […]

The nomination of Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette to become energy secretary easily cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday by a 16-4 vote. The full Senate has not yet scheduled a vote on the nomination, a source said. The previously announced resignation of Energy Secretary Rick Perry takes effect Dec. 1. […]

The U.S. Energy Department has yet to actually issue its announced six-month extension for the incumbent support services vendor at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Last month, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management signaled it plans to keep Leidos-led Mission Support Alliance (MSA) on the job after its current extension expires Monday. That next extension […]

The U.S. Energy Department has roughly 6,500 cubic meters of transuranic waste yet to be shipped from the Idaho National Laboratory to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, an agency spokesperson said by email Friday. That is about 10% of the 65,000 cubic meters of transuranic waste supposed to move from the […]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has set a March 3, 2020, primary followed by a May 12 special election to replace U.S. Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), who resigned on Nov. 1 after being targeted for investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Hill, who represented the state’s 25th Congressional District that adjoins the Santa Susana Field […]

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 […]

Nuclear contractor UniTech Services Group, which provides laundry services for radioactive clothing in North America and Europe, has hired industry veteran Kevin Bumpus as business development manager for government accounts. Bumpus has 36 years in the nuclear business, including management experience in facilities and operations, and helped support key U.S. Energy Department initiatives, the company […]