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.

  • WIPP Contractor Gets New Leadership

    The contractor that manages the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico will have new leadership starting next month. Sean Dunagan will succeed Bruce Covert as president and project manager for AECOM-led Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP), according to an announcement Tuesday. He will begin with a two-week transition alongside Covert starting […]

  • DNFSB Closes Hanford Waste Treatment Plant Safety Recommendation

    The U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has officially closed an 8-year-old recommendation that identified significant failings in the safety culture for the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) being built at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. “The Board has concluded that the Department of Energy has adequately addressed the underlying causes […]

  • Energy Dept. Investigating Portsmouth Contractor’s Radiation Protection Program

    The U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) is investigating possible breaches of federal nuclear safety regulations by the cleanup contractor at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The probe involves “radiation protection program implementation deficiencies at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant,” according to an Aug. 8 notice of intent to investigate Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth. Investigators […]

  • Bid Deadline for DOE Nevada Environmental Contract Extended Until September

    The U.S. Energy Department is giving contractors an extra month to submit their bids for the next environmental remediation contract at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The deadline for requests for proposals (RFP) for the Nevada Environmental Program Services contract, originally set for Aug. 21, has been being pushed back to 4 p.m. ET […]

  • President Trump Signs Budget Caps Bill

    President Donald Trump on on Aug. 2 signed H.R. 3877, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, into law after the bill passed the House July 25 and the Senate Aug. 1. The legislation suspends the debt limit through July 31, 2021, and sets defense spending toplines at $738 billion for fiscal 2020 and $741.5 billion […]

  • Settlement Talks Continue Over WIPP Waste Volume Reporting

    One of three plaintiffs is continuing mediation in hopes of reaching a settlement in a lawsuit against the New Mexico Environment Department over calculating underground waste volume at the U.S. Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety (CCNS) filed the request for extended mediation July 31 with the New Mexico […]

  • Hanford Contracts Delay, Reactor Closure Blunt BWXT Earnings

    BWX Technologies expects to share in high-dollar contracts at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state, but is tempering its 2019 earnings outlook due to the slower-than-expected pace of awards. The company is lowering its full-year operating income guidance for the Nuclear Services Group, which includes BWXT’s work for the DOE nuclear cleanup office that […]

  • Jacobs Hopes to Remain On Job at Hanford Site

    Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering hopes to win at least one of two Energy Department awards for potential 10-year, multibillion-dollar contracts at the Hanford Site in Washington state, including one where it is the incumbent vendor. Jacobs Chairman and CEO Steve Demetriou said Monday he anticipates DOE will award the Central Plateau Cleanup Contract at Hanford soon, […]

  • Judge Reasserts SRR Discrimination Allegations as Case Heads for Trial

    A federal judge this week dismissed a key component in a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by an African-American woman who says she was unfairly terminated, and subsequently not rehired, by the liquid waste management contractor for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. In her order, U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs […]

  • AECOM Confident About Spinoff of Government-Contracting Unit

    The top brass at AECOM said this week it has received plenty of positive feedback since announcing June 17 that it would spin off the business segment that contracts with the Department of Energy and other federal agencies. “We are moving ahead of schedule” toward separating the Management Services line into its own publicly traded […]

  • Nevada Expects to Review Details on Mislabeled DOE Waste This Month

    The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) expects by the end of this month to receive additional U.S. Energy Department information on numerous shipments of mislabeled radioactive waste to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). After reviewing the latest material from DOE, the state “will determine whether the material is stable in the current disposal […]

  • Energy Department Issues RFI Notice for Remediation at Knolls Laboratory

    The U.S. Energy Department on Tuesday issued a sources sought/request for information for remediation of the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and the Kesselring Site, both in New York state. The agency wants to gauge small business interest in a potential contract that includes tearing down and removing contaminated facilities, along with waste management services, at […]

  • Hanford Comment Period on PUREX Risk Mitigation Ends This Month

    The Richland Operations Office for the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state has extended the comment period on a cost and engineering report for hazard mitigation at the Plutonium Uranium Extraction (PUREX) Plant until Aug. 17. The original comment deadline was Aug. 2 for the engineering evaluation/cost analysis (EE/CA). The federal agency announced the […]

  • Perma-Fix Environmental Services Revenue Jumps in 2Q

    Perma-Fix Environmental Services on Thursday reported a 30.2% spike in its second-quarter revenue, from $13.2 million in 2018 to $17.1 million in 2019. That encompassed a 75.4% sales boost in the Atlanta-based company’s services business, from $4 million last year to $7 million in the latest reporting period, along with a more modest 10.4% revenue […]

  • Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Vendor N3B Extends Deadline for Background Check Bids

    After receiving no bids initially, the legacy cleanup contractor for the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is extending its search by two weeks for a subcontractor to provide background checks on job applicants. Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) pushed back the proposal deadline from Aug. 5 until 3 p.m. Mountain […]

  • No Contamination Results from Plutonium in LANL Glove Box

    A “trace amount of plutonium” found inside a glove box at the Los Alamos National Laboratory on June 27 did not endanger any employees, a spokesman for the Department of Energy facility in New Mexico said Wednesday. Employees discovered an “unexpected powdery residue” underneath a brush in a material management room glove box at the […]

  • Wrap Up: Pike County Meeting Set to Discuss Portsmouth Contamination Sampling

    The Scioto Valley Local School District in Ohio plans a community meeting Saturday to discuss radioactive contamination concerns at a middle school located about 2 miles from the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site. Zahn’s Corner Middle School will be tested for radioactive byproducts released into the air by the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant during past uranium […]

  • Perma-Fix Earnings Spike in 2Q

    Perma-Fix Environmental Services on Thursday reported a 30.2% spike in its second-quarter revenue, from $13.2 million in 2018 to $17.1 million in 2019. That encompassed a 75.4% sales boost in the Atlanta-based waste management specialist’s business, from $4 million last year to $7 million in the latest reporting period, along with a more modest 10.4% […]

  • Pike County Meeting Planned to Discuss Portsmouth Contamination Sampling

    The Scioto Valley Local School District in Ohio plans a community meeting Saturday to discuss radioactive contamination concerns at a middle school located about 2 miles from the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site. Zahn’s Corner Middle School will be tested for radioactive byproducts released into the air by the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant during past uranium […]

  • Longenecker Promotes Manager for High-Hazard Work

    Department of Energy contractor Longenecker & Associates has promoted Mike Briggs to the newly created post of group vice president for High-Hazard Operations support. Briggs joined the Las Vegas-based company last year and helped launch the business line that supports incident response and recovery at DOE sites, the company said in a Monday press release. […]

  • Corporate Execs Don’t Expect Hanford Tank Contract Soon

    Executives with a couple companies hoping to win at least a share of the mega-dollar Tank Closure Contract at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington suggested this week the award will be delayed a few months. That was a shared message during quarterly earning calls Monday and Tuesday from senior executives at AECOM and […]

  • Energy Department Issues Notice for Remediation at Knolls Laboratory

    The U.S. Energy Department on Tuesday issued a sources sought/request for information for remediation of the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and the Kesselring Site, both in New York state. The agency wants to gauge small business interest in a potential contract that includes tearing down and removing contaminated facilities, along with waste management services, at […]

  • AECOM Upbeat About Spinoff of Government-Contracting Unit

    The top brass at AECOM has received plenty of positive feedback since announcing June 17 that it would spin off the business segment that contracts with the Department of Energy and other federal agencies. “We are moving ahead of schedule” toward separating the Management Services line into its own publicly traded company, Chairman and CEO […]

  • Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Vendor N3B Extends Deadline for Background Check Bids

    After receiving no bids initially, the legacy cleanup contractor for the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is extending its search by two weeks for a subcontractor to provide background checks on job applicants. Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) pushed back the proposal deadline from Monday until 3 p.m. Mountain time […]

  • Hanford Comment Period on PUREX Risk Mitigation Extended

    The Richland Operations Office for the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state has extended the comment period on a cost and engineering report for hazard mitigation at the Plutonium Uranium Extraction (PUREX) Plant until Aug. 17. The original comment deadline was Friday for the engineering evaluation/cost analysis (EE/CA). The federal agency announced the deadline […]

  • BWXT Revenue Rises to $471M in 2Q

    BWX Technologies said Monday it posted $471 million in revenue for the second quarter of 2019, 7.4% better than the $439 million recorded for the same period in 2018. Net income for the quarter dropped slightly to $58.9 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, from $60.7 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, a year earlier. […]

  • AECOM Quarterly Revenue Dips

    AECOM on Tuesday reported $4.98 billion in revenue for its third quarter of fiscal 2019, 3.3% less than the $5.15 billion it took in during the same period a year ago. Revenue at the Los Angeles-based government contractor was affected by lower than expected storm recovery work in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company’s net […]

  • Jacobs Hopes to Remain at Hanford Site

    Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering hopes to win at least one of two Energy Department awards for potential 10-year, multibillion-dollar contracts at the Hanford Site in Washington state, including one where it is the incumbent vendor. Jacobs Chairman and CEO Steve Demetriou said Monday he anticipates DOE will award the Central Plateau Cleanup Contract at Hanford soon, although […]

  • Trump Signs Budget Caps Bill

    President Donald Trump on Friday signed H.R. 3877, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, into law after the bill passed the House July 25 and the Senate Aug. 1. The legislation suspends the debt limit through July 31, 2021, and sets defense spending toplines at $738 billion for fiscal 2020 and $741.5 billion in fiscal 2021. […]

  • Settlement Talks Continue Over Waste Volume Reporting at WIPP

    One of three plaintiffs plans to continue mediation in hopes of reaching a settlement in a lawsuit against the New Mexico Environment Department over calculating underground waste volume at the U.S. Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety (CCNS) filed the request for extended mediation Wednesday with the New Mexico […]