Office of Environmental Management (EM)

The head of Washington’s state regulatory agency for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site said recently he is not opposed to grout so long as DOE keeps its focus on the ongoing operation to turn liquid waste into glass.  In a May letter to DOE, Washington state Department of Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller urged the […]

The Washington, D.C.-based Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) said this week there is no need for New Mexico to revamp the latest state permit for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., only two years after it was issued. “It is important to continue and accelerate shipping TRU ]transuranic] waste from […]

The version of the  fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed 44-12 by the House Armed Services Committee Thursday night would endorse the Department of Energy’s nuclear remediation branch to spend up to about $7.2 billion on Defense Environmental Cleanup.  Last month the House Appropriations Committee advanced a proposed Energy & Water Development budget […]

The version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill recently voted out of the House Appropriations Committee endorses key Department of Energy projects getting underway at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash and the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. At Savannah River Site (SRS) DOE is directed to brief the House Appropriations […]

Four years after an agreement apparently resolved a federal safety watchdog’s access to staff and records at Department of Energy nuclear sites, the dispute appears to be back. In an April 29 letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s (DNFSB) lone member said DOE is not complying with its […]

The Department of Energy’s liquid waste contractor at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., is inviting expressions of interest (EOI) for vendors interested in the West Area Tank Farms Risk Management (WARM) construction services work. “WARM is being constructed to supply material for off-site treatment and disposal, supporting compliance with regulatory milestones,” according to the […]

The Department of Energy and the Washington state Department of Ecology will hold a public meeting June 17 on a proposed modular system at the Hanford Site’s 200 West Area to remove cesium from tank waste prior to grouting. The hybrid meeting is set for June 17 at 5:30 p.m. PT in the Gallery Room […]

The Department of Energy and the Washington state Department of Ecology will hold a public meeting June 17 on a proposed modular system at the Hanford Site’s 200 West Area to remove cesium from tank waste prior to grouting. The hybrid meeting is set for June 17 at 5:30 p.m. PT in the Gallery Room […]

The Department of Energy’s liquid waste contractor at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., is inviting expressions of interest (EOI) for vendors interested in the West Area Tank Farms Risk Management (WARM) construction services work. “WARM is being constructed to supply material for off-site treatment and disposal, supporting compliance with regulatory milestones,” according to the […]

Years after an agreement apparently resolved a federal safety watchdog’s access to staff and records at Department of Energy nuclear sites, the dispute appears to be back. In an April 29 letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s (DNFSB) lone member said DOE is not complying with its Atomic […]

The version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill recently voted out of the House Appropriations Committee endorses key Department of Energy projects getting underway at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash and the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. At Savannah River Site (SRS) DOE is directed to brief the House Appropriations […]

About 81 million pounds of rubble have been cleared away from the two-acre footprint of the former Alpha-2 building site at the Y-12 National Security Complex at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. That amounts to about 3,500 truckloads of debris being hauled away from the former uranium enrichment […]

A key environmental document and Record of Decision (ROD) issued Thursday by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) clears the way for expanding operations for Sandia National Laboratories over the next 15 years. The “expanded operations alternative” endorsed the NNSA’s final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement and ROD should allow Sandia to build […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory may require significant electrical infrastructure upgrades within several years as artificial intelligence programs, supercomputing systems and weapons modernization activities sharply increase power demand, the lab’s Deputy Director for Mission Operations Mark Davis said this month. Speaking before the Los Alamos County Council, Davis said the laboratory is pursuing plans for a […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory may require significant electrical infrastructure upgrades within several years as artificial intelligence programs, supercomputing systems and weapons modernization activities sharply increase power demand, the lab’s Deputy Director for Mission Operations Mark Davis said this month. Speaking before the Los Alamos County Council, Davis said the laboratory is pursuing plans for a […]

As part of its Energy & Water funding bill advanced last week, the House Appropriations Committee wants the Department of Energy’s cleanup office to report within six months on what to do about certain radioactive waste at the West Valley Demonstration Project near Buffalo, N.Y. The bill passed out of House Appropriations would order DOE’s […]

Veolia Nuclear Solutions – Federal Services has made personnel changes in two high-level management positions aimed at improving its engineering and technology business lines, the company said on May 20. According to a Veolia Nuclear Solutions – Federal Services (VNSFS) spokesperson, the company has promoted its former Vice President of Technology Deployment Brett Campbell to […]

The governing board for Benton County, Wash., home to the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, has urged New Mexico officials not to restrict interstate shipments of transuranic waste to DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. “The Benton County Board of Commissioners writes to express our concern that the draft permit modification for […]

The governing board for Benton County, Wash., home to the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, has urged New Mexico officials not to restrict interstate shipments of transuranic waste to DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. “The Benton County Board of Commissioners writes to express our concern that the draft permit modification for […]

About 81 million pounds of rubble have been cleared away from the two-acre footprint of the former Alpha-2 building site at the Y-12 National Security Complex at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. That amounts to about 3,500 truckloads of debris being hauled away from the former uranium enrichment […]

As part of its Energy & Water funding bill advanced last week, the House Appropriations Committee wants the Department of Energy’s cleanup office to report within six months on what to do about certain radioactive waste at the West Valley Demonstration Project near Buffalo, N.Y. The bill passed out of House Appropriations would order DOE’s […]

The wildfire-prone New Mexico county where the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory is located has entered “stage 1 fire restrictions,” according to a recent post from the Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities. “Fire Marshal Colorado Cordova of the Los Alamos Fire Department (LAFD) has enacted fire restrictions to Stage 1, effective […]

Staffing vacancies in key positions at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) have grown more acute, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report made public Tuesday. The office in charge of nuclear cleanup at Cold War and Manhattan Project sites “has become further understaffed since GAO reported on EM’s workforce […]

The full House Appropriations Committee voted 34-25 this week to approve about $7.7 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management for fiscal 2027. That would be less than the $8.5 billion enacted by Congress for fiscal 2026 and the $8.2 billion sought by the Donald Trump White House. A link to the […]

Shipments to the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) appear to be back in full swing, with the facility receiving 55 waste shipments in April.  That’s the highest total since the 61 shipments of defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste that WIPP received in September 2025. It was also higher than the 47 it received […]

The Department of Energy and its construction manager for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) said Tuesday the facility has now vitrified 100,000 gallons of liquid tank waste into a solid glass form. “Each gallon of immobilized waste brings us closer to a cleaner, safer environment and revitalized community,” Brian Hartman, WTP project director […]

LOS ALAMOS N.M. — Federal cleanup managers told the Los Alamos Board of Public Utilities on Wednesday that a hexavalent chromium plume migrating from beneath Los Alamos National Laboratory remains “uncontrolled” although there remains no threat to local drinking water. The situation around the lab and Pueblo de San Ildefonso tribal land was detailed by […]

While the House Appropriations Committee proposes to spend less in fiscal 2027 for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site than in fiscal 2026, or what was requested by the White House, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.)  said there is still enough to meet cleanup milestones. During a committee markup, Newhouse, the longtime incumbent who represents Washington’s […]

The Department of Energy has plenty of details to iron out when it comes to grouting low-level radioactive tank waste at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report Wednesday. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management plans to grout low-level, or what it also calls “low-activity,” radioactive waste, from […]

The Department of Energy and its construction manager for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) said Tuesday the facility has now vitrified 100,000 gallons of liquid tank waste into a solid glass form. “Each gallon of immobilized waste brings us closer to a cleaner, safer environment and revitalized community,” Brian Hartman, WTP project director […]