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.

  • Energy Capital Partners to acquire EnergySolutions again

    Energy Capital Partners, a multi-billion-dollar energy-focused investment firm, will re-acquire EnergySolutions from TriArtisan Capital Advisors for an undisclosed price, the companies said this week. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close this year. EnergySolutions said in a press release. The investment firm said the decision to buy EnergySolutions again […]

  • First vitrified glass waste goes into Hanford disposal facility

    The Department of Energy said Wednesday it has deposited its first big batch of glass logs, made from liquid radioactive tank waste, at the Hanford Site’s Integrated Disposal Facility at Richland, Wash. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and contractor Central Plateau Cleanup said in a press release that the Integrated Disposal Facility received the first […]

  • Murray dubs Trump budget ‘slap in the face’ to Hanford

    Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)  vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says the Donald Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 nuclear cleanup budget for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site is “a slap in the face to the Tri-Cities, threatening the Hanford cleanup mission and the community with this absurd budget request.” “This proposal is completely unacceptable,” […]

  • Savannah River expects to wind up liquid waste work by 2041

    Nuclear cleanup managers at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina expect to complete liquid waste remediation sometime between 2037 and 2041, according to an updated federal plan. The DOE Office of Environmental Management and contractor Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC), a BWXT-led joint venture, issued the latest update of the site’s […]

  • WIPP one of few EM sites selected for more money in DOE 2027 request

    Most Department of Energy nuclear cleanup sites would receive modest reductions in their fiscal 2027 funding, under the budget justification document released over the weekend by the White House. The request for the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM)’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., is $483 million, an increase of 12% from […]

  • White House seeks $7.2B for Defense Cleanup line item

    The Donald Trump administration is requesting $7.2-billion for Defense Environmental Cleanup in fiscal 2027, which accounts for most of the funding, for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. That would be down slightly from the $7.4-billion estimated figure for fiscal 2026, which ends Sept. 30. It would also be down from the $8.2-billion […]

  • Tennessee files application for DOE lifecycle hub

    Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) announced Thursday April 2 his state has filed an application to make the area around the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site a DOE Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus. “Tennessee’s innovation has positioned the Volunteer State as the global epicenter of nuclear energy,” Lee said in a press release.  “As our […]

  • Coming up:

    Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  APRIL: 13: Meeting: The South Carolina Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council meets starting at 1 p.m. Eastern Time in Columbia, S.C.  21: Conference: The Energy Communities Alliance sponsors a three-day conference on advanced nuclear opportunities starting at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on April […]

  • DOE seeking deputy Carlsbad manager

    The Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office in New Mexico is looking to hire a deputy manager, a post with a payscale in the range of $199,000 to $228,000. The posting, available through USA Jobs, was shared on LinkedIn Friday by DOE Carlsbad Manager Mark Bollinger. The desired candidate would be an  executive who would […]

  • White House requests $8.2B for EM; slightly less than fiscal 2026

    The Donald Trump administration rolled out its very high-level budget proposal for fiscal 2027 this Friday, April 3, which includes $8.2-billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM), which would be a haircut of $386 million. It should be noted that in recent years House and Senate Appropriators have been willing to […]

  • Hanford tank work temporarily halted

    Department of Energy contractors confirmed Friday morning that a temporary work stoppage occurred Thursday at the Hanford Site’s tank farms in Richland, Wash. The Tri-City Herald newspaper reported Friday April 3 that a labor organization, the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council, initiated the work stoppage over emergency response concerns following the on-the-job death of a […]

  • Wrap Up: Kiewit hires new VP, PPPO issues small biz tech contract; EM posts latest org chart; more

    Jeff Brunell, a longtime energy and defense executive, is now vice president of markets and strategy at Kiewit Nuclear Solutions. Brunell, who announced his new position last week on LinkedIn, was previously with AtkinsRealis as a vice president of business development. He was with Atkins two years working on business deals with the Department of […]

  • NNSA explores using Idaho National Lab waste facility

    The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is looking at using a major facility at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory for treatment of some of NNSA’s future waste streams, according to a safety board report. On Feb. 17, NNSA and members of the Amentum-led environmental cleanup contractor for Idaho National Laboratory met “to discuss […]

  • IWTU treats one-third of Idaho’s sodium-bearing waste

    The Department of Energy and its cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory have now solidified a third of the high-level sodium-bearing radioactive waste at the site, DOE said Tuesday. According to a press release from DOE’s Office of Environmental Management  and Amentum-led Idaho Environmental Coalition, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) has processed about […]

  • Phased DOE HQ relocation could start this year, classified rooms take time

    The first phase of relocating Department of Energy’s headquarters staff to a new location in Washington, D.C., could get started by the end of 2026, although it might not be finished until early 2028, a source said this week. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told a staff town hall-style meeting Wednesday April 1 the department […]

  • Hanford plans no-bid contract for expert budget, Congressional advice

    The Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office in Richland, Wash., intends to issue a sole source contract to Mercia Advisors, LLC for Highly Specialized Strategic Budgeting and Congressional Liaison Support Services, according to a March 27 procurement notice. DOE’s Hanford Field Office intends to retain the firm’s services for up to one year without going […]

  • Hanford plans no-bid contract for expert budget, Congressional advice

    The Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office in Richland, Wash., intends to issue a sole source contract to Mercia Advisors, LLC for Highly Specialized Strategic Budgeting and Congressional Liaison Support Services, according to a March 27 procurement notice. DOE’s Hanford Field Office intends to retain the firm’s services for up to one year without going […]

  • IWTU treats one-third of Idaho’s sodium-bearing waste

    The Department of Energy and its cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory have now solidified a third of the high-level sodium-bearing radioactive waste at the site, DOE said Tuesday. According to a press release from DOE’s Office of Environmental Management  and Amentum-led Idaho Environmental Coalition, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) has processed about […]

  • DH Tech wins PPPO information technology work

    A Virginia-based small business, DH Technologies, has been awarded a $1.1 million information technology and software contract with the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office. The award posted online Monday in SAM.gov said the Leesburg-based, employee-owned company has won the computer-service related award with Lexington, Ky. Project office for the Paducah Site in Kentucky and […]

  • NNSA explores using Idaho National Lab waste facility

    The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is looking at using a major facility at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory for treatment of some of NNSA’s future waste streams, according to a safety board report. On Feb. 17, NNSA and members of the Amentum-led environmental cleanup contractor for Idaho National Laboratory  met “to discuss […]

  • Coming up:

    Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  APRIL: 21: Conference: The Energy Communities Alliance sponsors a three-day conference on advanced nuclear opportunities starting at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on April 21 at the Augusta, Ga. Marriott at the Convention Center.  27-29: Conference: Louisiana Nuclear Strategy and Supply Chain at […]

  • Wrap Up: DOE to get new digs in D.C.; Hanford employee reportedly dies on job; Y-12 Security area shrinking; more

    The Department of Energy will relocate its Washington, D.C. headquarters from the James V. Forrestal Building to the Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) building, which currently houses the Department of Education. That is according to a Thursday announcement from DOE and the General Services Administration. The Education Department, which has undergone significant cuts under the Donald […]

  • DOE still faces potential $16-million fine from NMED

    The Department of Energy’s Northern New Mexico Site-Specific Advisory Board heard March 19 DOE is facing $16 million in potential civil penalties for multiple violations assessed under a February compliance order from the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) that proposes. The fines were assessed by the state under a Feb. 11 administrative compliance order partly […]

  • Pro2Serve becomes 100% employee-owned

    Knoxville-based Professional Project Services (Pro2Serve) is now a 100% employee-owned company, the Department of Energy contractor said in a Monday news release. In addition to reaching the 100% staff-owned milestone, through its Employee Stock Ownership Plan, Pro2Serve also announced some newly appointed board members. Every employee can own a stake in Pro2Serve by participating in […]

  • SRS panel gets liquid waste update; plans for pit waste permit

    The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office is on track for substantial completion of its liquid waste mission at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina by 2037  if sufficient funding is authorized, the local field office boss said Tuesday. On March 5, high-level radioactive tank 14 “achieved preliminary cease waste removal status” on March […]

  • Luján, Fleischmann have different takes on renaming EM

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — While Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), is unenthused about the Department of Energy’s interest in rebranding its Office of Environmental Management (EM), Rep Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) is fine with the idea. Exchange Monitor asked both DOE weapons complex lawmakers about their thoughts on the issue this week between Congressional hearings.  “What they […]

  • GAO again says DOE could save money by tweaking HLW definition

    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the Department of Energy, with help from Congress, could save billions of dollars over time by clarifying how high-level radioactive waste (HLW) is defined in statute. While this is a longstanding issue, GAO urged Congress to set up a Blue Ribbon Commission of experts to tackle the matter, in […]

  • Savannah River to supply 22.8 tons of uranium for DOE

    Uranium production is ramping up at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS), with plans to produce nearly 23 metric tons of high-level uranium for fuel production,and other purposes for the DOE nuclear complex. That was the message that the SRS Citizens Advisory Board heard Tuesday during the panel’s regular bimonthly meeting at the […]

  • GAO again says DOE could save money by tweaking HLW definition

    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the Department of Energy, with help from Congress, could save billions of dollars over time by clarifying how high-level radioactive waste (HLW) is defined in statute. While this is a longstanding issue, GAO urged Congress to set up a Blue Ribbon Commission of experts to tackle the matter, in […]

  • Savannah River to supply 22.8 tons of uranium for DOE

    Uranium production is ramping up at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS), with plans to produce nearly 23 metric tons of high-level uranium for fuel production,and other purposes for the DOE nuclear complex. That was the message that the SRS Citizens Advisory Board heard Tuesday during the panel’s regular bimonthly meeting at the […]