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.
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Defense Low-Level Waste
Low-level landfill at Oak Ridge inches closer to approval
The state of Tennessee kicked off a comment period this week about a long-debated low-level radioactive waste landfill at the Oak Ridge Site, which would replace one expected to reach capacity this decade, a citizens’ advisory board heard Wednesday. The comment period on the planned Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF) began Monday and runs through […]
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Budget & Policy
EM request would pump $40M into poor communities alongside cleanup sites
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management plans to invest $40 million of grant money into poor communities and tribal governments near federal nuclear cleanup sites. William (Ike) White, the senior adviser and top federal boss at the Environmental Management (EM) office cited the Community Capacity Building initiative in his written testimony filed Wednesday […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE requests $10M for calcine waste preparations at Idaho National Lab
The Department of Energy’s fiscal 2023 budget request for nuclear cleanup at the Idaho National Laboratory includes $10 million toward early planning for treatment and disposal of 1.2 million gallons of high-level radioactive calcine waste. Under the 1995 Idaho Settlement Agreement governing disposal of spent fuel, DOE has until Dec. 31, 2035 to treat the […]
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Budget & Policy
Leaders of DOE nuclear weapons, waste programs on Hill today for budget hearings
Senior officials with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and Office of Environmental Management were set to take questions about their fiscal year 2023 budget requests Wednesday from House appropriators. The House Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee was scheduled to convene the hearing at 2:15 p.m. Eastern time on Capitol Hill. The […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP handles 19 shipments during April
The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico received 19 shipments of transuranic waste during April, according to the latest data. Eleven of the shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) were hauled from Idaho National Laboratory, six from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and two from the Savannah […]
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Budget & Policy
Budget doc shows plans coming together for new Hanford fire station
The fiscal 2023 Department of Energy budget request for the Hanford Site in Washington state advances plans for a new $23-million fire station within Area 400, according to justification details posted online last week. The Joe Biden administration proposes $3.1-million toward the new fire station during the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The budget […]
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Contracts & Procurement
BWXT Q1 earnings decline as revenue rises
Earnings fell at BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va., in the first quarter, which the company attributed Monday to pension issues and lower productivity in the naval reactors business. Net earnings for the first quarter were $59 million or $0.64 per share, down from $69.7 million, or $0.73 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue was […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Two-thirds of remaining EM sites will be clean within 25 years, DOE says
On paper at least, the Department of Energy expects 10 of the 15 remaining Cold War and Manhattan Project cleanups overseen by its $7.6-billion Office of Environmental Management to be cleaned up within 25 years. That is according to the annual chart of the Environmental Management’s (EM) office’s project schedule range, included in the 490-page […]
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Transuranic Waste
Scientist claiming job retaliation for WIPP data wants case sent back to state court
A scientist suing the prime contractor for the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories for wrongful termination wants the federal district court case put on hold while he tries to move the suit back to a New Mexico state court. Plaintiff Charles Oakes on Monday filed an unopposed motion to postpone further briefs on a […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Fluor bullish on first quarter earnings, cites weapons complex biz
Earnings were largely up at Fluor, Irving, Texas, in the first quarter, which the international engineering and construction company — with contracts across the Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex — attributed to positive trends in its key markets. First quarter net earnings from continuing operations attributable to Fluor were $48 million, or $0.27 per […]
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Budget & Policy
Wrap Up: EM budget details posted; BWXT, Longenecker announce appointments
The budget for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management could swell to almost $8.4 billion by fiscal 2027, according to projections included in President Joe Biden’s detailed justification for the fiscal 2023 request. The DOE requested over $7.6 billion for fiscal 2023, which is relatively flat with fiscal 2022 that ends Sept. 30. […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Portsmouth contractors rebut claims in updated complaint by locals
Key claims in a lawsuit brought by residents living in the shadow of a former gaseous diffusion plant in Ohio are barred on various grounds, including the government contractor defense, current and former Department of Energy contractors for the Portsmouth Site said recently. Defendants Centrus Energy, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth and others filed their motion April 28 […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford 222-S laboratory manager calls it a career
Don Hardy, the manager of the Department of Energy’s 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site, plans to retire on May 12 after 37 years at the former plutonium production complex in Washington state, the lab contractor said Monday. Navarro-led Hanford Laboratory Management and Integration (HLMI) said in a press release that Hardy will be succeeded […]
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Budget & Policy
GAO urges Congress to create under secretary for nuclear waste
To slow turnover in the top ranks of federal nuclear remediation, the Government Accountability Office is recommending Congress create a new Department of Energy post, under secretary for nuclear waste management and environmental cleanup. As envisioned in the Government Accountability Office report, the DOE’s $7.6-billion Office of Environmental Management (EM) would be siloed beneath this […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE request would ‘kick the can down the road’ on Hanford Building 324, Murray says
During a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Wednesday with Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) pronounced herself “really disappointed with this year’s request” by the Department of Energy for cleanup of the Hanford Site in her home state. The Joe Biden administration’s fiscal 2023 request of $2.5 billion for Hanford was not only […]
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National Laboratories
Controlled burn planned near Los Alamos as weather gives Cerro Pelado firefighters a break
Authorities in New Mexico said Thursday afternoon they plan to use a controlled burn to give the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory and the surrounding county more protection from the Cerro Pelado fire in the Jemez Mountains. A controlled burn is planned along Alamo trail to combat the fire that has burned 29,000 […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Jacobs reports strong earnings in its second fiscal quarter
Earnings rose at Jacobs, Dallas, in the second quarter of its fiscal 2022 year, which the international engineering and construction company attributed to increased demand across virtually all business lines. Net earnings for the quarter ended April 1 were $89 million, or $0.68 a share, up from net earnings of zero in the year-ago quarter, […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP managers pursue New Mexico approval of new underground disposal areas
The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has updated its pending 10-year permit renewal application with the state of New Mexico to reflect the latest plans for transuranic waste disposal within the mine’s Panels 11 and 12. The proposal was submitted as part of the facility’s updated permit renewal application with the New Mexico […]
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Transuranic Waste
GAO says some DOE nuclear cleanup office projects still struggle
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management could improve its cost and schedule oversight for big-ticket projects such as the Hanford Site’s multi-billion-dollar Waste Treatment Plant in Washington state, the Government Accountability Office said this week. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Wednesday it did a performance audit from December 2020 to April 2022 […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Barring appeals court decision, Swift & Staley could remain Paducah landlord into 2023
Swift & Staley could stay on as Infrastructure Support Services provider at the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Kentucky through March 2023 while the company fights a court ruling that it should not have received a small-business set-aside follow-on contract for the work. The existing landlord would remain in place at Paducah through March […]
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Transuranic Waste
GAO says some DOE nuclear cleanup office projects still struggle
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management could improve its cost and schedule oversight for big-ticket projects such as the Hanford Site’s multi-billion-dollar Waste Treatment Plant in Washington state, the Government Accountability Office said this week. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Wednesday it did a performance audit from December 2020 to April 2022 […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE request would ‘kick the can down the road’ on Hanford Building 324, Murray says
During a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Wednesday with Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) pronounced herself “really disappointed with this year’s request” by the Department of Energy for cleanup of the Hanford Site in her home state. The Joe Biden administration’s fiscal 2023 request of $2.5 billion for Hanford was not only […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
GAO urges Congress to create under secretary for nuclear waste
To slow turnover in the top ranks of federal nuclear remediation, the Government Accountability Office is recommending Congress create a new Department of Energy post, under secretary for nuclear waste management and environmental cleanup. As envisioned in the Government Accountability Office report, the DOE’s $7.6-billion Office of Environmental Management (EM) would be siloed beneath this […]
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National Laboratories
No Los Alamos evacuations yet due to Cerro Pelado fire; lab telework possible
As of late Tuesday, the Cerro Pelado fire in New Mexico was five-and-a-half miles away from the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, with no evacuations ordered so far around the federal facility. Lab management could reduce its on-site headcount, however, if the fire inches much closer to Los Alamos National Laboratory or the […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP managers pursue New Mexico approval of new underground disposal areas
The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has updated its pending 10-year permit renewal application with the state of New Mexico to reflect the latest plans for transuranic waste disposal within the mine’s Panels 11 and 12. The proposal was submitted as part of the facility’s updated permit renewal application with the New Mexico […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Jacobs reports strong earnings in its second fiscal quarter
Earnings rose at Jacobs, Dallas, in the second quarter of its fiscal 2022 year, which the international engineering and construction company attributed to increased demand across virtually all business lines. Net earnings for the quarter ended April 1 were $89 million, or $0.68 a share, up from net earnings of zero in the year-ago quarter, […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford 222-S laboratory manager calls it a career
Don Hardy, the manager of the Department of Energy’s 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site, plans to retire on May 12 after 37 years at the former plutonium production complex in Washington state, the lab contractor said Monday. Navarro-led Hanford Laboratory Management and Integration (HLMI) said in a press release that Hardy will be succeeded […]
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National Laboratories
New Mexico fire drives smoke into Los Alamos area
The Cerro Pelado fire in New Mexico was only six miles from the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory’s property as of 9:45 p.m. local time, the laboratory announced via its Twitter account (@LosAlamosNatLab) late Sunday. The fire is “pushing southeast” and no Los Alamos County evacuations are planned currently and a section of […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Portsmouth contractors rebut claims in updated complaint by locals
Key claims in a lawsuit brought by residents living in the shadow of a former gaseous diffusion plant in Ohio are barred on various grounds, including the government contractor defense, current and former Department of Energy contractors for the Portsmouth Site said last week. Defendants Centrus Energy, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth and others filed their motion April […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Long-term mercury storage RFP extended until May 20
Prospective bidders on a Department of Energy contract for long-term storage of domestic elemental mercury now have two extra weeks, until May 20, to submit proposals. In an update on its procurement page for Elemental Mercury Long-term Management and Storage, the DOE said Thursday April 21 that the submission deadline is being extended to May […]







