Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

The New Mexico Environment Department on Tuesday kicked off a 60-day comment period on a 10-year permit renewal for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, with the state fighting the federal government’s attempt to keep the mine’s closure date open-ended. The DOE has said it needs the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to […]

The New Mexico Environment Department on Tuesday kicked off a 60-day comment period on a 10-year permit renewal for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, with the state fighting the federal government’s attempt to keep the mine’s closure date open-ended. The DOE has said it needs the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to […]

The outgoing prime contractor for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., earned 66% of its subjective fee and about 72% of its total potential fee for its work during fiscal 2022, according to a fee scorecard released Tuesday. In a Dec. 20 letter to Nuclear Waste Partnership’s president and project […]

Sam Brinton, hired over the summer to lead the Department of Energy’s efforts to find a disposal solution for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, was fired from the agency following multiple accusations of felony theft, according to reports. Brinton was removed from their post as DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition, […]

The incoming Bechtel National prime for the Departments of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico expects to get most of its hiring done by mid-January, according to the new contractor website. “We are working diligently to complete the majority of the hiring activities by mid-January and declare readiness to perform operations by late […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant received 16 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during November, according to DOE. There were 14 shipments recorded on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) public website as of Tuesday Dec. 13. The website runs about two weeks behind active shipments and a site spokesperson said two more […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant received 16 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during November, according to DOE. There were 14 shipments recorded on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) public website as of Tuesday Dec. 13. The website runs about two weeks behind active shipments and a site spokesperson said two more […]

The incoming Bechtel National prime for the Departments of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico expects to get most of its hiring done by mid-January, according to the new contractor website. “We are working diligently to complete the majority of the hiring activities by mid-January and declare readiness to perform operations by late […]

Former Miamisburg, Ohio mayor and a founding member of the Energy Communities Alliance, Dick Church, has died at age 81, the advocacy group for Department of Energy localities said Friday. Church “was a founding member that led the organization through transition and helped it grow from an idea into an organization that works for and […]

In draft permit materials rolled out Thursday, the state of New Mexico said it could potentially seek closure of the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad a half-century before the feds might like. The New Mexico Environment Department wants to ensure in-state transuranic waste shipments from DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory are […]

Barring some legal reversal, a Bechtel affiliate and subcontractor Los Alamos Technical Associates should take the reins at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico around Feb. 9.  Also, as of the day before Thanksgiving, three major opportunities for new business remained across the old weapons complex and three contractors awaited […]

The Government Accountability Office did not buy a losing bidder’s argument that the winner of a 10-year contract to manage the Department of Energy’s main deep-underground nuclear waste repository should have been penalized in competitive bidding because of the winner’s link to a 2014 radiation release at the site. Made public Thursday by the office […]

The Department of Energy has deducted about $890,000 in fee award from the prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. after a worker lost part of two fingers in a 2021 accident. The agency’s Enterprise Assessments’ Office of Enforcement issued a preliminary notice of violation of worker health and safety standards […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received at least 29 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during October, according to a public website for the facility. As of Thursday morning, the website, which typically trails actual shipments by about two weeks, listed the last shipment during the month occurring on Oct. […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received at least 29 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during October, according to a public website for the facility. As of Thursday morning, the website, which typically trails actual shipments by about two weeks, listed the last shipment during the month occurring on Oct. […]

The Department of Energy has deducted about $890,000 in fee award from the prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. after a worker lost part of two fingers in a 2021 accident. The agency’s Enterprise Assessments’ Office of Enforcement issued a preliminary notice of violation of worker health and safety standards […]

A Bechtel affiliate underbid a rival, the Huntington Ingalls Industries-led National TRU Solutions, by about $14 million for 15 months of work as prime contractor of the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., according to a decision made public Tuesday. Bechtel’s Tularosa Basin Range Services doing business as Salado Isolation Mining […]

With both bid protests now rejected by the Government Accountability Office, a Bechtel affiliate said Friday it is starting its 90-day transition to take over operation of the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. Tularosa Basin Range Services doing business as Salado Isolation Mining Contractors, and headed by Ken Harrawood, said […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., started disposing of transuranic waste in the new Panel 8 this week, an agency spokesperson confirmed Thursday.  In recent weeks, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) emplaced its final shipment of defense-related transuranic waste in Panel 7, according to DOE. Panel 7 was contaminated […]

The Government Accountability Office on Tuesday rejected a challenge by a Westinghouse-led group to the Department of Energy’s July award of a potentially $3 billion management contract to manage the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. In a statement, the Government Accountability Office said it has denied the bid protest filed by Carlsbad Operations […]

The Government Accountability Office on Tuesday rejected a challenge by a Westinghouse-led group to the Department of Energy’s July award of a potentially $3 billion management contract to manage the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. In a statement, the Government Accountability Office said it has denied the bid protest filed by Carlsbad Operations […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., should start disposing of transuranic waste in the new Panel 8 this week, possibly as early as Tuesday, an agency spokesperson said Monday. In recent weeks, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) emplaced its final shipment of defense-related transuranic waste in Panel 7, according […]

The New Mexico Environment Department could issue a 10-year draft permit for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., before Christmas, a state spokesperson said recently. The draft permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) should be released for public comment by late November or early December, Matthew Maez of […]

A federal magistrate judge has ruled a scientist fired by a Honeywell-owned prime contractor for Sandia National Laboratories need not litigate his wrongful termination case in U.S. District Court. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephan Vidmar ruled Oct. 20 that National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia has not proven the lawsuit brought by Carlsbad, N.M., -based […]

A federal magistrate judge has ruled a scientist fired by a Honeywell-owned prime contractor for Sandia National Laboratories need not litigate his wrongful termination case in U.S. District Court. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephan Vidmar ruled Oct. 20 that National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia has not proven the lawsuit brought by Carlsbad, N.M., -based […]

The Government Accountability Office on Thursday denied a challenge by a Huntington Ingalls Industries-led group to Bechtel’s potential $3 billion management contract for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, which the Department of Energy awarded in July. Huntington-led National TRU Solutions of Newport News, Va. challenged the 10-year contract award to Bechtel’s Tularosa […]

As expected, the prime cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee has taken over transuranic waste responsibilities from North Wind, the agency said Tuesday. As of last week, Amentum-led United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) took over the Transuranic Waste Processing Center from North Wind Solutions, DOE said in a Tuesday […]

The New Mexico Environment Department could issue a 10-year draft permit for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., before Christmas, a state spokesperson said recently. The draft permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) should be released for public comment by late November or early December, Matthew Maez of […]

A federal magistrate judge has ruled a scientist fired by a Honeywell-owned prime contractor for Sandia National Laboratories need not litigate his wrongful termination case in U.S. District Court. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephan Vidmar ruled Oct. 20 that National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia has not proven the lawsuit brought by Carlsbad, N.M., -based […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., last week emplaced its last shipment of defense-related transuranic waste into Panel 7, the underground work area left contaminated by a radiation leak in February 2014. “Last week, last Thursday to be specific, the last waste was placed in panel 7,” said Sean Dunagan, […]