Budget & Policy

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 6/27/2014 While the use of captured carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery has historically been a difficult subject to breach politically, it is vital to the future of the American energy sector and must be tackled head-on by the government, a group of panelists and former lawmakers stated at an […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 6/27/2014 One year after President Barack Obama announced his Climate Action Plan the measure remains controversial. The Administration took hits this week on the anniversary of the announcement of the plan from those opposed to the measures who claimed thus far the plan has been “all pain, no gain.” Supporters […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 6/27/2014 The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 this week to uphold the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to require greenhouse gas emission permits from larger emitters that already require permits for other pollutants. The ruling came in a case that challenged the power of the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases from large […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 6/27/2014 From a purely economic perspective, the United States cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the issue of climate change, according to a new report published by the Risky Business Project. The report, published early this week, has gotten significant attention, due in part the project’s co-chairs, Michael […]

GHG Monitor 6/27/2014 More than one million metric tons of carbon dioxide has officially been captured at the hydrogen-production facility in Port Arthur, Texas, the Department of Energy announced this week. The plant in Port Arthur, run in partnership with Air Products and Chemicals Inc. uses vacuum swing adsorption to capture more than 90 percent […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 6/27/2014 The Department of Energy officially asked Congressional appropriators this week to reprogram about $33 million in National Nuclear Security Administration funds to support the American Centrifuge Project through the remainder of the fiscal year.  USEC is currently continuing work on the American Centrifuge Project under an 18-month subcontract with Oak […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 6/27/2014 House lawmakers are expected to take up the Fiscal Year 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations Act after taking a break for the Independence Day recess, though the prospects for completing the bill have been thrown into turmoil with the Senate version of the bill stalled. The bill, which funds the […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 6/27/2014 Raising questions about how much the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management supports National Nuclear Security Administration missions, the House Appropriations Committee last week directed $21.3 million in funding for nonproliferation work in Russia to go toward spent foreign fuel work at the Savannah River Site and the Idaho […]

NS&D Monitor 6/27/2014 In Congress Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), the former chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee and an advocate of National Nuclear Security Administration reform efforts, announced late last week that he will seek to become chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The current chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa […]

House lawmakers are expected to take up the Energy and Water Appropriations Act after taking a break for the Independence Day recess, though the prospects for completing the bill have been thrown into turmoil with the Senate version of the bill stalled. The bill, which funds the National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy Office […]

The Department of Energy this week told lawmakers it aims to reprogram $30 million for the American Centrifuge Project from National Nuclear Security Administration’s Weapons Activities account, and also transferred an additional $2.9 million in nonproliferation funds, according to the NNSA. The Fiscal Year 2014 omnibus spending bill passed early this year gives DOE up […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 4/04/2014 Echoing preliminary findings by the Congressionally appointed advisory panel on National Nuclear Security Administration governance, acting NNSA Administrator Bruce Held this week told a House subcommittee that the agency’s approach to governance had failed. Held’s comments followed testimony last week from the co-chairmen of the advisory panel, Norm Augustine and […]

Kenneth Fletcher and Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 4/04/2014 Criticism of the Department of Energy’s plans to suspend work at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility project mounted on Capitol Hill this week when lawmakers squared off with DOE officials at several hearings. Longtime MOX supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) led the charge in the Senate, […]

Positions Created as Part of Reorg. Of Safety, Security Functions Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 4/04/2014 The Department of Energy has moved to fill a set of new Chief Security Officer positions created as part of reorganization of the Department’s health, safety and security functions, according to a message sent to employees late last week. Michael Lempke […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 4/04/2014 The Department of Energy is looking to make changes to its human capital and IT services that could result in a greater consolidation from the field to DOE headquarters. Among the proposals under consideration, according to officials familiar with the discussions, is the shift of some human capital functions from […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 4/04/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration hasn’t adequately maintained design information for the warheads and nuclear components in its nuclear stockpile, according to a Department of Energy Inspector General report released this week that suggests the missing information raises questions about the credibility of the nation’s nuclear deterrent. “CM [Configuration management] […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 4/04/2014 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board this week closed a 2005 recommendation that called for stricter nuclear material packaging requirements, but the Board is asking for an updated schedule for the Department of Energy’s improvements. The original recommendation called for technical criteria for nuclear material packaging and prioritization of packaging […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 4/04/2014 The Department of Energy is proposing a new regulation that would allow it to withhold payments if a contractor’s business systems have “significant deficiencies.” That includes the accounting, estimating, purchasing, earned value management and property management systems. “DOE proposes to implement compliance enforcement mechanisms in the form of a business […]

NS&D Monitor 4/04/2014 IN THE NNSA A University of Michigan-led consortium has been awarded a $25 million grant by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development for research and development in nuclear arms control verification technologies. The grant is expected to provide the consortium $5 million per year over […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/28/2014 The Congressionally appointed panel on National Nuclear Security Administration governance hasn’t come up with any recommendations yet, but the co-chairmen of the committee made it clear this week at a House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing that the current governance structure for the agency is not working. The panel’s […]

NS&D Monitor 3/28/2014 James Schlesinger, who served as the first Secretary of Energy, passed away this week at the age of 85. According to reports, Schlesinger died due to complications of pneumonia. Schlesinger was named in 1971 to chair the Atomic Energy Commission, and was tapped by President Jimmy Carter to serve as the first […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 3/28/2014 A set of self-assessments of safety conscious work environment (SCWE) performed by Department of Energy sites and contractors suffered from several weaknesses that may reduce their overall usefulness, according to a report released last week. The DOE Office of Health, Safety and Security performed an evaluation of the self-assessments and […]

NS&D Monitor 3/28/2014 IN CONGRESS A Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing scheduled for this week was postponed and is likely to be rescheduled for early April. Acting National Nuclear Security Administration chief Bruce Held was scheduled to testify at the hearing March 26 alongside NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs Don Cook, Naval […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 3/21/2014 Funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program is projected to continue to grow over the next five years, reaching nearly $10 billion by Fiscal Year 2019, according to the Obama Administration’s detailed budget justification for the agency that was released over the weekend. The Administration requested $8.3 billion […]

No Direction to Project Yet on Shutdown Work Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 3/21/2014 In an effort to halt the planned suspension of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, the state of South Carolina this week filed suit against the Department of Energy over its decision to put the project into a “cold standby” mode. In […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 3/21/2014 A significant slowdown in warhead dismantlement activities is planned for Fiscal Year 2015, according to budget documents released this week. The documents show a steep reduction in spending for dismantlement, with the money apparently being shifted to other programs in the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Directed Stockpile Work. As proposed, […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 3/21/2014 Shareholders have been able to convince two major contractors in the Department of Energy marketplace—URS and Babcock & Wilcox—to make changes to their boards of directors. This week, URS announced that it has reached an agreement with shareholder JANA Partners, LLC, which owns slightly less than 10 percent of the […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 3/21/2014 A four-year effort to secure vulnerable nuclear material around the world failed to provide effective security for the world’s most at-risk nuclear materials, according to a report released yesterday by Harvard’s Belfer Center. The report, “Advancing Nuclear Security: Evaluating Progress and Setting New Goals,” comes on the eve of next […]

NS&D Monitor 3/31/2014   The following is adapted from Dr. Harvey’s October remarks to the Congressional Advisory Panel on NNSA Governance. Dr. Harvey updated his presentation for NS&D Monitor this week. The draft recommendations from the Panel are expected to be released next week. I am pleased to offer a perspective on the issues facing […]

NS&D Monitor 3/21/2014 IN DOE The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology has made its 18 selections to a Congressionally mandated Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories, and now it’s up to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to whittle that list down to nine. Moniz has until May 1 to […]