Cleanup & Remediation

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/21/2014 Stacy Charboneau appears set to serve as the next Manager of the Department of Energy’s Richland Operations Office at Hanford, WC Monitor has learned. DOE is in the final stages of approving Charboneau for the position, and a formal announcement is expected in the next few weeks. The Richland Operations […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/21/2014 Department of Energy Savannah River Operations Office Manager David Moody has announced plans to retire in June after a 36-year career. “Dr. Moody’s leadership at the Savannah River Site (SRS) over the last four years has resulted in tremendous achievements for the cleanup of the site,” DOE Office of Environmental […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/21/2014 Three years after the Department of Energy began a safety investigation at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, the investigation remains open, there is no sign of resolution and it remains unclear whether any violations or potential penalties may be issued to project contractor Bechtel National. DOE’s Office of Enforcement began […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/21/2014 CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. earned approximately $5 million in award fee for its work at Hanford in Fiscal Year 2013, the last year in the base period for its contract, according to information the Department of Energy released late this week. The Department gave CHPRC a rating of “excellent” […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/21/2014 The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessment late last week launched an investigation into safety concerns with the remediation of transuranic waste drums at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which have been linked to the radiological release that occurred early this year at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The move, […]

DOE Facing Potential Lawsuits Over Tank Vapor Concerns WC Monitor 11/21/2014 The Department of Energy is facing two threats of potential lawsuits over safety concerns posed by chemical vapors from Hanford’s underground high-level waste tanks. This week, the state of Washington threatened to sue DOE and Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions to […]

New £1.5B Procurement for Sellafield Suppliers Moves to Next Phase Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/21/2014 Sellafield Limited’s Decommissioning Delivery Partnership procurement for new cleanup suppliers has moved into the invitation to tender phase, the company announced this week. The next step in the procurement comes after a notice and pre-qualification were issued in June, and […]

DOJ Declines to Intervene in Subcontracting Fraud Lawsuit Against CHPRC WC Monitor 11/21/2014 The U.S. Department of Justice has declined to intervene in a lawsuit accusing CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. of committing fraud related to subcontract awards. CH2M Hill awarded subcontracts to a joint venture of Phoenix Enterprises Northwest and Acquisition Business Consultants (ABC), […]

As the Department of Energy finalizes a plan for transition management of Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Office of Environmental Management, it has not decided whether that plan will be publicly released, EM Acting Assistant Secretary Mark Whitney said yesterday. “I don’t know if it’s going to be released publicly. What I can tell […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessment is conducting an investigation into remediation of transuranic waste drums at Los Alamos National Laboratory that have been linked to the release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The Office of Enforcement’s investigation will center on “the facts and circumstances associated with the remediation of selected transuranic […]

Washington state is threatening to take the Department of Energy to court to seek a legally enforceable agreement to protect workers at Hanford from the effects of chemical vapors from the site’s waste tanks. Yesterday, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson sent DOE and Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions a notice of […]

The New Mexico Environment Department is expected to take enforcement action ‘any day now’ against Los Alamos National Laboratory for violations uncovered in the wake of the radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, LANL Director Charlie McMillan told employees this week. A transuranic waste drum processed at LANL was linked to the WIPP […]

The plan for transitioning cleanup work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to management by the Office of Environmental Management was due Friday for submission to the Secretary of Energy. DOE Friday declined to comment on the timeline for the plan’s completion or whether it had been submitted to the Secretary.Currently, cleanup activities at Los […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management plans to hold a new Business Opportunity Forum next month. Topics to be discussed at the meeting, according to a notice issued late last week, will include ongoing and upcoming procurement activities, as well as “contractor cost/pricing information.” The meeting is scheduled to be held Dec. 11 […]

Board Staff Highlight Concerns at Savannah River Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 11/14/2014 The Department of Energy has accepted a formal recommendation from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on the need to strengthen emergency preparedness and response capabilities, but told the Board last week that it will need longer than a required one-year period to […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/14/2014 Ensuring that the federal government lives up to its obligations at Hanford is a priority for Dan Newhouse, the Republican poised to take over the central Washington district being vacated by Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.). Newhouse was declared the winner by the Associated Press as he maintained a slim lead […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/14/2014 Babcock & Wilcox has tapped Dave Richardson to serve as the next President and Project Manager of Idaho Treatment Group, LLC, responsible for the Idaho Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project. B&W spokeswoman Aimee Mills confirmed late this week that Richardson will head up ITG in an acting capacity, but did […]

Developer Begins Study on Remediation of Former KC Plant Home NS&D Monitor 11/14/2014 Work to disposition the National Nuclear Security Administration’s former home at the Bannister Federal Complex in Kansas City began this week as developer CenterPoint Properties Trust started an extensive site analysis and environmental review of the World War II era facility. CenterPoint […]

Board Staff Highlight Concerns at Savannah River Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/14/2014 The Department of Energy has accepted a formal recommendation from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on the need to strengthen emergency preparedness and response capabilities, but told the Board last week that it will need longer than a required one-year period to […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 11/14/2014 Hanford whistleblower Walt Tamosaitis will return to federal court after the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled late last week that his case against URS, the primary subcontractor at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, was wrongly dismissed on summary judgment. The 9th Circuit also found that he is entitled […]

PNNL to Pay $200,000 to Settle DOE Concerns Over Beryllium Program WC Monitor 11/14/2014 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has agreed to pay $200,000 as part of a settlement reached late last month with the Department of Energy to resolve concerns over the lab’s beryllium protection program. DOE opened a safety investigation at the lab this […]

SRR Completes New Liquid Waste System Lab WC Monitor 10/14/2014 Savannah River Remediation, the liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site, has completed a replacement laboratory next to the Defense Waste Processing Facility to serve the site’s liquid waste system. The new multi-functional laboratory will provide backup lab support for the Effluent Treatment Facility, […]

WC Monitor 11/14/2014 IN THE INDUSTRY Glenn Morgan of Huntington Ingalls Industries has been promoted to vice president of nuclear materials operations and will serve as Savannah River Nuclear Solutions’ deputy director of EM operations, Huntington Ingalls announced last week. He takes over for Steve Howell, who is now SRNS director of strategic initiatives. Morgan […]

Work to disposition the National Nuclear Security Administration’s former home at the Bannister Federal Complex in Kansas City began yesterday as developer CenterPoint Properties Trust started an extensive site analysis and environmental review of the World War II era facility. CenterPoint teamed with Zimmer Real Estate Services to build a new home for the NNSA’s […]

Hanford whistleblower Walt Tamosaitis will return to federal court after the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Friday that his case against URS, the primary subcontractor at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, was wrongly dismissed. The 9th Circuit also found that he is entitled to a jury trial, contrary to a June 2012 ruling […]

A $4 million study evaluating risk at Hanford is a waste of money that would have otherwise been used for cleanup by the Department of Energy’s Richland Operations Office, said several members of the Hanford Advisory Board. The board agreed at its November meeting to send a letter to Mark Whitney, acting assistant secretary for […]

After several days of a race too close call for the Congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), Republican Dan Newhouse has been declared the winner. Newhouse faced off against fellow Republican Clint Didier, a tea party candidate who had questioned increasing Hanford funding. The two faced off under Washington’s system in which […]

Glenn Morgan of Huntington Ingalls Industries has been promoted to vice president of nuclear materials operations and will serve as Savannah River Nuclear Solutions’ deputy director of EM operations, Huntington Ingalls announced last week. He takes over for Steve Howell, who is now SRNS director of strategic initiatives. Morgan was previously director of reactor services […]

Draft ‘Transition Plan’ Says New EM Los Alamos Field Office Could Open by January Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 11/7/2014 As the Department of Energy prepares to shift management of the remaining legacy cleanup work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Office of the Environmental Management from the National Nuclear Security Administration, DOE anticipates […]

Area Stakeholders Weigh in On Consent Decree Suit WC Monitor 117/2014 Two Hanford-area agencies have asked the federal court to consider what is best for the people who live near Hanford as a judge weighs competing proposals from the Department of Energy and state of Washington for amending Hanford’s court-enforced consent decree. The Tri-City Development […]