Cleanup & Remediation

The federal government filed a civil lawsuit late last week against Washington Closure Hanford, accusing it of falsely claiming credit for awarding small business subcontracts worth millions of dollars. In three subcontracts that Washington Closure used to meet requirements for small businesses, including women-owned small businesses, the businesses did not do a substantial portion of […]

The Department of Energy has extended the due date for responses to a request for information for acquisition planning at the Idaho site from Dec. 20 to Jan. 3, according to a notice posted Friday. The Department is currently in the initial planning stages for follow on cleanup contracts at Idaho once the two current […]

A draft Request for Proposals for the new contract to manage Hanford’s 222-S Laboratory is set to be issued within the next “15 to 30 days,” the Department of Energy said yesterday. The new contract is being set-aside for small businesses, and is expected to be “a hybrid contract that includes fixed provide with award […]

Savannah River Site security contractor WSI-SRS earned about 88 percent of its available award fee in the second half of Fiscal Year 2013, or about $2.4 million out of the $2.7 million available, according to documents the Department of Energy released yesterday. The contractor’s performance in the April 1 to Sept. 30 period was an […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries late last week completed the acquisition of S.M. Stoller. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but according to a company release, Stoller will be a wholly owned subsidiary of HII and operate under its Newport News Shipbuilding division. “With this strategic acquisition, Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) is positioned for expanded […]

West Valley cleanup contractor CH2M Hill B&W West Valley, LLC, earned about 60 percent of its available award fee in the period from the beginning of March through the end of August 2013, netting a total of $200,000 out of $331,178 available. According to an award fee determination scorecard the Department of Energy posted recently, […]

Savannah River site management and operating contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions earned 84 percent of its total available award fee in Fiscal Year 2013, netting about $47 million out of $56 million available. The contractor did best in its Office of Environmental Management Programs, earning about $30.7 million, or 96 percent of the fee available. […]

Terry Spears has been named acting deputy manager of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Operations Office following Zack Smith’s recent departure from the post to work for EnergySolutions. “Terry Spears has more than 35 years of Federal Service with DOE and the Department of Defense,” Savannah River Operations Office Manager Dave Moody said in […]

For DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, the omnibus would provide approximately $5.8 billion, an increase of approximately $200 million from the Department’s FY 2014 budget request; and an increase of approximately $111 million from FY 2013 enacted funding levels. For defense environmental cleanup activities, which covers most of EM’s major sites, the bill would provide […]

The Savannah River Site is still in the process of assessing damage and bringing facilities back to full operations after an unusual cold snap last week shut down the site’s biomass plant and associated steam lines. “The Ameresco Biomass Co-generation Facility (BCF) steam plant experienced instrumentation failures very early Tuesday morning (7 Jan) due to […]

Potential bidders for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s follow-on contract for the Nevada National Security Site’s environmental program services contract are concerned about advantages incumbent contractors would have during transition, according to a set of Q&As released yesterday on the draft RFP. “Including transition costs in the pricing that will be considered during the evaluation […]

U.K. cleanup contractor Sellafield Limited Friday lost an appeal to a £700,000 ($1.1 million) fine levied against the company for sending contaminated waste to a regular landfill. The company pleaded guilty in January to sending four bags of mixed waste from normal operations in controlled areas to a regular landfill instead of a low level […]

West Valley Demonstration Project cleanup contractor CH2M Hill B&W West Valley, LLC, earned about 31 percent of the total award fee available from Aug. 29, 2012 through Feb. 28, 2013, according to an award fee determination scorecard recently posted by the Department of Energy. The contractor earned $100,000 out of $327,427 in available award fee […]

Contractor Washington Closure Hanford has completed removal of the massive Plutonium Recycle Test Reactor from the site’s 300 area, the contractor announced yesterday. The 1,538 ton reactor will be disposed of at Hanford’s onsite landfill, the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility. “Removing the reactor was one of the most complex and hazardous projects Washington Closure has […]

While a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board review of the Sludge Processing Buildouts Project at Oak Ridge did not identify major safety issues, it found several concerns that should be addressed before the project moves onto the next design phase. The sludge buildouts at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center is designed to process about 2,000 […]

The Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council is recommending that members approve the latest collective bargaining agreement proposal after 20 months of contract negotiations with cleanup contractors. A ratification vote has been set for Oct.  9. HAMTC workers overwhelmingly rejected a previous proposal in a vote July 16. HAMTC determined the primary reason for the failed […]

The exact amount of carryover funding available during the government shutodwn is different at each DOE site, but the Department declined to provide details on how long sites and programs could continue to operate normally under the shutdown. “In case of a shutdown, the Department will be able to operate for a short time if […]

The Department of Energy awarded additional Office of Environmental Management work to three businesses yesterday— CTI & Associates for work at Los Alamos, KPMG, LLP, for auditing services, and AR Biddle & Associates for contract claims work. The KPMG task order totals $2.9 million, started yesterday and will run through March 2015. It will including […]

The Department of Energy’s recent award of the new Strategic Petroleum Reserve management contract to a team led by Fluor is coming under challenge, with DM Petroleum Operations Company having filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office Sept. 30. DM Petroleum Operations Company is made up of Jacobs and International Matex Tank and Terminal, […]

Michael Voce officially took over as the general manager for Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge security contractor National Strategic Protective Services yesterday, completing the transition from former general manager Greg McDowell. McDowell abruptly announced his resignation this summer due to personal reasons, but stayed on at the company during a transition to new leadership. Voce […]

Though Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Nuclear Security Administration have improved management of a replacement liquid waste processing capability, the project has experienced numerous issues since it was launched in 2004, according to a Department of Energy Inspector General report released yesterday. LANL is looking to replace its aging Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment […]

Department of Energy contractors are expected to have to begin furloughing employees performing cleanup work in Oak Ridge as early as this week due to the continuing government shutdown, while employees at the Y-12 National Security Complex could have until Oct. 17, the head of Y-12’s metal trades union told NW&M Monitor. As the government […]

Due to the government shutdown, the Department of Energy has cancelled Savannah River Site Citizen’s Advisory Board meetings on Oct. 8 and Oct. 22, and also decided not to attend a South Carolina Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council meeting Thursday. “We have stopped all public events at this point because we are in a significantly lower […]

Carol Johnson is set to retire as President of Washington Closure Hanford at the end of this year. Johnson has headed the URS-led River Corridor cleanup contractor for the past three years, during which WCH “sustained strong performance and numerous accomplishments,” according to a message David Pethick, General Manager for URS’ Global Management and Operations […]

Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council workers voted Wednesday to approve new contracts with four Hanford cleanup contractors, but turned down the offer by Washington River Protection Solutions, the Hanford tank farms contractor. Contracts with CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co., Mission Support Alliance, Washington Closure Hanford and Advanced Technologies and Laboratories were approved. “We respect what members […]

Savannah River Site security contractor Wackenhut Services Incorporated began furloughs Friday as a result of the government shutdown that will impact 270 of its 706 employees, according to WSI spokesman Rob Davis. The furloughs will continue through this week. Last night, two entrance barricades to the site were shut down. “The Department of Energy directed […]

A meeting of the chairs of EM’s various Site-Specific Advisory Board that had been scheduled for this week has been put on hold due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. A new date for the meeting has not been scheduled, an EM spokesman said late last week. The meeting was have to be held Oct. […]

The two cleanup contractors at the Department of Energy’s Idaho site—CH2M-WG Idaho, LLC, and Idaho Treatment Group, LLC—are set to submit to DOE today plans for largely suspending operations if the federal government continues to remain shut down. CWI, which manages the Idaho Cleanup Project, did not respond to calls for comment yesterday. ITG spokesman […]

Workers at Hanford are likely to learn today about site contractors’ plans for furloughs if the ongoing federal government shutdown is not soon resolved. At a meeting earlier this week, site contractors told the Hanford Atomic Metals Trade Council that employees will be receiving “release” notices today, which would go into effect at midnight on […]

The Savannah River Site has cancelled its 2013 annual deer hunts due to the government shutdown. “The cancelled hunts were scheduled for Saturday, October 26, through Saturday, December 7, 2013. This cancellation also includes the Wounded Warrior and Mobility-Impaired Hunts held annually at SRS, scheduled for November 1-2, 2013,” according to a statement from Savannah […]