Cleanup & Remediation

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a centrist who often rankled his party by refusing to go along with President Joe Biden’s (D) signature stimulus legislation, announced Thursday he would not seek a third full term in the U.S. Senate.  A former West Virginia governor, Manchin was elected to the Senate in 2010 in a special election. […]

A judge could decide by December the fate of a lawsuit about the Department of Energy’s years of allegedly illegal long-term nuclear-waste storage near Butte County. After hearing oral arguments Oct. 30 from the county, the state of Idaho and the U.S. Department of Justice on the government’s motion for dismissal of the county’s suit, […]

During a Senate hearing last week, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) pressed an Environmental Protection Agency official to prioritize remediation of radioactive contamination at the West Lake Landfill Superfund Site in Bridgeton, Mo. “It’s probably no coincidence that the folks who live in this area are not big-time donors to political parties, they’re not big-time party […]

Richard Driggs, most recently chief operating officer for Michael Baker International, has been appointed the new president and CEO OF Idaho Falls-based North Wind Group, the company said Monday. Driggs is a seasoned hand in the engineering and construction industry and brings more than 30 years of experience as chief executive and chief operating officer […]

The federal agency that provides outside safety advice to the Department of Energy still struggles with a “sustainable organizational culture and climate,” the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Office of Inspector General said last week. Organizational culture leads the list of the most serious challenges facing the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) in fiscal 2024, the […]

A judge could decide by December the fate of a lawsuit about the Department of Energy’s years of allegedly illegal long-term nuclear-waste storage near Butte County. After hearing oral arguments Oct. 30 from the county, the state of Idaho and the U.S. Department of Justice on the government’s motion for dismissal of the county’s suit, […]

The U.S. Forest Service killed roughly 1,200 wild hogs on the grounds of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina during fiscal 2023, many of which were eaten by vultures, the site’s Citizens Advisory Board heard Monday. During his presentation to the Savannah River Site advisory board, forest manager DeVela Clark, also […]

The Department of Energy is taking public comment until Dec. 12 on its draft finding that certain radioactive waste at the Idaho National Laboratory can be disposed of there as low- rather than high-level waste. The draft document “demonstrates that the Calcined Solids Storage Facility (CSSF) at closure after waste retrieval is not high-level radioactive […]

William (Bill) Badger, director of nuclear and environmental business development at Department of Energy contractor Amentum, drowned in Richland, Wash., after the car he was driving went into a local marina, according to the coroner in Benton County, Wash. The fatal accident was first reported Wednesday by the Tri-City Herald newspaper, which said the accident […]

A federal district judge in East Tennessee ruled this week that employees fired after refusing COVID-19 vaccinations by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site cleanup prime, cannot pursue their litigation as a class action suit. “Given the number of individualized inquiries necessary to resolve each plaintiff’s claim, a class action would quickly devolve into […]

William (Bill) Badger, director of nuclear and environmental business development at Department of Energy contractor Amentum, drowned in Richland, Wash., after the car he was driving went into a local marina, according to the coroner in Benton County, Wash. The fatal accident was first reported Wednesday by the Tri-City Herald newspaper, which said the accident […]

The federal agency that provides outside safety advice to the Department of Energy still struggles with a “sustainable organizational culture and climate,” the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Office of Inspector General said last week. Organizational culture leads the list of the most serious challenges facing the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) in fiscal 2024, the […]

The Department of Energy’s $8-billion-plus nuclear cleanup branch is getting positive results from its early forays into artificial intelligence and machine learning, Jeff Avery told a National Academies panel Tuesday. New technology is playing a growing role at DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, Jeff Avery told the National Academies Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board. “We […]

The Department of Energy is taking public comment until Dec. 12 on its draft finding that certain radioactive waste at the Idaho National Laboratory can be disposed of there as low- rather than high-level waste. The draft document “demonstrates that the Calcined Solids Storage Facility (CSSF) at closure after waste retrieval is not high-level radioactive […]

The Government Accountability Office should release a report on the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in the coming weeks, the Citizens Advisory Board for nuclear cleanup heard Monday. Savannah River Citizens Advisory Board Chair Gregg Murray dropped the news at the outset of the two-day meeting, being carried via Youtube. The report by the […]

The U.S. Forest Service killed roughly 1,200 wild hogs on the grounds of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina during fiscal 2023, many of which were eaten by vultures, the site’s Citizens Advisory Board heard Monday. During his presentation to the Savannah River Site advisory board, forest manager DeVela Clark, also […]

A judge could decide by December the fate of a lawsuit about the Department of Energy’s years of allegedly illegal long-term nuclear-waste storage near Butte County. After hearing oral arguments Oct. 30 from the county, the state of Idaho and the U.S. Department of Justice on the government’s motion for dismissal of the county’s suit, […]

During a Senate hearing last week, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) pressed an Environmental Protection Agency official to prioritize remediation of radioactive contamination at the West Lake Landfill Superfund Site in Bridgeton, Mo. “It’s probably no coincidence that the folks who live in this area are not big-time donors to political parties, they’re not big-time party […]

Contractor North Wind Portage has now removed 14 million tons of uranium mill tailings from the Moab, Utah site near the Colorado River, the Department of Energy announced this week. Removing 14 million of the 16 million tons of tailings from the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project is a big step toward remediation […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, currently lacking a quorum, said Wednesday it has filled one of three big staff vacancies by hiring a U.S. Export Import Bank manager as its new executive director of operations. Mary Jean Buhler, chief financial officer at the Export Import Bank, will become the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board […]

Three long-serving feds at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management have been formally appointed to key management roles on a permanent basis, the No. 2 official at the nuclear cleanup branch said recently. Greg Sosson will become associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations effective immediately, said Jeff Avery, DOE Environmental Management […]

A Virginia-based, woman-owned company started its 60-day transition Thursday to become the new provider of occupational medical services at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, DOE said. DOE’s Richland Operations Office said Wednesday it is giving Inomedic Health Applications (IHA) a notice to proceed with the transition, which should be completed on […]

Having been skipped the first time around, the Government Accountability Office was asked to consider a challenge by an Atkins-led team over a $45-billion Department of Energy contract for liquid waste management. The bid protest, dated Friday, arrived after DOE called upon losing bidder Hanford Tank Disposition Alliance and the winning bidder, BWX-Technologies-led Hanford Tank […]

Bechtel National this week pushed back against a Department of Energy Office of Inspector General audit report that questioned the reliability of the contractor’s cost estimates for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “We believe that the report overlooks relevant factual data that is essential for consideration prior […]

Earnings rose at Fluor, Irving, Texas, in the third quarter, which the engineering and construction company attributed in part Friday to metals and mining projects as well as a steady stream of government contracts. Net earnings attributable to Fluor for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 were $206 million, or $1.15 a share, up from […]

Teams seeking to land a major Department of Energy contract that includes running depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion facilities at former gaseous diffusion plants in Ohio and Kentucky have been asked to keep their bids open through Nov. 17, sources said this week. Two DOE weapons complex contractor executives and one municipal government official told Exchange […]

A draft solicitation for a carbon-free power project at the Hanford Site in Washington state could be released within a month, a senior adviser with the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office said during an online presentation Tuesday. Hanford was the first DOE Office of Environmental Management property to hold a “Cleanup to Clean Energy” […]

Bechtel National Wednesday pushed back against a Department of Energy Office of Inspector General audit report that questioned the reliability of the contractor’s cost estimates for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “We believe that the report overlooks relevant factual data that is essential for consideration prior to […]

A Virginia-based, woman-owned company starts its 60-day transition Thursday to become the new provider of occupational medical services at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, DOE said. DOE’s Richland Operations Office said Wednesday it is giving Inomedic Health Applications (IHA) a notice to proceed with the transition, which should be completed on […]

A draft solicitation for a carbon-free power project at the Hanford Site in Washington state could be released within a month, a senior adviser with the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office said during an online presentation Tuesday. Hanford was the first DOE Office of Environmental Management property to hold a “Cleanup to Clean Energy” […]