Cleanup & Remediation

Workers have completed construction of a new emergency operations center at the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Kentucky, the agency said Tuesday. Built with steel-reinforced concrete walls, the new 3,500-square-foot emergency building should withstand tornado-scale winds, according to a press release from DOE’s Office of Environmental Management. It replaces the old center located inside […]

While the Department of Energy and the occupational medical services provider for the Hanford Site in Washington state are at odds over how much data should be shared during an audit, DOE’s refusal to mediate the dispute is no sign of bad faith, a federal contracting board ruled. A DOE contracting officer told HPM Corp. […]

After acting as the lone deputy manager for 17 months at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, Brian Stickney is now officially the agency’s sitewide second-in-command, DOE said Monday. In 2019, DOE made Brian Vance the sole site manager for the former plutonium production complex, overseeing both Hanford’s Richland Operations Office and […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which already has two vacant seats on the five-member panel, said recently it is happy the White House this month formally nominated Patricia Lee to serve. Lee is currently a manager at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory.  “Her expertise with defense nuclear facilities will be a […]

The Fluor-led operations contractor at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina promoted Dennis Carr to CEO following Stuart MacVean’s retirement on Thursday, a company spokesperson said via email Friday. Carr becomes president and CEO of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions after serving as an executive vice president and chief operating officer for […]

On Oct. 1, 2024, the National Nuclear Security Administration will become the landlord, rather than a tenant, at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina and shoulder responsibility for operation and security of the site, a federal advisory panel heard Tuesday. When the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) takes over from DOE’s […]

During June, Department of Energy contractor North Wind Portage relocated 89,656 tons of uranium tailings and mill debris from the Moab, Utah site near the Colorado River to a disposal site about 30 miles away, according to a report to the Grand County, Utah Commission. As a result, 13.6 million tons of the 16 million […]

Hanford’s liquid waste contractor successfully appealed a U.S. Department of Energy order to pay the federal government $6 million for alleged overpayments to temporary workers, according to documents posted online recently. The U.S.  Civilian Board of Contract Appeals ruled in Washington River Protection Solutions’  (WRPS) favor on June 28, but made the decision public on […]

During June, Department of Energy contractor North Wind Portage relocated 89,656 tons of uranium tailings and mill debris from the Moab, Utah site near the Colorado River to a disposal site about 30 miles away, according to a report to the Grand County, Utah Commission. As a result, 13.6 million tons of the 16 million […]

A DOE official may share details about the National Nuclear Security Administration’s planned takeover of the Savannah River Site in 2025 during a public meeting on Tuesday, the official said Monday. That was the word from the No. 2 DOE Office of Environmental Management field office manager for Savannah River, Edwin Deshong, during a Monday […]

Here are some events related to defense and civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week. 24: Meeting: The DOE’s Citizens Advisory Board for the Savannah River Site holds a hybrid meeting starting at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. The session, which will be streamed via Youtube, will originate from Augusta Technical College—Waynesboro, […]

An advisory board recommended Nevada National Security Site proceed with its current plans to sample potentially contaminated groundwater in the location’s northwest corner.  The Nevada Site Specific Advisory Board unanimously recommended Thursday that the site continue its plan to sample the Pahute Mesa for tritium-laced water in fiscal 2025. The 1,355-square-mile site has already sampled […]

Government conferences can rarely boast of a speech by a well-known actor featured in Home Box Office’s series, including ‘The Wire’ — except maybe when the actor has a brother who is a Department of Energy manager. The DOE Small Business Forum & Expo last week in New Orleans included a keynote address from actor […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee’s energy and water development bill would provide about $8.5 billion in fiscal 2024 funds for the Department of Energy’s cleanup of Cold War and Manhattan Project nuclear sites, according to the bill unanimously passed out of committee Thursday.  Altogether, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management would be funded at $8.5 billion under […]

The Department of Energy and New Mexico should work with a third-party mediator “to build trust” on legacy cleanup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a Congressional watchdog reported Wednesday. Without “clearer communication that leads to smoother relationships with the regulators and the public,” DOE and the New Mexico Environment Department could risk, “further delaying […]

The Department of Energy first discovered more contaminated soil under Building 324 at the Hanford Site in Washington state last August and suspended work on stabilizing the structure in April, DOE said this month in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency. The timeline was laid out in a July 5 letter to David Einan, […]

With last week’s award of the Department of Energy’s $5.87-billion environmental remediation contract for the Portsmouth Site in Ohio to an Amentum-led team, two industry sources expect a companion contract is imminent for operations of that property as well as the Paducah Site in Kentucky. The sources, executives who work for different government contractors, also […]

The Department of Energy and New Mexico should work with a third-party mediator “to build trust” on legacy cleanup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a Congressional watchdog reported Wednesday. Without “clearer communication that leads to smoother relationships with the regulators and the public,” DOE and the New Mexico Environment Department could risk, “further delaying […]

The Department of Energy first discovered more contaminated soil under Building 324 at the Hanford Site in Washington state last August and suspended work on stabilizing the structure in April, DOE said this month in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency. The timeline was laid out in a July 5 letter to David Einan, […]

With last week’s award of the Department of Energy’s $5.87-billion environmental remediation contract for the Portsmouth Site in Ohio to an Amentum-led team, two industry sources expect a companion contract is imminent for operations of that property as well as the Paducah Site in Kentucky. The sources, executives who work for different government contractors, also […]

Responses to the Department of Energy’s request for information on technical support services for former gaseous diffusion plants in Kentucky and Ohio are due by Aug. 3, the agency said last Thursday. DOE formally issued the request for information notice online July 13 for the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, the Paducah Site in Kentucky and […]

Amentum Services, Chantilly, Va., has chosen Travis Johnson, who recently joined the company, to be its new chief financial officer, according to a July 10 press release. Before joining Amentum, Johnson was a senior vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer of defense contractor  CACI, Amentum said in its July 10 press release. Johnson […]

The Department of Energy greelit operation of Saltstone Disposal Unit No. 8 at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C., the agency said this week. The DOE Office of Environmental Management said in a Tuesday news release that authorization has been granted for Saltstone Disposal Unit 8 (SDU 8). It is the latest of the […]

With the House passing a defense policy bill laden with non-nuclear amendments, this week’s Senate Armed Services Committee draft of the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act would allow the Department of Energy to spend up to $7.1 billion on Defense Environmental cleanup and also calls for studies into issues at big nuclear weapons cleanup […]

New Mexico and the Department of Energy this week asked for 90 more days, until Oct. 10, to continue monthslong negotiations about new cleanup rules for the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In a joint status report filed Tuesday with U.S. Magistrate Judge John Robbenhaar in New Mexico, DOE and the New Mexico Environment Department, said […]

The Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor for the Portsmouth Site in Ohio took home about $15 million, or 95%, of its total potential fee for cleaning up after uranium enrichment for the six months ended March 28.  The take includes about 85% of the contractor’s subjective fee: the portion of the earnings for which DOE […]

Stuart MacVean, the president and CEO of Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the prime contractor for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina, plans to retire in a few weeks, he said in a Monday memo to employees. “Although I’ll be around for a few more weeks, I bid a fond farewell […]

A former Honeywell executive will remain at the Savannah River Site, jumping to Huntington Ingalls Industries to remain with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions now that Honeywell has sold its stake in the site prime contractor. James (J.C.) Epting said via LinkedIn on Sunday that he joined Huntington Ingalls as a senior vice president for Savannah […]

In the face of a legal battle over a contract award at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Department of Energy said Wednesday it will extend incumbent tank contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, for up to two more years. The DOE Office of Environmental Management said in an online procurement notice it plans to […]

The Department of Energy is studying disposal options for a radiologically contaminated forklift and other material after crews removed multiple waste drums from a partially-flooded building at the Hanford Site in Washington state, according to reports from a federal safety board. Radiological contamination turned up on an employee’s pant leg and on a forklift tine, […]