Cleanup & Remediation

It is time for a federal district court judge in Washington state to toss out the amended complaint brought by more than 300 workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site who oppose mandatory vaccination against COVID-19, government lawyers said in filings last week. “Regardless of what procedural exhaustion requirements must be met to assert […]

During the past week there were 23 confirmed, active cases of COVID-19 among the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management’s federal and contractor workforce, an increase of 10 from the prior week, according to a spokesperson. That is still lower than the 27 recorded two weeks earlier. As of Monday morning, there was no […]

The procurement arm of the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office is requesting information from contractors capable of storing and disposing of low-level or mixed low-level hazardous waste, according to a recent online notice. The DOE’s Cincinnati-based Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center issued a sources sought/request for information (RFI) on Thursday April 21, trying to […]

Prospective bidders on a Department of Energy contract for long-term storage of domestic elemental mercury now have two extra weeks, until May 20, to submit proposals. In an update on its procurement page for Elemental Mercury Long-term Management and Storage, the DOE said Thursday April 21 that the submission deadline is being extended to May […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) cut the ribbon on the recently completed John A. Gordon Albuquerque Complex: a replacement for the 1950s era facilities that house around 1,200 employees and contractors and is sometimes called NNSA Headquarters West. NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) attended the ceremony, the agency wrote in […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management officially said in an April 15 press release it is expanding its Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program thanks to increased funding for the program in the agency’s fiscal 2022 budget, which started Oct. 1. In March, DOE’s Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina said Minority Serving […]

A federal district judge in southern Ohio is allowing most claims brought by a group of local residents to proceed against current and former contractors at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site. With the exception of not allowing minor children to be plaintiffs in a lawsuit chiefly concerning property, U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley rejected […]

The Jacobs-led cleanup contractor the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory has lifted a self-imposed “stand down” order at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, an agency spokesperson said Tuesday. The contractor, Idaho Environmental Coalition, lifted the order March 31, the DOE spokesperson said in a Tuesday email. The spokesperson was responding to a Weapons […]

Until the recent past, the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico let its fire trucks fall into disrepair and did a poor job of training firefighters, the agency’s Office of Inspector General said in a just-released report.   While it found no evidence to substantiate the most serious allegations raised about the […]

AVANTech, a Columbia, S.C.,-based radioactive and industrial water treatment solutions provider for the Department of Energy and commercial nuclear markets, said this week it recently completed expansion of its business development staff, by adding or promoting five managers. Tammy Monday joined AVANTech in January as vice president of business development for government services, working out […]

The Supreme Court should uphold the constitutionality of a 2018 Washington state law that makes it easier for workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford site to qualify for compensation for illnesses, the state attorney general’s office argued Monday before the high court. The U.S. Supreme Court, an independent branch of the federal government, agreed […]

William (Ike) White, the top manager of the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch, expects excess contaminated facilities in the weapons complex to draw more attention in the next decade or so, he told a National Academies of Sciences board Wednesday. Within that span, it will be time for the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management […]

The Department of Energy has withdrawn the federal procurement notice from Monday announcing a planned multi-year extension for the prime at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, saying it was “done in error.” The DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) “are jointly developing contract plans related to […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration is looking for a new remote office site in Las Vegas for personnel who don’t need to regularly commute to the Nevada Nuclear Security Site some 60 miles to the northwest of the city, according to a recent procurement note. The semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear weapons agency “plans to […]

DOE cans proposed extension for incumbent Savannah River prime; issued in error, DOE says The Department of Energy has withdrawn the federal procurement notice from Monday announcing a planned multi-year extension for the prime at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, saying it was “done in error.” The DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) […]

Until the recent past, the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico let its fire trucks fall into disrepair and did a poor job of training firefighters, the agency’s Office of Inspector General said in a just-released report.   While it found no evidence to substantiate the most serious allegations raised about the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration is looking for a new remote office site in Las Vegas for personnel who don’t need to regularly commute to the Nevada Nuclear Security Site some 60 miles to the northwest of the city, according to a recent procurement note. The semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear weapons agency “plans to […]

New Mexico’s governor blasted the Secretary of Energy this month for failing to provide “meaningful and transparent public engagement” about the agency’s plans to ship immobilized, surplus plutonium to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant from South Carolina. “Because the issues raised in the petition can only be addressed by DOE, I am passing this petition […]

William (Ike) White, the top manager of the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch, expects excess contaminated facilities in the weapons complex to draw more attention in the next decade or so, he told a National Academies of Sciences board Wednesday. Within that span, it will be time for the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management […]

Department of Energy managers, college officials and lawmakers broke ground Tuesday on a new off-site research center for the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina. The $50-million Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative facility, to be built by North Wind Group on the University of South Carolina-Aiken campus, will provide 60,000 square feet of laboratory, office and […]

The Supreme Court should uphold the constitutionality of a 2018 Washington state law that makes it easier for workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford site to qualify for compensation for illnesses believed to be linked to contamination at the former plutonium production complex, the state attorney general’s office argued Monday. Washington Deputy Solicitor General […]

A federal district judge in southern Ohio is allowing most claims brought by a group of local residents to proceed against current and former contractors at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site. With the exception of not allowing minor children to be plaintiffs in a lawsuit chiefly concerning property, U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley rejected […]

The Department of Energy intends to keep Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions as management and operations contractor of the Savannah River Site in South Carolina for up to five more years, the agency said in a procurement notice Monday. The agency said on the SAM.gov procurement website it plans to extend the period of performance […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management officially said in a Thursday press release it is expanding its Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program thanks to increased funding for the program in the agency’s fiscal 2022 budget, which started Oct. 1. In March, DOE’s Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina said Minority Serving Institutions […]

Experts will brief the public in May about the Department of Energy’s efforts to protect both Hanford workers and people nearby the site from a compound called acetonitrile: a toxic byproduct liquid radioactive waste treatment scheduled to begin by late 2023 at the former plutonium production site in Washington state. “Subject matter experts” will be […]

The Department of Energy has yet to resume its final test run of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Idaho National Laboratory, the agency confirmed Thursday. “The IWTU remains shut down,” an Idaho Department of Environmental Quality official said by email Thursday. “They [DOE managers]have completed their investigation and are preparing to start warming […]

After the government won a key legal battle last week, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should allow it to enforce a presidential executive order requiring federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. On April 7 the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit overturned a nationwide preliminary injunction […]

Centerra, which already provides security at multiple Department of Energy sites, recently won a five-year, $195-million award for protective services at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and nearby offices in Germantown, Md. Centerra’s parent company, Herndon, Va.,-based Constellis, announced the award in a March 31 press release. Centerra will provide protective forces including K-9 […]

After the government won a key legal battle last week, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should allow it to enforce a presidential executive order requiring federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. On April 7 the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit overturned a nationwide preliminary injunction […]

The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center in Cincinnati plans to increase the potential value of its technical support services deal with BTP Services LLC to $84.5-million from the current ceiling of $49.5-million. The DOE office announced plans to increase the cap for the Consolidated Technical Support Services Contract with BTP in a […]