Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

NS&D Monitor 2/13/2015 IN CONGRESS Former Naval Reactors Government Affairs director Adam DeMella is joining the majority staff of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee where his portfolio will include the National Nuclear Security Administration, NS&D Monitor has learned. DeMella headed up Naval Reactor’s government affairs shop from 2001 until December. DeMella will assume […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/13/2015 The Government Accountability Office this week released its decision denying the protest Portage filed against Navarro Research and Engineering’s win of the new Nevada National Security Site environmental programs services contract. Navarro and Portage had been the two highest-rated offerors of the five teams that bid on the contract, which […]

A defense budget expert told the House Armed Services Committee today that the U.S. should rethink nuclear capabilities and modernization processes before the end of the decade. “And then we can start making some smart decisions,” Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow for Defense Budget Studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, told the panel […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is raising a number of seismic safety issues at two Y-12 production facilities—Beta-2E and Building 9215—that have become integral to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s revised strategy for scaling back the scope of the Uranium Processing Facility and getting out of the decrepit 9212 complex as soon as possible. […]

The Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee will hold a hearing on U.S. nuclear weapons policy March 4 with testimony from senior officials from across the weapons complex. National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz will join Strategic Command chief Adm. Cecil Haney, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Brian McKeon, Deputy Director […]

The Government Accountability Office yesterday released its decision denying the protest Portage filed against Navarro Research and Engineering’s win of the new Nevada National Security Site environmental programs services contract. Navarro and Portage had been the two highest-rated offerors of the five teams that bid on the contract, which was set-aside for small businesses, according to the […]

The Administration released its National Security Strategy Friday, reaffirming President Obama’s long-held dual approach to seeking a world without nuclear weapons while ensuring the nation’s nuclear arsenal is sound until that day comes. “No threat poses as grave a danger to our security and well-being as the potential use of nuclear weapons and materials by […]

Latest in a Series of Assessments Raising Culture, Morale, Concerns Within Board Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 2/6/2015 A “divisive and dysfunctional relationship” among the members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board appears to be playing a significant role in the poor morale plaguing the DNFSB staff, according to a new independent report released late […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/6/2015 The Department of Energy’s Office of Enforcement is investigating an accident at the Office of Secure Transportation’s Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Oak Ridge that led to the partial amputation of an employee’s finger. The investigation was disclosed in a letter Office of Enforcement Director Steven Simonson sent on Jan. 30, […]

Cracks in Concrete at HEUMF Being Monitored by Y-12 Officials NS&D Monitor 2/6/2015 Cracks in the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility apparently haven’t worsened—at least not significantly—over the past year-and-a-half, but studies are still underway to determine how to address the situation at the Y-12 facility that houses the nation’s principal supply of bomb-grade uranium. […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/6/2015 Budgetary pressure in GOP-controlled Congress could force tough decisions on President Obama’s $12.6 billion request for the National Nuclear Security Administration, including on funding for the Uranium Processing Facility, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee suggested this week. The Obama Administration requested $430 million for […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/6/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration downplayed this week a report by the Project on Government Oversight that raised concerns about Administrator Frank Klotz’s prior work for Department of Energy contractor Bechtel, noting that Klotz followed government guidelines in disclosing his previous work and saying his decision-making has been unaffected by […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration downplayed a report by the Project on Government Oversight yesterday that raised concerns about an ethics waiver granted to Administrator Frank Klotz allowing him to make decisions involving former client Bechtel, noting that Klotz followed government guidelines in disclosing his previous work and saying his decision-making has been unaffected by […]

The Obama Administration is requesting $48.05 million for National Nuclear Security Administration warhead dismantlement efforts in Fiscal Year 2016, $1.95 million less than FY 2015 funding levels, but it is planning to level out funding through FY 2020, according to budget documents released Monday. The NNSA said it was still on track to meet its […]

The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board is considering weighing in on the recent report of the Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance of the Nuclear Security Enterprise. The Board—which is chaired by former Under Secretary of Energy John Deutch—will hold a teleconference at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 17 to discuss sending a letter to the Department […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 2/2/2015 The Obama Administration is requesting $430 million for the Uranium Processing Facility planned for the Y-12 National Security Complex in Fiscal Year 2016, preserving the planned funding profile of the multi-billion-dollar facility thanks to a decision last year to shift the project from one “big box” facility to several smaller […]

The Obama Administration later today will request $8.8 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program in Fiscal Year 2016, accelerating funding for key modernization efforts like the cruise missile warhead, W88 Alt 370 and Uranium Processing Facility, NS&D Monitor has learned. The $677 million increase from FY 2015 enacted funding levels is also […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/30/2015 The Obama Administration is set to ask for a significant Fiscal Year 2016 budget increase for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program and relatively flat funding for its nonproliferation account, weapons complex observers and Congressional aides told NS&D Monitor this week. The Administration will unveil its FY 2016 budget […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/30/2015 National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office Manager Steve Erhart isn’t denying rumors that he could be leaving his post as the top federal official overseeing the Y-12 and Pantex plants, but he didn’t confirm anything either in a message to NPO employees last week. Erhart called the rumors “unsettling and […]

Erhart: Moniz On Board With UPF Path Forward NS&D Monitor 1/30/2015 The revamped plan for designing and constructing the Uranium Processing Facility apparently has met with the approval of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. In a Jan. 21 message to employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office and contractors, NPO Manager Steve Erhart indicated […]

National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office Manager Steve Erhart isn’t denying rumors that he could be leaving his post as the top federal official overseeing the Y-12 and Pantex plants, but he didn’t confirm anything either in a message to NPO employees last week. Erhart called the rumors “unsettling and distracting,” but acknowledged that his […]

Army Corps of Engineers Prepping for UPF Site Infrastructure and Services Work NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 The Army Corps of Engineers began gearing up for the next phase of the Uranium Processing Facility project this week, releasing a presolicitation notice this week for site infrastructure and services on the multi-billion-dollar effort. The work, which would be […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 New House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said this week that he is opposed to one of the biggest recommendations made by the Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance of the Nuclear Enterprise: moving the semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration back under the Department of Energy. “I […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 The Congressional Budget Office on Jan. 22 released its 10-year future nuclear weapons cost estimate, which projects the Obama Administration’s plans for nuclear forces would cost $348 billion from 2015 to 2024, down $7 billion from an estimate released a year ago. “Although the two estimates are close, notable changes […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists this week moved the minute hand of its symbolic “Doomsday Clock” two ticks closer to midnight, citing unchecked climate change and global nuclear weapons modernization. The Bulletin’s Science and Security Board announced Jan. 22 that it was moving the clock from 5 minutes to 3 […]

Security Contractor Receives Performance Score of 96 for FY 2014 NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 National Strategic Protective Services, the Department of Energy’s security contractor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, East Tennessee Technology Park and other Oak Ridge facilities, received a “very good” rating for Fiscal Year 2014 and an overall performance score of 96, according to […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 The Department of Energy’s Inspector General has temporarily yanked an already-released review of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Secure Transportation from its website over concerns about the accuracy of the report. The IG only released a summary of the “Official Use Only” report in November, but it said […]

CNS, Metal Trades Council Begin Negotiations on New Bargaining Agreement NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security began negotiating a new labor agreement this week with the Metal Trades Council, the union representing Pantex Plant workers. George Rangel, a spokesman for Consolidated Nuclear Security, said the contractor won’t discuss pending issues that will come […]

Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security began negotiating a new labor agreement yesterday with the Metal Trades Council, the union representing Pantex Plant workers. George Rangel, a spokesman for Consolidated Nuclear Security, said the contractor won’t discuss pending issues that will come up in negotiations with the Metal Trades Council over the five-year contract, but said […]

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists at 11 a.m. today will host an international news conference to announce the decision of its Science and Security Board of whether to adjust the minute hand of the historic “Doomsday Clock,” created in 1947 to symbolize and communicate the urgency of nuclear dangers to international public and political leaders. […]