March 17, 2014

DOE OFFICIAL WHO CRITICIZED BECHTEL’S WTP DESIGN WORK RETIRING

By ExchangeMonitor

Gary Brunson, the Department of Energy’s engineering chief for the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, is reportedly retiring from DOE, likely by the end of this week. The move would come just one week after Brunson sent a scathing memorandum to top officials at the DOE Office of River Protection criticizing Bechtel National’s design work at the WTP and calling for the contractor to be stripped of the role of design authority for the project. “The behavior and performance of Bechtel Engineering places unnecessarily high risk that WTP design will not be effectively completed, resulting in fully operational facilities that are needed to comply with contract requirements. Thus a change in approach to WTP project completion is warranted,” Brunson wrote.

The DOE Office of River Protection declined to comment yesterday on Brunson’s retirement plans. “The department values the privacy of its employees and does not generally comment on personnel actions,” ORP spokeswoman Carrie Meyer said in a written response to WC Monitor yesterday. Meyer said in a statement earlier this week that DOE is reviewing Brunson’s memo. “We recognize there are significant technical challenges remaining at the Waste Treatment Plant, some of which have existed for many years. The Department takes seriously its role overseeing the safe design and delivery of the Waste Treatment Plant, and is continuing to work with Bechtel to address the ongoing technical issues. Even as we work together to pursue solutions, however, the Department continues to be frustrated with the lack of progress. Addressing these challenges effectively will require both additional work by the contractor, as well as improved oversight by the Department. It’s also important to note that the successful completion of this important project depends on employees continuing to be able to freely raise concerns.”

In the wake of Brunson’s memo becoming public, Bechtel National has sought to defend its work at the WTP. “When you look at the body of people who have come in and transparently looked at, if not all, the preponderance of the things in his letter …. they look at these things and say, ‘Is it perfect? No. But will it ever be perfect? No, probably not until it’s in operation for many years. But is it safer than the tanks and will it perform the mission at no risk to the co-located worker and the public?’ Their answer, as well as ours, is yes,” Bechtel National Project Manager Frank Russo told WC Monitor.

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