DOE Officially Releases Details on LANL Cleanup Transition

The Department of Energy yesterday officially released the details of plans for the transition of management legacy cleanup work at Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Office of Environmental Management. As previously reported by WC Monitor, DOE plans to award a sole source contract early next year to current Lab contractor Los Alamos National Security to cover the transition period, which is expected to take 18 to 24 months. “We want to ensure the least amount of disruption possible. During this time EM will work toward establishing a new contract for the longer-term legacy cleanup work. This transition will not alter the scope of the cleanup or the current activities underway,” EM Acting Assistant Secretary Mark Whitney said yesterday in a call with reporters. The contract will have a one-year base period and two six-month option periods.

 

At the same time, in early 2015 DOE is planning to establish an EM Los Alamos Site Office. “We anticipate being able to fully staff that office by the end of calendar year 2015,” Whitney said. He added later: “Following an initial recruitment of four key federal positions, including a field office manager, the deputy manager, regulatory specialist, and a contracting officer, EM will perform a staffing analysis to ensure that there is effective and efficient oversight and management of the work. We do expect the federal workforce impacts to be very limited.”