Monday, July 14, will mark five months since the radiation release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground that has resulted in the repository—and the Department of Energy’s transuranic waste program—being shut down for the foreseeable future. While a host of internal and external investigations—at least five, at last count—remain ongoing, the Department of Energy still does not know what caused the radiation release at the site. It doesn’t know when the site will be able to open again or how much it will cost to do so. At this point, DOE hasn’t even been able to get a complete look at Panel 7, where the radiation incident occurred.
And while initial reviews of the Feb. 5 truck fire and the response to the radiation release have faulted virtually every facet of the WIPP organization—from the performance of contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership and the oversight of DOE Carlsbad Field office personnel to the performance of sites shipping waste to WIPP and DOE headquarters’ oversight role—the line of accountability remains blurry and efforts to hold individuals or entities accountable remain unclear. DOE is expected in the coming days to formally announce a reduction in the available fee for Nuclear Waste Partnership in connection to the response to the fire, but beyond that there has been virtually no action taken in terms of accountability. No federal or contractor official has lost their job, been transferred, been moved off the WIPP contract or otherwise held accountable. No leadership has changed at the federal level. No company has lost a contract. The only visible change has been the addition of two executives to the NWP management, with Bob McQuinn taking over the top spot and previous general manager Farok Sharif moved to serve as NWP’s project manager for the TRU waste program.
That stands in stark contrast to the response to the last major incident to hit the DOE complex: the July 2012 security incident at Y-12 in which three elderly peace activists penetrated several layers of security at the site. In the months after that incident, the security contractor was terminated, the contractor’s general manager was removed and a federal manager was reassigned, among other changes, and the National Nuclear Security Administration was still sharply criticized for lack of accountability.
In the case of WIPP, the lines of accountability and leadership are not clear. Who is the point person on the WIPP recovery for the Department of Energy? Who owns the investigation and the path forward? It depends on whom you ask.
Weapons Complex Monitor reporters got a host of different answers over the last week when they asked the same question of a variety of stakeholders: who is in charge of the WIPP recovery and the path forward? According to New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn, it’s Frank Marcinowski, EM’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste Management. Local officials in Carlsbad say it’s Colin Jones, EM Chief of Staff. Contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership pointed to an April 13 press release from DOE stating that Mark Senderling had been tapped as the WIPP Recovery Manager at DOE headquarters, with Tom Teynor serving in that role for the Carlsbad Field Office. The company later added that Joe Franco, the Carlsbad Field Office Manager, is the overall point person. For Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), it’s more of a group effort, with his office responding in a statement that: “our office has worked closely with senior officials within Environmental Management in the recovery process. It is our understanding that EM, with oversight by the Secretary’s office directly, has been leading the recovery efforts for DOE.”
As for the Department of Energy itself, a DOE spokesman told WC Monitor this week that the acting head of the Office of Environmental Management—which this week shifted from Dave Huizenga to Mark Whitney—is ultimately in charge.
The bottom line? No one knows for sure. And that’s problem number one when it comes to ensuring accountability and a path forward for WIPP. Until there is accountability, there can be no path forward. As Whitney and Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management nominee Monica Regalbuto, currently serving as EM’s No. 3 official pending confirmation, formally take the reins of the cleanup program, strong leadership is needed on WIPP—now—to get this program back on track.
Martin Schneider
CEO, ExchangeMonitor Publications
7/11/2014
