Weapons Complex Vol. 25 No. 24 New DOE Project Management Guidelines a Concern for Some Sites
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Contracts & Procurement
DOE and SBA Still Working on Implementing New Small Biz Goal Rule
DOE Earns Failing Score From SBA In FY’13 Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/13/2014 It may once again be hard for the Department of Energy to earn a passing grade from the Small Business Administration this fiscal year, as DOE and the SBA continue to work out details on a new law allowing some subcontracts to […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Savannah River Manager Responds to Tank Closure Plan Criticism
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/13/2014 Responding to criticism from South Carolina regulators of a new Savannah River Site liquid waste plan with lengthy delays, the site’s top official emphasized this week that the site is still committed to closing tanks. The Department recently released the latest revision of the site’s liquid waste system plan, which […]
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Contracts & Procurement
DOE Silent on Plans for LM Support Contract After Successful Protest
GAO Releases Protest Decision Details Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/13/2014 Almost a month after the Government Accountability Office called on the Department of Energy to re-evaluate two bids submitted for the new Office of Legacy Management support services contract in response to a successful protest, the Department’s plans for making a new award decision […]
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Budget & Policy
House Appropriators Look to Provide Less than FY15 Request for Defense Cleanup
Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/13/2014 House appropriators are looking to spend less next year than what the Department of Energy is seeking for work at its set of major cleanup sites. The House version of the Fiscal Year 2015 energy appropriations bill, reported out of subcommittee this week, would provide a total of approximately […]
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Transuranic Waste
Five Drums Stored at WCS Linked to Breached WIPP Container
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/13/2014 As investigations continue into the breached drum at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Department of Energy is scrutinizing five additional Los Alamos waste drums from the same acidic waste stream currently stored at Waste Control Specialists. A leading theory has been that nitrate salts and organic kitty litter in […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Too Early to Say If Idaho Facility Can Process Waste This Year, DNFSB Official Says
Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/13/2014 As the Department of Energy and contractor CH2M-WG Idaho continue to move forward with startup testing at the Idaho Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Technical Director Steve Stokes said this week that it’s too early to say whether the facility will be able to begin processing […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
B&W Pantex Chief Woolery to Head up DUF6 Contractor
Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/13/2014 John Woolery has been named the new President and General Manager of B&W Conversion Services, LLC, the contractor responsible for the Department of Energy’s two depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion plants, effective July 1. That’s the same day that B&W Pantex, which Woolery currently heads, is set to be replaced by […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE Safety and Security Reorg. Slowing Down Enforcement Actions, Official Says
Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/13/2014 Work underway to set up the Department of Energy’s new Office of Independent Enterprise Assessment (IEA) is slowing down ongoing DOE enforcement investigations, IEA Director Glenn Podonsky said late this week. The new office, which was created as part of a reorganization of DOE’s safety and security functions, contains […]
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Contracts & Procurement
DOE Moving Forward with New Infrastructure Services Contracts
Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/13/2014 The Department of Energy is moving forward with procurements for new infrastructure support services contracts at the Paducah and Portsmouth sites. This week, DOE issued a draft Request for Proposals for the new Paducah contract, with industry comments due by July 3. The new contract is being set-aside for […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
DOE, Wash. State Agree to Extend Talks on Hanford Consent Decree
Staff reports WC Monitor 6/13/2014 Washington state and federal officials will continue to discuss changes to the Hanford court-enforced consent decree, rather than taking the matter back to court, they announced this week. The initial 40-day dispute resolution period expired June 2, which allowed either the state or the Department of Energy to ask […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
GAO: DOE Uranium Transfers May Have Been Done Illegally
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/13/2014 The four recent Department of Energy uranium transfers that supported USEC totaling in the hundreds of millions of dollars may have been done illegally, according to a Government Accountability Office report released this week that sparked strong disagreement from DOE. The Department undertook the transfers in 2012 and 2013 […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
At Richland
Lawmaker Calls for Quick Action on New DOE Manager WC Monitor 6/13/2014 Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) is calling on the Department of Energy to move quickly to name a new Manager for the Richland Operations Office at Hanford, following the retirement of Matt McCormick last week. “I believe the Richland Operations Office needs a Manager […]
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Budget & Policy
Wrap Up: In Congress, In the DNFSB, In the Industry
WC Monitor 6/13/2014 IN CONGRESS The Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee is looking to mark up its version of the Fiscal Year 2015 energy spending bill next week. The panel has scheduled a hearing June 17 beginning at 10 a.m. to consider the measure. The full Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to take up […]