Vol. 33, No. 07 
Deal Makes Clear DOE to ‘Fully Cooperate’ With DNFSB Fact Finding at Nuke Sites
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Budget & Policy
Senate Passes Short-term Budget Patch, Needs Biden’s Signature
Following the lead of the House of Representatives earlier this month, the U.S. Senate voted 65-to-27 Thursday evening to approve a short-term spending deal to keep the federal government open through March 11. President Joe Biden was expected to sign the latest continuing resolution (CR) in order to prevent a government shutdown today while Democrats […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Notice to Proceed Issued for New Oak Ridge Cleanup Contract
The Department of Energy last week issued Amentum-led United Cleanup Oak Ridge its 90-day notice-to-proceed on its potential $8.3-billion, long-term Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup Contract in Tennessee, a DOE spokesperson said this week in an email. The actual transition begins for United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR), made up of Amentum, Jacobs and Honeywell, on Feb. […]
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Decommissioning
Demolition Planned for Nautilus Nuke Sub Prototype in Idaho
The Department of Energy’s $7.6-billion cleanup office will soon move to tear down a land-based reactor in Idaho considered integral to development of the United States first nuclear-powered submarine in the 1950s. The DOE Office of Environmental Management said in a release Tuesday it assumed responsibility for deactivation and demolition of the Submarine 1st Generation […]
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Budget & Policy
Luján Now in D.C. for Stroke Recovery, Plans Senate Return Soon
In social media posts Thursday, U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) says he has returned to Washington, D.C., where he is “back at work and will return to the Senate floor soon,” following his January stroke. “Through the love and support from my family, medical team, and New Mexicans, I’m getting stronger each day in […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
New Acting Senior Adviser Added to EM Org Lineup
Ben Harp, a Department of Energy manager for several years, has been appointed as an acting senior adviser at the $7.6-million Office of Environmental Management. Harp, a former deputy manager at the Office of River Protection at the Hanford Site in Washington state, is listed on the latest DOE Environmental Management (EM) organization chart published […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Longtime Hanford Critic Carpenter Stepping Down as Head of Watchdog Org
By John Stang Longtime Hanford Challenge executive director Tom Carpenter plans to semi-retire on April 1 — beginning a phaseout after roughly 35 years as one of the Hanford site’s leading public watchdogs. Carpenter, 64, will step down as executive director of the organization that he founded, but will stay on as an advisor. Deputy […]
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Contracts & Procurement
More States, Chamber of Commerce Claim Biden Went Too Far in Contract Vax Orders
Eighteen more states, some with Department of Energy nuclear cleanup sites, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, filed legal briefs this week supporting a U.S. District Court judge’s ruling that blocked President Joe Biden from requiring most federal contractor employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Amicus curiae or “friend of the court” briefs were filed […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP Receives Eight Shipments During January
The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico received eight shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during the month of January, according to the latest data on the public website for the disposal facility. During January the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) received four shipments each from the Idaho National Laboratory and an […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Pandemic Takes a Bite Out of Snack Profits at Savannah River
With increased telecommuting, more feds and contractors are eating their chips and candy at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and this in turn has driven down vending machine proceeds at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina, according to a recent procurement notice. In the notice initially posted Jan. 27 on the […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Amentum Closes on Purchase of Government Contractor PAE
Maryland-based Amentum, one of the dominant players in the Department of Energy weapons complex, has completed its $1.9-billion purchase of PAE, a Virginia-based defense and government services contractor, the companies said this week. The deal, which PAE characterized as a “merger” was announced by the parties in October. PAE’s “go-shop” period in which it could […]
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Budget & Policy
DOE, Other Feds Embrace Pandemic Telecommuting, With Limits
A recent Government Accountability Office report confirms what most observers already assumed — the COVID-19 pandemic prompted much of the federal workforce at the Department of Energy and elsewhere to abandon their cubicles in favor of telecommuting, although the practice has its own hassles. The DOE found there were limits to its work-from-home efforts especially […]
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Contracts & Procurement
CEO Constable to Become Board Chair at Fluor
Irving, Texas-based Fluor said in a press release last week CEO David Constable will also become chairman of the company’s board of directors, with executive chairman Alan Boeckmann deciding not to seek re-election to the board during the upcoming shareholders meeting May 5. “Alan rejoined Fluor’s board as executive chairman in 2019 and has served […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Net Earnings Dip at Jacobs But Revenue Remains Flat
Net earnings from continuing operations fell at Jacobs, Dallas, in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, which the global engineering firm and Department of Energy contractor attributed largely to tax-related adjustments, according to financial results reported last week. Net earnings from continuing operations for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2021, were $134 million, or $1.03 […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: LANL Staff Returning, Hanford Job Fair Set, Tribal Leader Dies
Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management staffers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory are preparing to return to onsite work starting Feb. 28, Lee Bishop, deputy designated federal officer for the Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board said during an online meeting Wednesday. “Not everybody is coming back into the office, some people have […]