Vol. 34, No. 10 
White House proposes keeping DOE nuclear cleanup flat at $8.3B for fiscal 2024
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Cleanup & Remediation
Ninth Circuit arguments set in May for COVID vax case by 300-plus Hanford workers
A legal challenge to COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state will be heard in early May by a panel of judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, according to a notice posted online last week. Oral arguments in David Donovan versus Brian Vance are […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
DOE needs to shoulder social, economic costs of its ‘default repository’ at INL, county alleges in lawsuit
Butte County, Idaho sued Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in federal court this week over continued spent nuclear fuel storage at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. The county says DOE should bear the “social” and “economic” costs of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) serving as a “default repository” for nuclear waste from entities […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Simulant leak fixed at Idaho waste treatment unit, DOE says
A small leak of simulant, detected last week, has been cleaned up at a waste treatment facility undergoing commissioning at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, a spokesperson said Wednesday. The “final preparations for the start of radiological operations” within the coming weeks, are continuing by DOE and its Jacobs-led contractor, Idaho Environmental Coalition, […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Final small-business remediation RFP could hit the street in early April
The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office should roll out its final solicitation for a national deactivation set-aside contract for small businesses by April 8, the agency said last week. The Small Business Nationwide Deactivation, Decommissioning and Removal contract pre-solicitation notice dated March 1 anticipates the final request for proposals (RFP) within 45 days from […]
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Contracts & Procurement
DOE procurement officials talk small, disadvantaged biz expansion
PHOENIX— Small and disadvantaged businesses could secure more federal funding from the Department of Energy’s $8-billion nuclear cleanup office, according to procurement representatives who addressed the Waste Management Symposia here last week. The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is raising its small and disadvantaged business awards goal for fiscal 2023 to 7% from […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Virtual tours, online DOE procurement meetings won’t go away altogether
PHOENIX —Born of necessity during the pandemic, the virtual tours and online meetings held for Department of Energy nuclear cleanup work have proven popular and probably won’t go away soon, even as the impact of COVID-19 fades, officials said here last week. Like other organizations, the DOE’s Cincinnati-based Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center is taking […]
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Budget & Policy
Biden selects Savannah River Lab manager as DNFSB nominee
President Joe Biden recently announced his intent to nominate Patricia Lee, who has more than 30 years of experience with radiation protection issues at the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina and elsewhere, to serve on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Lee now serves as the portfolio manager for the laboratory’s digital enterprise, […]
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Contracts & Procurement
S&K gets small extension for continuity at Moab
The Department of Energy nuclear cleanup procurement office said this week it intends to increase the maximum value of a small business Technical Assistance Contract at the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings site in Utah by $1.7 million. In a Tuesday notice, the DOE Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center announced plans to increase the set-aside contract […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Paducah advances plans for taking down, remediating C-400 building
By the end of the year, the Department of Energy expects to file final reports with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Kentucky for taking down the C-400 building at the Paducah Site in Kentucky, officials said last week at the Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix. The Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Report for the C-400 Complex […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
WRPS hires Richland biz to build new surface barrier at tank farm
The Amentum-led tank management contractor at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state has inked a $8.9 million subcontract with Richland-based Fowler General Construction to build an interim surface barrier over the U Tank Farm. Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), which has Atkins as minority partner, announced the award Tuesday in a press […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Stay tuned for more DOE direction on PFAS, panel told
PHOENIX – The Department of Energy is expected to hand down more guidance this spring and summer on what agency sites should do about a group of synthetic chemicals first widely-used during the Manhattan Project days for uranium-separation. That was the word here last Thursday from Karen Skubal, an environmental engineer with the DOE’s Office […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: Ex-Idaho gov dies; Livermore eyes demo; Corps to build site barricade; Amentum HQ moving to Va.; EnergySolutions touts Utah safety; Ex-SRS re-use exec starts firm
Former Idaho Gov. Phil Batt (R) died March 4 at age 96. During Batt’s tenure, Idaho inked a 1995 settlement the U.S. Navy and Department of Energy governing cleanup and removal of nuclear spent fuel from the Idaho National Laboratory. Gov. Brad Little (R) immediately ordered the lowering of Idaho and American flags in Batt’s […]