WASHINGTON, D.C. — While Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), is unenthused about the Department of Energy’s interest in rebranding its Office of Environmental Management (EM), Rep Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) is fine with the idea.
Exchange Monitor asked both DOE weapons complex lawmakers about their thoughts on the issue this week between Congressional hearings.
“What they should be more concerned about is cleaning all the s— [stuff] up that they haven’t cleaned that’s what they should be spending money on, rather than changing letterhead,” Luján said in response to a Monitor question on the planned change.
“Everyone over there says there is not enough money to clean things up,” Luján said. “Why don’t they start there and then let’s start talking about name changes — once they clean things up.”
Luján, who apparently had not heard of the planned name change until asked by the Monitor, Tuesday apologized for the blunt tone of his response. The New Mexico Senator initially asked the Monitor who was talking about changing the EM name and what it might be changed to.
EM plans to change its name to the Office of Nuclear Restoration and Revitalization, DOE Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management Tim Walsh told the Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix earlier this month.
Fleischmann on the other hand is fine with the change. “That is within his [Walsh’s] purview,” Fleischmann said Wednesday. “I am very pleased with the job he has done. … he has been very accessible, very amenable. He knows that my heart is in environmental cleanup. I believe that is where his heart is,” the Tennessee Republican added.
“I think it is fine to rename it,” Fleischmann said. He does not think nuclear remediation will suffer if the name changes: “If anything it will benefit.”
At the Phoenix conference, Walsh and other top EM managers vowed the name change would not signal any de-emphasis on nuclear cleanup at Cold War and Manhattan Project sites. Walsh said some remediation goals at the $8-billion DOE branch could actually be accelerated.
Fleischmann who chairs the House Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee said the past four presidential administrations have made big investments in defense cleanup, which has been matched or exceeded by Congress.
Fleischmann is the Republican lead of the House Cleanup Caucus, a group that Luján was active in when he was a member of the House of Representatives. Luján is a member of the Senate Finance and Budget Committees.
The Monitor asked EM Tuesday if any outreach had been done to lawmakers on the name change. A DOE spokesperson did not address the issue directly but emailed a statement.
“The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management continues to prioritize the protection of the environment and the reduction of risks to human health as its central mission,” the DOE spokesperson said. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to actively engage with our communities and stakeholders throughout all ongoing and future initiatives. As we advance our work, we will ensure transparency and open communication, keeping our partners informed and involved in every step of the process.”
New Mexico is home to several DOE nuclear facilities including Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Exchange Monitor tried unsuccessfully to catch some other weapons complex members of Congress this week to ask if they had any opinion on the EM name change.
Fleischmann’s home district in Tennessee includes a portion of DOE’s Oak Ridge Site, which includes the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 Nuclear Security Complex.
Reported by Wayne Barber and Sarah Salem .