With concerns over the integrity of Hanford’s aging underground waste tanks once again in the news, the Obama Administration new choice to lead the Department of Energy will be no stranger to the issue if confirmed. Yesterday, the White House announced, as expected, the choice of former DOE official Ernest Moniz to serve as the next Secretary of Energy. Moniz is currently a Massachusetts Institute of Technology physics professor, director of the MIT Energy Initiative and director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment at the MIT Department of Physics. He previously held the position of Under Secretary of Energy during the Clinton Administration, though, and it was in the late 1990s when Moniz launched a significant study into vadose zone and groundwater issues at Hanford, which led to DOE gaining better understanding of how waste moved through the vadose zone and aiding in the development of cleanup solutions.
Moniz’s familiarity with Hanford is likely to serve him well, with Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) making it clear the site will come up during the nominee’s upcoming confirmation hearings, which have yet to be scheduled. “I look forward to discussing with Ernest Moniz the many issues before the Energy Department that are so vital to the nation’s energy security. That includes: reengaging Dr. Moniz over the problems with cleaning up nuclear waste at the Hanford Site; finding creative ways to promote new technologies and harness the ingenuity of America’s energy innovators; and examining the diverse opportunities to attack climate change and transition to a low-carbon economy,” Wyden said in a statement.
Notably, Moniz led a review of the Stockpile Stewardship Program during his time as the Under Secretary of Energy. He was also tapped by Energy Secretary Steven Chu to review the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement-Nuclear Facility and the Uranium Processing Facility in 2010, but ultimately declined to take part in the review. As Under Secretary of Energy in the late 1990s, Moniz co-chaired the U.S.-Russian steering committee on Plutonium Management. Those efforts led to an agreement with Russia that hinges on disposal of excess U.S. plutonium using the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility now under construction. With the MOX program now threatened by rising costs and budget cuts, it is uncertain what tack Moniz may take with regards to that program.
Moniz is also linked to USEC, serving from 2002 until 2004 on the company’s Strategic Advisory Council as one of nine advisors regarding management issues at USEC. That council no longer exists and Moniz has not had a relationship with USEC since then, according to USEC spokesman Paul Jacobson.
New Mexico’s two Senators reacted favorably to Moniz’s nomination. “Dr. Ernest Moniz’s expertise in scientific research and his commitment to public service makes him a well-qualified candidate to be the next Secretary of Energy,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D) said in a statement. Sen. Tom Udall (R) said he was interested in learning more about Moniz’s interaction with New Mexico and the national labs. “Innovation, science and technology should remain at the heart of the department’s mission with greater emphasis on tech-transfer, and it is imperative that the next secretary focus on resolving the ongoing difficulties at the National Nuclear Security Administration in order to restore confidence to our stockpile stewardship and national security missions,” he said.