The Department of Energy on Monday said it had selected a veteran staffer to lead the office that oversees the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. Todd Shrader will take over for Carlsbad Field Office acting manager Dana Bryson, who last week announced his retirement from the DOE as of Oct. 2. “Todd Shrader is a proven leader and experienced engineer who has successfully tackled some of DOE’s toughest issues,” Monica Regalbuto, assistant energy secretary for environmental management, said in a press release. “He is the right person to lead the excellent team we have in Carlsbad, as we all remain focused on safely resuming waste emplacement operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant as quickly and efficiently as possible.” There was no immediate word on when Shrader would start at CBFO manager.
Shrader has held a number of roles at DOE headquarters and facilities, including supporting development of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state and heading up crucial parts of the licensing process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the now-shuttered Yucca Mountain waste repository project in Nevada. WIPP stopped accepting shipments of transuranic waste for storage following a fire and separate radiation release in February 2014. DOE and site contract operator Nuclear Waste Partnership acknowledged in August that a projected $242 million plan to resume storage operations by March 2016 would not come to fruition. The contractor is expected within a week to submit a revised draft project measurement baseline for DOE consideration.