Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

A program-independent review found the cost-floor for building the National Nuclear Security Administration’s planned, multibillion-dollar pit factory at the Los Alamos National Laboratory will be slightly higher than the official estimate, though the ceiling might be a little lower. The Los Alamos Plutonium Pit Production Project (LAP4) and supporting infrastructure should cost between $2.93 billion […]

The company seeking federal approval to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico is asking to get involved with the state’s ongoing lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to recent court filings. Holtec International filed a formal petition April 29 to intervene in New Mexico’s proceedings against NRC in […]

Teresa Robbins replaced Geoff Beausoleil as manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration field office responsible for the Pantex Plant and the Y-12 National Security Site, according to the government’s nuclear health-and-safety watchdog. Robbins, one of Beausoleil’s two deputies at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Production Office, was set to take over May 1. […]

A Small Business Administration appeals panel recently agreed that incumbent Swift & Staley was too large to qualify for a $160-million infrastructure support contract it won last year at the Department of Energy’s Paducah site in Kentucky. The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals issued its decision April 20, effectively affirming a […]

In a move that has been in the works for some time, Irving, Texas-based Fluor has sold its North American equipment business, AMECO, to One Equity Partners for $73 million. Fluor announced the transaction in a Tuesday morning press release. The engineering and construction company first put AMECO up for sale in September 2019 at […]

Former Nuclear Regulatory Commission board member Peter Lyons has died, according to a Monday statement from the agency. “For decades, Pete distinguished himself as an influential thought leader in nuclear science and energy policy, first at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and later at the NRC and Department of Energy,” said NRC chair Christopher Hanson […]

The New York county executive with jurisdiction over the recently-shuttered Indian Point Energy Center urged federal legislators to find disposal solutions for the site’s spent fuel inventory, according to a series of requests published by the county office Monday. New York’s legislators and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should also continue their oversight over the former […]

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), whose district includes the Savannah River Site, on Monday asked the House Appropriations Committee to provide a total of $695 million in fiscal year 2022 for plutonium pit production at the Aiken, S.C. site: some $255 million more than the 2021 pit budget. The increase would entirely go toward construction of […]

Revenue and net income fell for BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va., during the first quarter of 2021, the naval reactor maker and nuclear services company reported after markets closed Monday. BWXT ended the first three months of the year with revenue of $528 million, a 2.6% dip from the $542 million taken in during the first […]

The Nuclear Energy Institute, the Energy Communities Alliance and six other groups Monday urged Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to set up a Nuclear Waste Management office to oversee both civilian- and defense-nuclear waste. The federal government “has effectively failed to pursue a nuclear waste program for over a decade,” according to the letter. “We […]

The Texas legislature was scheduled to vote Tuesday on a proposed bill that would ban the storage of high-level nuclear waste in the Lone Star State as a waste management company seeks a federal license to do so. H.B. 2692, introduced by state Rep, Brooks Landgraf (R), would also lower state fees associated with the […]

Here are some public events related to defense- and civilian-nuclear matters that the Exchange Monitor staff is tracking this week: May 03: The Brookings Institution hosts a webcast on President Biden’s first 100 days at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. 03: BWX Technologies releases its quarterly earnings report after the stock market closers at 4 p.m. Eastern […]

One of the four nuclear power plants set to shut down this year moved its last electron last week, setting the decommissioning process in motion. Indian Point Energy Center’s Unit 3 reactor went dark Friday, according to a press release from Holtec International — the site’s new owner. The Camden, N.J.-based nuclear services company will […]

The next several weeks could be a busy time for the Department of Energy’s procurement in the weapons complex. The long-awaited draft request for proposals (RFP) for the potential 10-year, $21.5-billion operations contract for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina was issued last week and anyone interested in participating in next week’s virtual pre-solicitation […]

Leaving Department of Energy contractors in charge of auditing costs ultimately paid by the government has created something of a “fox-guarding-the-henhouse problem,” the DOE’s Office of Inspector General said recently. As a result, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) wants DOE to hire dozens of independent federal auditors to overcome shortcomings in the “cooperative audit” […]

Although spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste can be safely stored in the interim, progress on a long-term geologic repository is “still a matter of urgency,” an independent review board said Friday. If the federal government followed the recommendations provided by the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) in its Friday report, the result […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to affirm its decision to deny a minerals holding company’s request to reconsider objections to a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. The afternoon vote place via teleconference closes the book on Fasken Land and Minerals’ appeal to reopen agency proceedings on Holtec International’s proposed consolidated […]

The Department of Energy Wednesday published the highly-anticipated draft solicitation for a potential 10-year, $21.5-billion management and operations contract for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The draft request for proposals (RFP) was published on a federal procurement website to solicit questions and comments from prospective bidders by 4 p.m. Eastern time on May […]

A week after a coalition of citizen groups threatened to sue without more environmental vetting, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration approved the first critical decision toward ramping up pit production at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Wednesday said it has approved Critical Decision […]

Department of Energy contractors and other groups seeking a more diverse workforce might consider starting with a self-examination, speakers told the Oak Ridge Small Business Diversity Summit Wednesday. Many organizations seem to be looking for “quick fixes” to promote hiring of racial and ethnic minorities, Claudia Caballero, president and CEO of Centro Hispano de East […]

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday he has forwarded the nomination of Frank Kendall III to be secretary of the Air Force to the Senate. The nomination has been referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee. The White House announced Tuesday that Kendall, a former acquisition official at the Pentagon, is the administration’s pick as the […]

Earnings rose at Entergy, New Orleans, in the 1st quarter of 2021, which the utilities company attributed to higher sales volume. Net earnings for the first quarter ended were $297 million, or $1.47 per share, up from $230 million, or $1.14 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue was $2.84 billion, up 17% year-over-year. […]

A bipartisan coalition of senators reintroduced last week a bill that would provide financial assistance to communities affected by stranded spent nuclear fuel at decommissioned power plants. Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Angus King (I-Maine), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) all co-sponsored the measure introduced April 21, called […]

The Department of Energy Tuesday awarded a five-year financial assistance renewal grant to the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization. The $5-million funding spread over five budget periods will enable the Community Reuse Organization to continue with its “Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers I” program to provide job training for people in several South Carolina […]

The Texas state Senate did not vote as scheduled Tuesday on a proposed bill that would ban the storage of high-level nuclear waste in the Lone Star State. The state Senate counterpart of H.B. 2692, introduced in March by state Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R), was supposed to be debated in a full session of the […]

An article in the April 27 edition of Weapons Complex Morning Briefing [“Hanford TRU Waste Would Move to WIPP by 2050”] should have said crews will retrieve about 17,500 containers of waste stored underground in Hanford’s low-level burial grounds.