Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

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.

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday he will nominate Frank Kendall, a former top acquisition official at the Pentagon, as the next secretary of the Air Force and Heidi Shyu, the Army’s former lead acquisition executive, to be the next undersecretary of defense for Research and Engineering. Kendall, an Army veteran, last served in the Pentagon […]

The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration this week appointed two new deputy managers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory field office in New Mexico. Jason Saenz will be the new deputy manager for technical operations and Paula “Erika” Wisdom will be the deputy manager for business, security and missions as a new […]

The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to approve the nomination of Colin Kahl’s nomination for the Pentagon’s top policy job on a party-line vote of 49-to-45. President Joe Biden’s pick to be undersecretary of defense for policy, Kahl failed to win a single Republican vote, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), the top GOP member on the Senate […]

President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally sent to the Senate Frank Rose’s nomination to be principal deputy administrator for the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration. Last Thursday Biden announced his intention to nominate Rose to the No. 2 slot at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons […]

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.      

Moving transuranic waste stored at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state to an underground disposal site in New Mexico would be completed by September 2050 instead of 2030 under a proposed change by agencies involved in remediating the former plutonium production complex. The delayed schedule for moving transuranic waste from Hanford to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission appointed two new members to its reactor safety board this week, the agency announced Monday. Vicki Bier, and Gregory Halnon joined the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) April 12, NRC said in a Monday press release. They will both serve four-year terms on the panel. In addition to her new […]

The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration said Monday it has disposed of more than 100 “legacy” facilities at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee and the Pantex Plant in Texas. “For years now, we’ve been strategically removing legacy equipment and materials, packaging and shipping contaminated waste, and demolishing outdated facilities,” Jim […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission shouldn’t have tossed a coalition of watchdog groups’ request for a public hearing on a license extension for a nuclear power plant in Virginia, according to an appeal filed with the agency Friday. NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board erred when it ruled that concerns about the safety of a 20-year […]

President Joe Biden on Friday announced his intent to nominate Deborah Rosenblum to be assistant secretary for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense at the Department of Defense. The nuclear, chemical, and biological defense program, currently led on an acting basis by Brandi Vann, is charged with detecting, defending against and responding to threats posed by […]

The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration plans to extend by four months an existing deal with a small business that provides technical support and analysis. In a procurement notice published Friday, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said its current three-year-and-a-half year deal with Vector Resources, Inc., which is worth about $3 […]

Here are some public events related to defense- and civilian-nuclear matters that the Exchange Monitor staff is tracking this week: April: 26: POLITICO Playbook will host a virtual interview with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to discuss the Biden administration’s infrastructure and climate plan. Register here for access to the virtual panel scheduled for 11 a.m. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should formally rule this week on a challenge to one of the two proposed commercial interim storage sites for spent nuclear fuel awaiting federal licensing, according to a notice. NRC’s commissioners will meet Wednesday to finalize their decision on Fasken Land and Minerals, Ltd.’s motion to reopen the record on Holtec […]

More than three years after buying Westinghouse Electric from Toshiba, Brookfield Business Partners is reportedly considering selling a minority interest in the nuclear company. Reuters reported Friday that the international asset management firm is looking at options that include taking on a minority partner in Westinghouse, which Brookfield purchased from Toshiba for $4.6 billion in […]

Texas-based Fluor has signed a deal to use its  twice-retired former chief financial officer, Michael Steuert as a consultant, the Department of Energy contractor said in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Steuert is providing advice and consulting services through Dec. 31, 2023, according to the 8-K notice filed March 31. He will be […]

The Department of Energy’s prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico has hired a Kiewit affiliate, The Industrial Co. or TIC, as the replacement subcontractor to complete construction of a major underground ventilation project. Nuclear Waste Partnership in a Wednesday press release it has awarded the subcontract, worth about $163 million, […]