Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

BWX Technologies President and CEO Rex Geveden said Tuesday the U.S. Energy Department should soon issue one multibillion-dollar contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state, while another probably won’t land until mid-2020. “In the coming weeks we expect to hear about the Hanford Plateau Central Cleanup contract for which we are competing,” Geveden said […]

A breakthrough on fiscal year 2020 defense authorizations and appropriations is unlikely this week as House members are out of town and Armed Services Committee staffers work to hash out differences in House and Senate bills behind the scenes, lawmakers said Nov. 5. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) told reporters that […]

The state lawmaker who has headed Wyoming’s latest exploration of hosting a spent nuclear fuel storage facility has shifted that leadership role over to Gov. Mark Gordon (R). On Tuesday, state Sen. Jim Anderson (R) told the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Minerals, Business, and Economic Development Committee he has withdrawn a proposed bill to allow the […]

A female former security police officer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site, who alleged she was brutally assaulted by fellow officers during a drill, has settled a lawsuit against former site protective services contractor Centerra Group, according to a recent court filing. Jennifer Glover, who told the story of her alleged […]

U.S. Energy Department contractor BWX Technologies on Monday reported a company record for quarterly revenue – $506 million for the three-month period that ended Sept.30, an 18.9% jump from $426 million a year ago. The Lynchburg, Va.-based company reported $74.8 million in net income, or $0.78 per diluted share, compared with $77.9 million, or $0.78 […]

Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) on Monday said he would not reverse his decision to retire, even with the opportunity to take the top Republican spot on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Shimkus said last week he would reconsider his Aug. 30 announcement that he would not seek re-election in 2020 after Energy and Water […]

Washington River Protection Solutions is looking for a subcontractor to fabricate, test, and deliver a replacement melter for low-activity radioactive waste at the Waste Treatment Plant being built at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The AECOM-led contractor, which manages storage of 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste in 117 underground […]

The liquid waste contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site double-stacked 191 canisters of treated liquid radioactive waste in fiscal 2019, and plans to stack another 300 containers in the current 2020 federal budget year. Savannah River Remediation (SRR) says the project costs about $3 million annually and is freeing up space […]

In a rare public outing, Adm. James Caldwell, head of the U.S. Navy’s Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, is scheduled to address an industry banquet on Thursday near Washington.  Caldwell, the dual-hatted admiral responsible for both the Navy and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) nuclear-reactor programs, is the scheduled featured speaker for the closing banquet of […]

With less than three weeks to go before the current continuing resolution runs out, President Donald Trump has so far refused to pledge to sign a new agreement to prevent a potential government shutdown. Speaking to reporters Sunday, Trump said his commitment is contingent upon the deal that lawmakers work out. “I wouldn’t commit to […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in September continued its nearly yearlong trend of spending just a few hundred dollars per month of its balance from the federal Nuclear Waste Fund. The total for the month was $699 for unspecified program planning and support, according to the agency’s latest report to Congress. That is primarily how […]

The U.S. Department of Energy has finalized a deal for Centrus Energy Corp. to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel for nuclear reactors by building a new all-domestic enrichment cascade — technology that could one day contribute to national defense. The Bethesda, Md.-based company, the former U.S. Enrichment Corp., announced the news in a press release […]

The U.S. Energy Department on Monday issued a request for information kicking off market research for the next cleanup contract at the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) project in Utah. The current contract, held by North Wind Portage, expires after September 2021. The work involves moving tailings from the old Atlas Mineral Corp. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday formally approved a reduction in the emergency preparedness requirements for the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The changes include elimination of a dedicated 10-mile emergency planning zone in the license for the Cape Cod property. The requirement for a specific off-site radiological emergency response plan will […]

A radiation detection system developed at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory went into service at the Port of New York and New Jersey this year, lab management contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) said Friday. The On-Dock Rail Straddle Carrier Portal Monitoring System is designed to detect radiation inside intermodal shipping containers: […]

A California Superior Court judge ruled last week against a request by a watchdog organization to suspend the transfer of used reactor fuel into dry storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). In a motion filed with the court in October, El Cajon-based Citizens’ Oversight sought the temporary halt and authorization for discovery […]

FirstEnergy Corp. on Monday reported $391 million in net income for the third quarter of 2019, after sustaining a $512 million loss in the same three months of 2018. That was good for $0.73 in earning per share, versus a $1.02 per-share loss a year ago, according to the Akron, Ohio, power company’s earnings release. […]

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is considering a permit modification sought by a U.S. Energy Department contractor to relocate repackaging radioactive waste at a new location within the Idaho National Laboratory. Fluor Idaho wants to resume repacking sludge waste generated at a different facility than the location of the April 11, 2018, accident. The […]

The U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) still suffers from flagging morale and could stand to improve communication between its staff and its politically appointed leadership, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s inspector general wrote in an annual report on the board’s biggest challenges. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s inspector general, which also serves that role for […]

The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Navy Vice Adm. Charles Richard to become the next commander of U.S. Strategic Command. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) secured consent for confirmation en bloc of all nominations to the armed forces, including Charles. Charles currently serves as Navy commander for Submarine Forces, Submarine Force Atlantic, and Allied […]

BWX Technologies is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings before the market opens Tuesday, with the quarterly conference call with Wall Street analysts scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Last time out, the Lynchburg, Va.-based government contractor posted $471 million in revenue for the second quarter, which was 7.4% above than the $439 million for the same […]

Former Consolidated Nuclear Security manager Linda Bauer will as of Friday be the new deputy director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Among her responsibilities, Bauer will backstop lab Director William Goldstein, acting as the director of the $2-billion-a-year nuclear weapons laboratory in his absence, if necessary. Bauer will […]

US Ecology collected over $13 million in insurance recoveries in the first nine months of the year due to the fatal November 2018 explosion at its Grand View, Idaho, waste treatment and disposal facility. That included $9.7 million in property insurance recoveries and $4.1 million in business interruption insurance, the Boise-based environmental services company said […]

A panel of the Wyoming Legislature is recommending that lawmakers consider new legislation that would advance tentative plans for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the state. The recommendations are included in a report submitted for next week’s meeting of the Legislature’s Joint Minerals, Business, and Economic Development Committee. Specifically, according to the committee’s […]

Engineering, construction, and procurement giant Fluor continues to experience rough waters a month after announcing plans to sell its government services branch, which includes its U.S. Department of Energy contracts. For its third quarter ended Sept. 30, Fluor reported a net loss from continuing operations of $782 million, or $5.57 per diluted share, compared to […]

Two regulatory agencies in California stress the U.S. Department of Energy must receive state approval before it can legally tear down 18 buildings within Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory cleanup site in Ventura County. The Energy Department last month issued a record of decision formalizing its intention to demolish the remaining structures […]

A backup defense authorization bill unveiled this week by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) would authorize 2020 Department of Energy defense-nuclear spending and explicitly authorize starts for several new programs. Inhofe lifted the lid on the so-called “skinny” fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) late Tuesday. The measure drops many of […]