Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/20/2015 PHOENIX, Ariz.—In order to limit the impacts of proposed budget cuts to new processing missions at Savannah River’s H-Canyon facility, the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Operations Office is working with the National Nuclear Security Administration on H-Canyon funding, DOE Savannah River Manager Dave Moody said here this week. Programs […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/20/2015 PHOENIX, Ariz.—Executives from several major Department of Energy contractors urged the DOE Office of Environmental Management here this week to take a more “balanced” approach when it comes to evaluation criteria for bids on new contracts. In recent years, EM has moved to make past performance the top evaluation criteria […]

DOE to Stand Up New Los Alamos EM Field Office Next Week Kenneth Fletcher and Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/20/2015 PHOENIX, Ariz.—As the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management prepares to stand up its new Los Alamos Site Office next week, the top EM procurement official said here this week that he is “fairly […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/20/2015 PHOENIX, Ariz.—Recovery of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is in full swing after the site’s managing contractor, Nuclear Waste Partnership, began major decontamination efforts last month and hopes to meet a goal this spring to close an underground panel, NWP WIPP Recovery Manager Jim Blankenhorn said here this week. The […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/20/2015 As the Department of Energy works on a new Secretarial determination to govern future transfers of excess uranium to help fund cleanup work, among other activities, DOE appears to be considering a potential decrease in the amount of material to be provided, according to information the Department released this week. […]

Director Jack Craig Heading to SRS Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/20/2015 Management changes are underway at the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management’s Consolidated Business Center, with DOE announcing this week that EMCBC Director Jack Craig has been named to head up the Savannah River Operations Office. Craig is expected to transition to the […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/20/2015 Portsmouth site facility support services contractor Wastren-EnergX Mission Support, LLC, earned 93 percent of its available Fiscal Year 2014 fee, or $1.44 million out of $1.56 million available, according to fee information the Department of Energy released this week. Overall, the contractor received an “excellent” rating from DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project […]

ERDF Reaches New Waste Disposal Milestone WC Monitor 3/20/2015 The Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility has reached a new milestone of 17 tons of hazardous chemical and low level radioactive waste from across Hanford disposed since it opened in 1996. “Reaching 17 million tons of material disposed at ERDF shows the excellent cleanup work being done […]

Oak Ridge Increases Oversight at TWPC Preparing for Contract Transition WC Monitor 3/20/2015 The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Environmental Management Office will increase oversight of the Transuranic Waste Processing Center during the transition to a new contractor. DOE last month notified incumbent contractor Wastren Advantage, Inc. that it will be implementing an “enhanced oversight […]

WC Monitor 3/20/2015 IN CONGRESS Acting DOE cleanup chief Mark Whitney is among those scheduled to testify before the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee during a hearing set for next week. The March 24 hearing is also set to include National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz and Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Vice […]

ExchangeMonitor Publications and Forums Acquired by Access Intelligence WC Monitor 3/13/2015 ExchangeMonitor Publications and Forums was acquired this week by Access Intelligence, LLC, a business-to-business media and information company headquartered in Rockville, Md., serving the chemical, defense, satellite, aviation, cable, telecommunications, media and public relations markets. The acquisition comes roughly three months after Ed Helminski, […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/13/2015 After more than a year of probes into the 2014 radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Department of Energy is poised to release in the coming weeks its final Accident Investigation Board report into the root cause of the incident. The report is expected to implicate failures […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/13/2015 Bechtel National received a slight uptick in fee for its work at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant in the second half of 2014, according to information the Department of Energy released late this week. Bechtel National earned 65 percent of the award fee available for the six-month period, or $4.095 […]

Kenneth Fletcher and Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 3/13/2015 The appointment of former Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Poneman as the new President and CEO of uranium enrichment firm Centrus Energy Corp. is causing concern among some on Capitol Hill. During Poneman’s tenure at DOE, the Department played a big role in plans by the company, […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/13/2015 With 57 drums currently at Los Alamos National Laboratory containing similar materials to a drum that caused a major radiological release, officials plan to repackage the drums within the next two years using a “cold and dry” process. A drum processed at Los Alamos containing a volatile mixture of nitrate […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/12/2015 B&W Conversion Services, LLC, the managing contractor for the Department of Energy’s two depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion plants, earned 72 percent of the total available award fee for Fiscal Year 2014—$1.51 million out of $2.10 million, according to information DOE released this week. That is up from FY’13, when […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/13/2015 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is calling on improvements for controlling safety risks at Hanford after completing a review of decommissioning safety systems at the site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant, according to a letter sent to the Department of Energy late last week. An attached DNFSB staff report highlighted numerous […]

Local Business Group Questions Proposed FY16 Funding Cut WC Monitor 3/13/2015 At a time that the Department of Energy’s overall budget is increasing, the administration’s budget requests for environmental cleanup have been decreasing, the Tri-City Development Council pointed out in a recent letter to members of the Washington state Congressional delegation. “DOE made commitments with […]

DNFSB Questions DOE Pace in Performing Risk Reduction at 235-F Facility WC Monitor 3/13/2015 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board last week expressed concern over the Department of Energy’s schedule for performing risk reduction activities at the Savannah River Site’s 235-F facility. Late last year, DOE said the completion of the 235-F risk reduction plan […]

John Bradburne, former President, Fluor Fernald WC Monitor 3/13/2015 This past Monday morning a Fernald union leader passed away. Gene Branham, who was a member of a Teamster’s local in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area, lost his long battle with cancer. Gene worked at Fernald for more than 50 years, and for much of that time […]

WC Monitor 3/13/2015 IN DOE Erik Olds has been named acting Chief of Staff for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. Olds last held the title of Chief of Staff for the DOE Office of River Protection. In EM headquarters, Olds will temporarily fill the vacancy caused by the departure of Colin Jones […]

GAO Evaluating Protests Over Latest Effort to Award Follow-on Contract Mike Nartker 3/6/2015 Stoller Newport News Nuclear has received a new six-month sole-source extension to its contract to provide support services to the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management as challenges to DOE’s latest effort to award a follow-on contract are resolved. Stoller is […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/6/2015 POJOAQUE, N.M.—A “master acquisition plan” for what is expected to be several Los Alamos cleanup procurements is set to be released by June, which would be followed by draft requests for proposals by the end of the summer, Department of Energy officials said here this week at an industry day […]

Such Information ‘Inside Baseball,’ DAS Surash Says Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/6/2015 Acknowledging that there is no regulatory prohibition against the release of the information, the top acquisition official in the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management this week defended EM’s practice of blocking the public release of the identities of Source Selection Officials […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/6/2015 SANTA FE, N.M.—As discussions continue on penalties that could top more than $100 million, “time is of the essence” in reaching a settlement between the Department of Energy and the New Mexico Environment Department to ensure a timely reopening of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn said […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/6/2015 As questions persist over whether any companies will choose to bid on the new Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) Core contract, the top acquisition official in the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said this week that “the market” will ultimately decide the level of competition DOE gets for the […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/6/2015 Former Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Poneman has been named president and chief executive officer of uranium enrichment firm Centrus Energy Corp. Poneman, who left his DOE post in October 2014 after being the longest serving deputy secretary, is known for his DOE work on nonproliferation and nuclear energy policy, […]