Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

WC Monitor 11/21/2014 IN DOE The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management plans to hold a new Business Opportunity Forum next month. Topics to be discussed at the meeting, according to a notice issued late last week, will include ongoing and upcoming procurement activities, as well as “contractor cost/pricing information.” The meeting is scheduled […]

K-31 Demolition Ahead of Schedule, UCOR Chief Says WC Monitor 11/21/2014 Demolition of Building K-31 at Oak Ridge got started on Oct. 8, and already the project is weeks ahead of schedule, according to cleanup contractor URS-CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC. UCOR President Ken Rueter said this week that the contractor has already knocked down major […]

Facing Tight Funding, Site Looks at Balancing Progress Toward D&D Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/21/2014 Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, LLC, responsible for the Portsmouth D&D project, is awaiting the next step from Congress to see if it can avoid hundreds of layoffs next month, officials said this week. Despite facing a funding shortfall of $110 million at […]

As is our annual practice, WC Monitor will not publish next week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. The next regular issue will be in your inbox Dec. 5. The Weapons Complex Morning Briefing will continue to be published Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and we will issue bulletins should any major news break in the […]

Final RFP Could Slip Into New Year Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/21/2014 KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—As the Department of Energy continues to consider concerns raised by industry about the draft Request for Proposals for the new Idaho Cleanup Project Core contract, release of a final RFP  could be pushed into the new year, DOE Office of Environmental […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/21/2014 Stacy Charboneau appears set to serve as the next Manager of the Department of Energy’s Richland Operations Office at Hanford, WC Monitor has learned. DOE is in the final stages of approving Charboneau for the position, and a formal announcement is expected in the next few weeks. The Richland Operations […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/21/2014 Department of Energy Savannah River Operations Office Manager David Moody has announced plans to retire in June after a 36-year career. “Dr. Moody’s leadership at the Savannah River Site (SRS) over the last four years has resulted in tremendous achievements for the cleanup of the site,” DOE Office of Environmental […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/21/2014 Three years after the Department of Energy began a safety investigation at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, the investigation remains open, there is no sign of resolution and it remains unclear whether any violations or potential penalties may be issued to project contractor Bechtel National. DOE’s Office of Enforcement began […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/21/2014 CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. earned approximately $5 million in award fee for its work at Hanford in Fiscal Year 2013, the last year in the base period for its contract, according to information the Department of Energy released late this week. The Department gave CHPRC a rating of “excellent” […]

Simpson to Remain Chairman of House E&W Approps Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 11/21/2014 There will be familiar faces in the next Congress atop the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee and House Energy and Commerce Committee, but a new leader for the House Armed Services Committee. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) this week was formally named […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/21/2014 The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessment late last week launched an investigation into safety concerns with the remediation of transuranic waste drums at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which have been linked to the radiological release that occurred early this year at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The move, […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/21/2014 As Congress looks at funding for the remainder of the fiscal year after the end of the current Continuing Resolution next month, New Mexico Sens. Martin Heinrich (D) and Tom Udall (D) are asking Senate appropriators to provide an additional $113 million for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant above current […]

Kenneth Fletcher and Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 11/21/2014 In order to meet a commitment to the state of Idaho, the Department of Energy this week sent 35 transuranic waste containers from the Department’s Idaho site to the Waste Control Specialists facility in Texas for interim storage. The waste was sent last November from Los […]

DOE Facing Potential Lawsuits Over Tank Vapor Concerns WC Monitor 11/21/2014 The Department of Energy is facing two threats of potential lawsuits over safety concerns posed by chemical vapors from Hanford’s underground high-level waste tanks. This week, the state of Washington threatened to sue DOE and Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions to […]

New £1.5B Procurement for Sellafield Suppliers Moves to Next Phase Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/21/2014 Sellafield Limited’s Decommissioning Delivery Partnership procurement for new cleanup suppliers has moved into the invitation to tender phase, the company announced this week. The next step in the procurement comes after a notice and pre-qualification were issued in June, and […]

DOJ Declines to Intervene in Subcontracting Fraud Lawsuit Against CHPRC WC Monitor 11/21/2014 The U.S. Department of Justice has declined to intervene in a lawsuit accusing CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. of committing fraud related to subcontract awards. CH2M Hill awarded subcontracts to a joint venture of Phoenix Enterprises Northwest and Acquisition Business Consultants (ABC), […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/14/2014 Ensuring that the federal government lives up to its obligations at Hanford is a priority for Dan Newhouse, the Republican poised to take over the central Washington district being vacated by Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.). Newhouse was declared the winner by the Associated Press as he maintained a slim lead […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/14/2014 With Congress back in session beginning this week, the White House’s choice to serve as the next head of the Department of Energy’s cleanup program appears set to continue to face a tough road to full confirmation. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) is maintaining a hold he has placed on Monica […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/14/2014 Babcock & Wilcox has tapped Dave Richardson to serve as the next President and Project Manager of Idaho Treatment Group, LLC, responsible for the Idaho Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project. B&W spokeswoman Aimee Mills confirmed late this week that Richardson will head up ITG in an acting capacity, but did […]

Todd Jacobson and Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/14/2014 Leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee are pushing ahead on an omnibus spending package for the remainder of this fiscal year, though it remains unclear if there will be enough support for the massive spending bill when the current short-term stopgap spending legislation funding government […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/14/2014 Potential bidders on the new Paducah infrastructure services now have an additional two weeks to prepare proposals thanks to an amendment to the final Request for Proposals for the new contract issued late this week. The amendment pushes back the due date for bids to Dec. 5, from Nov.  20, […]

Board Staff Highlight Concerns at Savannah River Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/14/2014 The Department of Energy has accepted a formal recommendation from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on the need to strengthen emergency preparedness and response capabilities, but told the Board last week that it will need longer than a required one-year period to […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/14/2014 INTERA is looking to overturn the Small Business Administration’s determination that Navarro Research and Engineering met the size standard used in the procurement for the new Nevada National Security Site environmental programs services contract. Late last week, INTERA filed an appeal with the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals challenging […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 11/14/2014 Hanford whistleblower Walt Tamosaitis will return to federal court after the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled late last week that his case against URS, the primary subcontractor at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, was wrongly dismissed on summary judgment. The 9th Circuit also found that he is entitled […]

PNNL to Pay $200,000 to Settle DOE Concerns Over Beryllium Program WC Monitor 11/14/2014 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has agreed to pay $200,000 as part of a settlement reached late last month with the Department of Energy to resolve concerns over the lab’s beryllium protection program. DOE opened a safety investigation at the lab this […]

SRR Completes New Liquid Waste System Lab WC Monitor 10/14/2014 Savannah River Remediation, the liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site, has completed a replacement laboratory next to the Defense Waste Processing Facility to serve the site’s liquid waste system. The new multi-functional laboratory will provide backup lab support for the Effluent Treatment Facility, […]

WC Monitor 11/14/2014 IN THE INDUSTRY Glenn Morgan of Huntington Ingalls Industries has been promoted to vice president of nuclear materials operations and will serve as Savannah River Nuclear Solutions’ deputy director of EM operations, Huntington Ingalls announced last week. He takes over for Steve Howell, who is now SRNS director of strategic initiatives. Morgan […]

Area Stakeholders Weigh in On Consent Decree Suit WC Monitor 117/2014 Two Hanford-area agencies have asked the federal court to consider what is best for the people who live near Hanford as a judge weighs competing proposals from the Department of Energy and state of Washington for amending Hanford’s court-enforced consent decree. The Tri-City Development […]