Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

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 […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/7/2014 The Energy Facility Contractors Group is eliminating nine of its 13 working groups and cutting its December semi-annual meeting following a Department of Energy request for the restructuring. The changes come as part of efforts by DOE and EFCOG to bring a greater focus to the group’s efforts and ultimately […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/7/2014 With storage space running out for vitrified high-level waste canisters at the Savannah River Site, “double stacking” the canisters in the current storage building could be an interim solution, according to a proposal by the site’s liquid waste contractor, Savannah River Remediation. Currently the canisters are housed in a storage […]

Draft ‘Transition Plan’ Says New EM Los Alamos Field Office Could Open by January Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/7/2014 As the Department of Energy prepares to shift management of the remaining legacy cleanup work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Office of the Environmental Management from the National Nuclear Security Administration, DOE anticipates […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 11/7/2014 EnergySolutions is looking to hire Danny Nichols, who currently leads Idaho Treatment Group, LLC, from Babcock & Wilcox to oversee the company’s waste treatment facilities in Tennessee, WC Monitor has learned. Notably, B&W and EnergySolutions, along with URS, help make up ITG, responsible for the Idaho Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment […]

Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 11/7/2014 Babcock & Wilcox is moving ahead with a plan to separate its power generation business from its government and nuclear operations group, the company said this week as it released its third quarter financial earnings. The split is expected to be completed by mid-2015, and will result in the creation […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 11/7/2014 Wastren Advantage Inc. received 68.5 percent of the maximum fee for the six-month performance period that ended July 31 in its latest performance review from the Department of Energy for managing the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center. In an Oct. 28 letter to WAI, Sue Cange, DOE’s acting environmental […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/7/2014 Potential bidders on the Department of Energy’s new contract to manage Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed facilities are raising questions about the skill mix required in the recently issued  draft Request for Proposals for the planned small business contract. Industry officials last week completed a site tour of one of the facilities […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/7/2014 During the restart of a ventilation fan last month at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, a very minor amount of radioactive contamination was detected outside of the mine. The release was not unexpected, and the amount detected is not believed to impact human health or the environment. On Oct. 21, […]

Lab Director Stepping Down WC Monitor 11/7/2014 After leading the Idaho National Laboratory for almost a decade, Director John Grossenbacher is stepping down in time to have a new director in place by Sept. 30, 2015, the lab announced earlier this week. The search for a replacement for Grossenbacher, who has served as INL Director […]