Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

Compliance Actions Could Come Within 60 Days Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/5/2014 SUMMERLIN, Nev.—Warning of “significant penalties” coming to the Department of Energy in the wake of the incidents that occurred earlier this year that have closed the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, New Mexico regulators are also looking to go after DOE for cleanup-related concerns […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 9/5/2014 A final Request for Proposals for the new contract to operate the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center is set to be released within the next month, the Department of Energy said late this week. DOE is looking to issue the final RFP by “end of September 2014/early October 2014,” […]

Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 9/5/2014 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is calling on the Department of Energy to strengthen its emergency response capabilities and this week issued its first formal recommendation in nearly two years. The recommendation was prompted, in part, by DOE’s response to a truck fire and radioactive material release at the […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 9/5/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration appears to need a little more time to make a decision on who should win the new Nevada National Security Site environmental services contract. The NNSA has asked bidders on the new contract to extend their proposals’ expiration dates to Sept. 30, WC Monitor has […]

AMWTP Contractor Will Now Focus on Mixed Low-Level Waste Disposition Mike Nartker WC Monitor 9/5/2014 In response to the ongoing shutdown at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the contractor in charge of the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project at the Department of Energy’s Idaho site will now focus on disposition of mixed low-level waste, rather […]

New DOE Idaho Cleanup Chief Says ‘Iterative’ Approach Underway for Facility Startup Mike Nartker WC Monitor 9/5/2014 With the schedule for the start of waste processing at the Idaho Integrated Waste Treatment Unit still uncertain, the Department of Energy has informed Idaho regulators that it won’t meet a commitment to have all of the remaining […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/5/2014 In a move that could lead to fines for the Department of Energy, South Carolina and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rejected late last week DOE’s request for a five-month extension for the closure dates for two high-level waste tanks at the Savannah River Site. After DOE cut requested funds […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 9/5/2014 Senior URS executive Randy Wotring will head up AECOM’s work in the federal marketplace, including in the Department of Energy, once it completes its acquisition of URS, according to information released earlier this week. AECOM and URS outlined the planned management structure of their combined organization in messages to employees. […]

NDA Completes Formal Award of Magnox Contract to Cavendish-Fluor Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/5/2014 The Cavendish Fluor Partnership has named its executive leadership team after the U.K.’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority this week formally completed the share transfer for the new contract to manage 10 Magnox sites and two research reactor sites. That includes Managing Director […]

HAMTC Workers Reject New Contract Offer From PNNL WC Monitor 9/5/2014 Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council workers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory overwhelmingly rejected a contract proposal by Battelle in a vote late this week. The total was 186 workers opposed and 11 workers in favor of the proposed five-year contract. “This certainly sends a […]

City Bringing in Consultants to Evaluate DOE’s Proposed Landfill  WC Monitor 9/5/2014 The city of Oak Ridge, Tenn. has hired a team of consultants to assess the potential impacts of a new proposed nuclear landfill at the government’s Oak Ridge reservation and help the city decide whether it should accept and support the disposal facility. […]

SRNS Expands Mentor-Protégé Program WC Monitor 9/5/2014 Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the managing contractor for the Savannah River Site, is expanding its mentor-protégé program with the award of longer-term contracts to up to three small businesses, the company announced this week. The program aims to build relationships and experience working with small businesses. Previously the […]

WC Monitor 9/5/2014 IN DOE The chairs of the EM Site-Specific Advisory Boards are scheduled to hold a meeting later this month in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Topics to be discussed at the Sept. 17-18 meeting are set to include “News and Views” from DOE headquarters and updates on EM acquisition and procurement and waste disposition […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 8/29/2014 With the latest round of talks between the Department of Energy and Washington state on a new path forward for the cleanup of Hanford’s tank waste set to come to an end next week, DOE is believed to be leaning toward accepting—at least in some small part—the state’s call for […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 8/29/2014 As the Department of Energy continues to struggle to get into operation the Idaho Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, the Department appears to be planning for the facility to still be in operation in late 2015—almost a year beyond a current commitment to the state of Idaho to have all of […]

Site Facing Impending Layoffs Set to Reduce D&D Workforce by One-Third Mike Nartker WC Monitor 8/29/2014 As the clock ticks down on impending layoffs at the Portsmouth D&D project, Ohio Senator Rob Portman (R) held what he described as “frustrating” discussions with Department of Energy officials during a visit to the site late this week. […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 8/29/2014 The Department of Energy appears to be on track to meet a goal to have a final cost and schedule baseline for D&D efforts at the Separations Process Research Unit completed by the end of September, a DOE official told WC Monitor this week. The new baseline could help finally […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 8/29/2014 After a two-and-a-half-month summer vacation, former acting National Nuclear Security Administration chief Bruce Held returned this week to the Department of Energy. Held’s title will apparently remain the same—associate deputy secretary—but his duties have not been fully defined. “Governance issues have long been my central concern so I hope to […]

DOE Pushes Back Planned Completion of EIS for Site Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 8/29/2014 California regulators are “concerned” about schedule delays in the Department of Energy’s completion of an environmental impact statement to allow cleanup work to be completed at the Energy Technology Engineering Center, officials said this week. The Department said earlier this month […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 8/29/2014 The Department of Energy expects budget constraints to restrict the amount of high-level waste that can be transferred from Savannah River’s H-Canyon to the site’s tank farms, potentially impacting future missions for the facility. DOE informed M&O contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions that it will be limited to transferring 50,000 […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 8/29/2014 The long-running search for a new support services contractor for the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management now appears set to run on for at least a little while longer, with DOE asking bidders this week to extend their proposals’ expiration dates by another two months, to Oct. 31. […]

Sellafield Completes New Waste Storage Facility Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 8/29/2014 Sellafield Limited has completed construction of a new £100 million ($166 million) storage facility for intermediate- level waste generated through decommissioning and fuel reprocessing. The Encapsulated Product Store 3 is an aboveground storage building that can hold more than 29,000 waste drums. “The completion […]

Whistleblower Calls on Dept. of Labor to Enforce Order on Reinstatement WC Monitor 8/29/2014 A former employee at Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions who was found to be improperly terminated from her job called on the Department of Labor this week to move to enforce an order directing her immediate reinstatement. Last […]

Assault Charge Dropped Against Co-Owner of Occupational Med. Contractor WC Monitor 8/29/2014 An assault charge against Grover Cleveland “Cleve” Mooers, a co-owner of HPM Corp., has been dismissed in Franklin County District Court in Washington state. Mooers was charged with assault in the fourth degree with sexual motivation, a gross misdemeanor, after a woman accused […]

IG Notes Idaho’s Improvements in Integrated Safety Management WC Monitor 8/29/2014 The Idaho National Laboratory is making progress in addressing weaknesses identified in its Integrated Safety Management system, according to a Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office report released late last week. In half of the 59 safety incidents analyzed by the report that occurred […]

State Names New DOE Oversight Chief WC Monitor 8/29/2014 The state of Tennessee is changing the leadership of its Department of Energy Oversight Office in Oak Ridge, with Chris Thompson succeeding long-time manager John Owsley in the top position. Kelly Brockman, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, confirmed this week that Thompson […]

Savannah River Remediation VP Heading to Los Alamos WC Monitor 8/29/2014 Bechtel executive Kim Cassara is joining Los Alamos National Laboratory as its associate director for Project Management starting Oct. 1, LANL Director Charlie McMillan said in a message to employees earlier this month. Cassara most recently served as the vice president for Projects, Design, […]

WC Monitor 8/29/2014 IN DOE The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has scheduled a business opportunity forum Sept 4 at DOE headquarters in Washington. The outreach event, led by EM’s Office of Acquisition and Project Management, will focus on discussing upcoming EM business opportunities. “Topics will include discussion on how DOE is improving […]