SPOTLIGHT SERIES

2026 National Cleanup Workshop

Exclusive coverage from the cleanup community’s premier annual gathering — keynote addresses, site updates, workforce insights, and technology breakthroughs from DOE EM’s top officials and industry leaders.

Tim Walsh

Walsh touts EM rebranding and AI, nuclear-related investment

ARLINGTON, VA – The head of the Department of Energy’s $8-billion nuclear cleanup branch said here Tuesday the Office of Environmental Management (EM) is indeed being renamed. In his “State of EM” speech, Walsh again said the Environmental Management office is being rebranded as the “Office of Nuclear Restoration and Revitalization. His remarks came at […]

DOE-EM’s Tim Walsh on Cleanup Priorities

NCW Perspectives from capitol hill - Tom Fleischman

Fleischmann looks for 2027 E&W to pass during lame duck session

ARLINGTON, Va. – Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) told the National Cleanup Workshop here on Wednesday he expects the Energy & Water Development bill for fiscal 2027 to pass during the so-called “lame duck” session after Congress returns following the November election. Fleischmann, a member of the House Appropriation Committee, chairs the Energy & Water subcommittee […]

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann on Congress and Cleanup

Tim Walsh

EM boss Walsh upbeat on reaching WIPP deal soon with New Mexico

ARLINGTON, VA – Tim Walsh, the Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary for the Office of Environmental Management (EM) said here Tuesday that his department is close to reaching an agreement with New Mexico officials over the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. Walsh said EM has been in productive negotiations with the New […]

WIPP prepares to spend six months offline in 2027

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., will spend about half of 2027 down for maintenance, DOE and contractor officials told the National Cleanup Workshop here Tuesday. WIPP will be essentially offline and not receiving waste for two three-month cycles during 2027, said Ken Harrawood, president and […]

Paducah’s Sandra Wilson on Community Impact

AI, data centers dominate much of Cleanup Workshop

ARLINGTON, Va. – Someone who mistakenly stumbled into the Department of Energy’s National Cleanup Workshop without an agenda might be excused for confusing it with a conference on artificial intelligence (AI). Many conversations from the podium and in the hallways here this week have focused to some extent on the potential and perils of AI. […]

Savannah River Site growth could require 17,000 new homes

ARLINGTON, Va. – The anticipated expansion of missions and private-sector projects around Savannah River Site could require the surrounding region to build as many as 17,000 homes over the next five years, according to a local official here Tuesday. Chuck Smith, a former city councilman in Aiken, S.C. where Savannah River Site (SRS) is located, […]

Legislation removing Yucca Mtn language could help Nuclear Innovation Campuses, panelists say

ARLINGTON, Va. – Legislation modifying the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), could remove a roadblock to the full implementation of the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus, a DOE official said. During Wednesday’s session at the National Cleanup Workshop, several panels discussed the early progress of the nuclear  campuses. Marla Morales, DOE’s acting deputy […]

AtkinsRéalis’ Jeff Kendall on US Nuclear Growth

More clarity sought for GTCC disposal through rulemaking, Marzano says

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is working to address management of greater than class C (GTCC) waste through a recent rulemaking, Commissioner Matthew Marzano said Wednesday here. The NRC Commissioner opened up the final day of the Nuclear Cleanup Workshop with a keynote address focused on the NRC’s role in the cleanup sector. […]

Funding presents biggest challenge for NNSA, agency executive says

ARLINGTON, Va. – The biggest challenge for the National Nuclear Security Administration is receiving “stable, predictable, sufficient, timely funding” from Congress, Thomas Ashlock, the agency’s associate administrator for congressional and intergovernmental affairs, said Tuesday. “Everyone would agree that a CR [continuing resolution] is not good,” Ashlock said, referring to a short-term stopgap spending bill that […]

AtkinsRéalis’ Jack Craig on Nuclear Strategy

 

ECA’s Seth Kirshenberg on the State of Cleanup