Department of Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons complex, environmental cleanup program, and national laboratory system. Coverage here tracks DOE budget requests, contract awards, policy decisions, regulatory action, and leadership changes across the agency’s defense and civilian nuclear missions.
-
Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Private companies ‘welcome’ to bid for DOE interim storage funding, NE-8 Petry says
ARLINGTON, VA. — The two companies aiming to build privately-owned interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel should apply for financial aid under a multi-million-dollar Department of Energy program, a senior agency official said here this week at a conference. Holtec and Interim Storage Partners (ISP) are “welcome to apply to the funding opportunity announcement,” […]
-
Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Despite GOP majority in House, NE-8 Petry speculates no appetite for restarting Yucca
ARLINGTON, VA. — Just because Republicans took control of the House does not mean that Congress has any more desire to build a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain than it had before the midterms, a senior Department of Energy official said here this week. Asked Tuesday after a speech at the Institute of Nuclear […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
SRS planning efforts underway for transfer to NNSA
Feds at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina are busy planning to transfer responsibility for the complex to DOE’s nuclear weapons office from the cleanup branch in fiscal 2025, a top local boss said Monday. “As we discussed before, we have been charged to come up with a plan by June […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
Veolia team wins landfill management subcontract at Hanford
A joint venture led by a Veolia affiliate has been tapped by Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Co. to run two landfills at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state under a deal potentially worth $124 million over six years, Veolia said Wednesday. The Hanford cleanup prime has picked the joint venture between Veolia […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
9th Circuit could hear Hanford employees’ COVID vax case this summer
A federal appeals court could hear oral arguments this May in Seattle in a legal challenge brought over COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday informed attorneys for the Justice Department and the Silent Majority Foundation, representing more […]
-
Transuranic Waste
Groups seek WIPP comment period extension until April
As expected, citizen groups in New Mexico have asked the state Environment Department to extend the comment period by 60 days on a 10-year permit renewal for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The draft permit is more than 1,200 pages long so granting the extension until April 19 is justified, according to […]
-
Transuranic Waste
Wrap Up: WIPP outage set, SRS has new deputy, Oak Ridge manager retiring, West Valley demo continues, consultant joins Veolia board
The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot plant near Carlsbad, N.M., will carry out a three week maintenance outage from Feb. 27 through March 19, a spokesperson for the transuranic waste disposal site said in a Thursday email. Plans include upkeep and calibration of ventilation fans as well as testing and balancing underground ventilation, the […]
-
Contracts & Procurement
DOE rolls out video, subcontractor list prior to Hanford medical RFP
With a Department of Energy solicitation for a new Occupational Services contract expected as soon as February for the Hanford Site in Washington state, the agency last week released various details about the work, including a video tour of two existing worker health facilities. DOE’s Cincinnati-based Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center published both a list […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
Two December mishaps reported by DNFSB at Idaho lab waste areas
A federal safety watchdog reports there were two mishaps in radioactive waste storage areas last month at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, including one where a container of radioactive waste fell four feet. Both incidents, one on Dec. 10, and another Dec. 20, occurred at Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, according to […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford contractor seeking tiny ‘pit vyper’ robots
Amentum-led Department of Energy contractor Washington River Protection Solutions asked for expressions of interest from makers of robots that could provide a better view of the pits that lead to underground radioactive waste tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “The robotic solution will be referred to as the Pit Vyper in this document,” […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
SRS planning efforts underway for transfer to NNSA
Feds at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina are busy planning to transfer responsibility for the complex to DOE’s nuclear weapons office from the cleanup branch in fiscal 2025, a top local boss said Monday. “As we discussed before, we have been charged to come up with a plan by June […]
-
High-Level & Tank Waste
Retrieval underway on final single-shell tank at Hanford AX Farm
Earlier this month a Department of Energy contractor started removing radioactive waste from an underground tank at the AX Farm at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Removal of radioactive and chemical waste from Tank AX-101 started Jan. 13, and should take about 18 months, the Department of Energy said in a Tuesday news release. […]
-
Contracts & Procurement
Perceived unfairness can affect reality of procurement at Department of Energy, GAO says
Like football fans, contractors considering bids on Department of Energy business often lack faith they will receive a fair shake from officials, a Tuesday report from a federal watchdog indicates. Representatives from 15 of the 24 industry contractors interviewed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on DOE procurement “expressed concerns about the fairness of DOE’s […]
-
Transuranic Waste
WIPP, Los Alamos bosses brief state legislature on TRU waste, LANL cleanup
Roughly a quarter of the way through fiscal 2023 the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has received 107 shipments of transuranic waste, about on pace for meeting its 400-shipment target for the fiscal year ending in September, DOE and its contractor told New Mexico lawmakers Tuesday. There have been 107 shipments to the […]
-
High-Level & Tank Waste
Most options DOE studied for high-level waste treatment at Hanford don’t involve pretreatment facility
By John Stang Most viable options for cleaning up highly radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site in Washington involve abandoning a partly-built plant that cost billions of dollars, according to a recent Department of Energy analysis. Of 11 viable cleanup options DOE studied in an analysis of alternatives dated Jan. 12, only two include […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
Veolia team wins landfill management subcontract at Hanford
A joint venture led by a Veolia affiliate has been tapped by Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Co. to run two landfills at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state under a deal potentially worth $124 million over six years, Veolia said Wednesday. The Hanford cleanup prime has picked the joint venture between Veolia […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
9th Circuit could hear Hanford employees’ COVID vax case this summer
A federal appeals court could hear oral arguments this May in Seattle in a legal challenge brought over COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday informed attorneys for the Justice Department and the Silent Majority Foundation, representing more […]
-
Transuranic Waste
Groups seek WIPP comment period extension until April
As expected, citizen groups in New Mexico have asked the state Environment Department to extend the comment period by 60 days on a 10-year permit renewal for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The draft permit is more than 1,200 pages long so granting the extension until April 19 is justified, according to […]
-
High-Level & Tank Waste
Retrieval underway on final single-shell tank at Hanford AX Farm
Earlier this month a Department of Energy contractor started removing radioactive waste from an underground tank at the AX Farm at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Removal of radioactive and chemical waste from Tank AX-101 started Jan. 13, and should take about 18 months, the Department of Energy said in a Tuesday news release. […]
-
Contracts & Procurement
Perceived unfairness can affect reality of procurement at Department of Energy, GAO says
Like football fans, contractors considering bids on Department of Energy business often lack faith they will receive a fair shake from officials, a Tuesday report from a federal watchdog indicates. Representatives from 15 of the 24 industry contractors interviewed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on DOE procurement “expressed concerns about the fairness of DOE’s […]
-
Transuranic Waste
WIPP, Los Alamos bosses talk TRU waste, cleanup for N.M. lawmakers
Roughly a quarter of the way through fiscal 2023 the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has received 107 shipments of transuranic waste, about on pace for meeting its 400-shipment target for the fiscal year ending in September, DOE and its contractor told New Mexico lawmakers Tuesday. There have been 107 shipments to the […]
-
Recommissioning & Restarts
Palisades restart would run afoul of DOE nuclear plant bailout rules, enviros tell Granholm
The Department of Energy cannot sign off on a decommissioning company’s gambit to restart a shuttered Michigan nuclear power plant, a coalition of anti-nuclear groups told the Secretary of Energy in a letter Monday. Holtec International’s proposed bid on DOE’s civil nuclear credits program, aimed at securing federal funding for Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, “goes […]
-
Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Private companies ‘welcome’ to bid for DOE interim storage funding, NE-8 Petry says
ARLINGTON, VA. — The two companies aiming to build privately-owned interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel should apply for financial aid under a multi-million-dollar Department of Energy program, a senior agency official said here Tuesday at a conference. Holtec and Interim Storage Partners (ISP) are “welcome to apply to the funding opportunity announcement,” Kim […]
-
Plutonium Pit Production
SRS planning efforts underway for transfer to NNSA
Feds at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina are busy planning to transfer responsibility for the complex to DOE’s nuclear weapons office from the cleanup branch in fiscal 2025, a top local boss said Monday. “As we discussed before, we have been charged to come up with a plan by June […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford contractor seeking tiny ‘pit vyper’ robots
Amentum-led Department of Energy contractor Washington River Protection Solutions asked for expressions of interest from makers of robots that could provide a better view of the pits that lead to underground radioactive waste tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “The robotic solution will be referred to as the Pit Vyper in this document,” […]
-
Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
DOE adds funding to interim storage program; plans to double number of awards
The Department of Energy’s ongoing funding opportunity for communities interested in hosting a federal interim storage facility got a little larger Monday after the agency announced it would tack on roughly $10 million in additional funding for the program. The agency increased the total award for its interim storage funding opportunity to around $26 million, […]
-
Contracts & Procurement
DOE rolls out video, subcontractor list prior to Hanford medical RFP
With a Department of Energy solicitation for a new Occupational Services contract expected as soon as February for the Hanford Site in Washington state, the agency last week released various details about the work, including a video tour of two existing worker health facilities. DOE’s Cincinnati-based Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center published both a list […]
-
Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
DOE again hiring for spent fuel disposition lead
The Department of Energy is once again seeking candidates to run the agency’s spent nuclear fuel disposal programs, according to a job posting listed last week. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy is looking for a “seasoned executive” to join the agency as its Deputy Assistant Secretary for Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition, according to the […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
Two December mishaps reported by DNFSB at Idaho lab waste areas
A federal safety watchdog reports there were two mishaps in radioactive waste storage areas last month at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, including one where a container of radioactive waste fell four feet. Both incidents, one on Dec. 10, and another Dec. 20, occurred at Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, according to […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: Wintry weather delays LANL; more time sought on WIPP permit; new EM-2 starts; Fleischmann wins gavel
Due to winter weather, onsite employees at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico were allowed to come in late a couple of days this week, according to the lab webpage. Workers were allowed to report to work later than normal on Tuesday and Wednesday, due to snowy weather. The Wednesday […]








