Department of Energy

Staffing vacancies in key positions at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) have grown more acute, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report made public Tuesday. The office in charge of nuclear cleanup at Cold War and Manhattan Project sites “has become further understaffed since GAO reported on EM’s workforce […]

The full House Appropriations Committee voted 34-25 this week to approve about $7.7 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management for fiscal 2027. That would be less than the $8.5 billion enacted by Congress for fiscal 2026 and the $8.2 billion sought by the Donald Trump White House. A link to the […]

Republican incumbents easily won their party primaries Tuesday in Idaho, where the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is based. Meanwhile in Kentucky, the GOP House of Representatives member representing DOE’s Paducah Site also won his primary easily.  Longtime House Appropriations Committee member and INL backer Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) carried more than 63% […]

The House Appropriations Committee passed 34-25 its version of a bill on Wednesday that would give $1.8 billion to the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and $892.3 million to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. For the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, this would be more than President Donald Trump’s White House request of $1.53 […]

SANTA FE, N.M. — Residents, advocates and technical experts said here last week that a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) environmental review on plutonium pit production understates risks to water resources, worker safety and communities along transport routes. Some speakers at a Thursday May 14 public hearing in Santa Fe also said NNSA is failing […]

Shipments to the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) appear to be back in full swing, with the facility receiving 55 waste shipments in April.  That’s the highest total since the 61 shipments of defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste that WIPP received in September 2025. It was also higher than the 47 it received […]

The Department of Energy and its construction manager for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) said Tuesday the facility has now vitrified 100,000 gallons of liquid tank waste into a solid glass form. “Each gallon of immobilized waste brings us closer to a cleaner, safer environment and revitalized community,” Brian Hartman, WTP project director […]

Republican incumbents easily won their party primaries Tuesday in Idaho, where the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is based. Meanwhile in Kentucky, the GOP House of Representatives member representing DOE’s Paducah Site also won his primary easily.  Longtime House Appropriations Committee member and INL backer Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) carried more than 63% […]

LOS ALAMOS N.M. — Federal cleanup managers told the Los Alamos Board of Public Utilities on Wednesday that a hexavalent chromium plume migrating from beneath Los Alamos National Laboratory remains “uncontrolled” although there remains no threat to local drinking water. The situation around the lab and Pueblo de San Ildefonso tribal land was detailed by […]

While the House Appropriations Committee proposes to spend less in fiscal 2027 for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site than in fiscal 2026, or what was requested by the White House, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.)  said there is still enough to meet cleanup milestones. During a committee markup, Newhouse, the longtime incumbent who represents Washington’s […]

The Department of Energy has plenty of details to iron out when it comes to grouting low-level radioactive tank waste at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report Wednesday. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management plans to grout low-level, or what it also calls “low-activity,” radioactive waste, from […]

The Department of Energy and its construction manager for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) said Tuesday the facility has now vitrified 100,000 gallons of liquid tank waste into a solid glass form. “Each gallon of immobilized waste brings us closer to a cleaner, safer environment and revitalized community,” Brian Hartman, WTP project director […]

While the House Appropriations Committee proposes to spend less in fiscal 2027 for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site than in fiscal 2026, or what was requested by the White House, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.)  said there is still enough to meet cleanup milestones. During a committee markup, Newhouse, the longtime incumbent who represents Washington’s […]

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) the House of Representatives incumbent whose district includes the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site, easily won a Republican primary Tuesday night in Kentucky. Comer, a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, won 88% of the vote in the GOP primary for Kentucky’s first congressional district, according to results […]

Staffing vacancies in key positions at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) have grown more acute, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report made public Tuesday. The office in charge of nuclear cleanup at Cold War and Manhattan Project sites “has become further understaffed since GAO reported on EM’s workforce […]

The wildfire-prone New Mexico county where the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory is located has entered “stage 1 fire restrictions,” according to a recent post from the Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities. “Fire Marshal Colorado Cordova of the Los Alamos Fire Department (LAFD) has enacted fire restrictions to Stage 1, effective […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup field office at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and its environmental contractor will conduct a presentation Wednesday on the hexavalent chromium plume during the Los Alamos County, N.M., Department of Public Utilities Board meeting. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and contractor Newport News Nuclear-BWXT Los Alamos will discuss the […]

Shipments to the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) appear to be back in full swing, with the facility receiving 55 waste shipments in April.  That’s the highest total since the 61 shipments of defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste that WIPP received in September 2025. It was also higher than the 47 it received […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  MAY: 20: Hearing: The Senate Environment & Public Works plans a hearing at 10 a.m. Eastern Time to consider nuclear energy legislation.  26-28:Conference: The Energy Technology & Environmental Business Association (ETEBA) hosts its Small Business Summit, The formal program starts Tuesday May […]

A group of nuclear critics Monday publicly denounced the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) proposed rulemaking to review Department of Energy and Pentagon-approved reactor designs. In a joint press release, the 13 organizations, including Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) and Beyond Nuclear, said the proposed rule violates aspects of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 […]

The House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee advanced its fiscal 2027 appropriations bill that would give $1.8 billion to Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and $892.3 million to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).  The full House Appropriations Committee released the Energy and Water appropriations bill and bill summary on Thursday, and passed it […]

The Department of Energy’s Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is in jeopardy of ceasing operations due to its aging facility and spent fuel storage nearing its capacity, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a May 7 report. The GAO recommended that DOE complete its evaluation of the Idaho Operations Office’s research and test reactor spent […]

The Department of Energy has awarded a total of $94 million to eight nuclear companies to support efforts to accelerate small modular reactor (SMR) domestic deployment, the agency said Thursday. DOE said in its press release that awardees will receive more than $94 million in a federal-cost share to prompt more SMR deployments through addressing […]

The House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee passed by voice vote its version of a bill that would give $27 billion to the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for fiscal 2027. That number is $1.67 billion more than was enacted for the agency in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Naval Reactors could save billions of dollars and 15 years of cleanup time partnering with the Office of Environmental Management to clean up retired nuclear propulsion facilities, says the Government Accountability Office (GAO).  A report from the agency last week said the Office of Naval Reactors, which is responsible […]

The Department of Energy said Tuesday the Idaho National Laboratory recently made its first shipment of remote-handled transuranic (TRU) waste to DOE’s underground disposal site in New Mexico for the first time since 2014. Workers from Amentum-led contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition made the remote-handled transuranic waste shipment on April 21, according to DOE. The shipments […]

The Department of Energy’s Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is in jeopardy of ceasing operations due to its aging facility and spent fuel storage nearing its capacity, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a May 7 report. The GAO recommended that DOE complete its evaluation of the Idaho Operations Office’s research and test reactor spent […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Naval Reactors could save billions of dollars and 15 years of cleanup time partnering with the Office of Environmental Management to clean up retired nuclear propulsion facilities, says the Government Accountability Office (GAO).  A report from the agency last week said the Office of Naval Reactors, which is responsible […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has exercised its second two-year option period with the Huntington Ingalls Industries-led legacy cleanup contractor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a DOE spokesperson confirmed Monday. As a result, Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) will stay on the job through April 29, 2028, the spokesperson […]

The House Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee passed by voice vote the fiscal 2027 funding bill that would give the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management $7.7 billion, according to a summary of the Energy & Water legislation.  That figure would represent less than the almost $8.2 billion proposed by the administration of President […]