Department of Energy

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Chairman Bruce Hamilton is resigning from the panel, effective early this month, the agency said in a press release late Monday. Hamilton has submitted his resignation to President Donald Trump, according to a one-paragraph announcement. The panel’s vice chairman and newest member, Thomas Summers, will step in as acting chairman. […]

Stakeholders must finally accept that the long-planned, long-delayed nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev., is dead and needs to be replaced with a new approach, according to a former senior official with the Department of Energy. “The sooner everyone agrees to pull the plug on Yucca Mountain, the sooner the United States can move […]

The Department of Energy is scheduled on Sept. 30 to end an emergency program to reimburse contractors for paid leave provided certain employees who cannot work on-site during the COVID-19 pandemic. A provision included in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act signed into law in March provided for reimbursement to key government contractors, such as those […]

The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management has scheduled a webinar next week to offer details on its plan to ship some material currently classified as high-level radioactive waste from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to a facility in West Texas licensed for low-level waste. The online session is set for 11 a.m. […]

Weapons Complex Monitor took its annual summer recess in mid-August, but we kept track of the nuke news during the publishing holiday and have compiled it here for you. Ninth Court Upholds State Law on Hanford Worker Compensation A Washington state law that makes it easier for workers at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site to […]

Two recent management appointments at the Energy Department’s $7-billion nuclear cleanup office should help keep the focus on key projects, a spokesperson said this week. The Office of Environmental Management earlier this month announced Nicole Nelson-Jean, who heads the National Nuclear Security Administration field office for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, would become […]

The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management is beginning market research for a new cleanup contract for its portion of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California. The nuclear environmental office on Aug. 20 issued its request for information/sources sought notice for remediation of the Energy Technology Engineering Center. The current ETEC contract, held by […]

The Energy Department has given its blessing for operations to start at the long-awaited Salt Waste Processing Facility (SPFF) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. In a press release Aug. 18, the DOE Office of Environmental Management announced issuance of critical decision 4 (CD-4) and authorization to operate. The CD-4 basically means a […]

A report from the University of New Mexico concludes the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in recent years was worth more than $3.1 billion to the state, although the economic benefit is concentrated in a few counties. A summary of the report was presented Aug. 21 to the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities (RCLC) […]

A coalition of local communities surrounding the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is back in the good financial graces of the Energy Department after repaying nearly $16,000 in grant money. Earlier this year, the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities (RCLC) repaid the agency $15,767 for expenditures questioned  in a September 2019 report by […]

Employees for the Energy Department’s remediation contractor at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio were advised recently that they would face a 14-day self-quarantine following travel to a handful of states hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a July 29 memo to employees, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth said anyone who visits states listed in Ohio’s travel […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped state-federal “holistic” negotiations over major environmental remediation issues at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The talks between DOE, the state, and the Environmental Protection Agency are occurring remotely, Washington state Department of Ecology spokesman Randy Bradbury said in an Aug. 11 email. The talks began in […]

The Energy Department said Thursday it is extending the CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Co. contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state for up to six months through March 2021. The $7.16-billion contract held by the Jacobs subsidiary would otherwise expire on Sept. 30, and the DOE Office of Environmental Management is not ready to […]

Comments are due Sept. 17 on the draft request for proposals (RFP) for a new remediation contract potentially worth $8.3 billion at the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The DOE Office of Environmental Management on Aug. 18 issued the draft RFP for an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with a 10-year ordering period. The agency […]

It is becoming increasingly obvious that Congress will need to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the Department of Energy and all other federal agencies open beyond the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, a panel of Washington, D.C., insiders said Thursday. “It’s almost guaranteed we are going to end up in […]

Starting Monday, the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state will enter Phase 2 of remobilization toward full-scale operations following the March drawdown forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hanford Site Manager Brian Vance announced the change in a Thursday message to the 11,000 federal and contract workers at the former plutonium production complex. Phase 2 […]

Idaho National Laboratory Director Mark Peters is preparing to leave his current post after nearly five years to become executive vice president for laboratory operations at Battelle. Battelle Energy Alliance is the management and operations contractor for INL. In his new job, Peters will work with all DOE national laboratories in Battelle’s portfolio – which […]

The Democratic Party’s candidate for the congressional seat representing Texas’ 11th District this week emphasized his opposition to interim storage of radioactive spent nuclear fuel in the region. “One thing I’m particularly concerned about is the plan … to bring in highly radioactive nuclear waste from 100 nuclear power plants across the country, to store […]

In his newly created role as chief operating officer, Thomas Mooney will focus on key projects at the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management. This is “a pivotal time for the cleanup mission,” and Mooney will assist incoming Environmental Management Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations (EM-3) Nicole Nelson-Jean in keeping the focus […]

A coalition of local communities surrounding the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is apparently back in the good financial graces of the Energy Department after repaying nearly $16,000 in grant money. Earlier this year, the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities (RCLC) repaid the agency $15,767 for expenditures questioned  in a September 2019 report […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped state-federal “holistic” negotiations over major environmental remediation issues at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The talks between DOE, the state, and the Environmental Protection Agency are occurring remotely, Washington state Department of Ecology spokesman Randy Bradbury said in an Aug. 11 email. The talks began in […]

The Democratic Party’s candidate for the congressional seat representing Texas’ 11th District this week emphasized his opposition to potential storage of radioactive spent nuclear fuel in the region. “One thing I’m particularly concerned about is the plan … to bring in highly radioactive nuclear waste from 100 nuclear power plants across the country, to store […]

Employees for the Energy Department’s remediation contractor at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio were advised recently that they would face a 14-day self-quarantine following travel to a handful of states hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a July 29 memo to employees, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth said anyone who visits states listed in Ohio’s travel […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management plans to hold virtual meetings next month on the draft solicitation for the new cleanup contract at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. In a notice Monday, the agency said it has scheduled a pre-solicitation conference and individual sessions with potential vendors for Sept. 8 to 10, along […]

The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management is beginning market research for a new cleanup contract for its portion of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California. The nuclear environmental office on Thursday issued its request for information/sources sought notice for remediation of the Energy Technology Engineering Center. The current ETEC contract, held by North […]

Fluor has sold its construction equipment rental business in the Caribbean for $22 million. The assets of AMECO Caribbean are now almost fully owned by to Stewart’s Automotive Group, Fluor said in an Aug. 17 press release. The remaining assets of the AMECO equipment rental in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle […]

The head of the nuclear and environment business unit for Maryland-based Amentum has been deemed a public sector “leader to watch” in the during 2020, by a website for executives. Mark Whitney, executive vice president and general manager for Amentum’s Nuclear & Environment Strategic Business Unit, was featured in an Aug. 19 article by WashingtonExec.com. […]

Idaho National Laboratory Director Mark Peters is preparing to leave his current post after nearly five years to become executive vice president for laboratory operations at Battelle. Battelle Energy Alliance is the management and operations contractor for INL. In his new job, Peters will work with all DOE national laboratories in Battelle’s portfolio – which […]

The Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina as of Friday confirmed a total of 406 cases of COVID-19 among its workforce. Of those, 308 workers have recovered and been cleared to return to work, according to the weekly online update from DOE’s operations office at Savannah River. The total confirmed cases at SRS […]

A report from the University of New Mexico concludes the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in recent years was worth more than $3.1 billion to the state, although the economic benefit is concentrated in a few counties. A summary of the report was presented Friday to the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities (RCLC) by […]