Department of Energy

A federal mediator will assist the U.S. Energy Department and the Washington state Ecology Department in their talks over cleanup milestones at the Hanford Site. The parties have agreed to use the services of a federal mediator to assist in the “holistic talks” on Hanford remediation issues, according to a slide presentation from Suzanne Dahl, […]

Based on conversations with the U.S. Department of Energy, the state of Idaho expects the long-awaited Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) will start operating in late 2020 at the Idaho National Laboratory. However, the state for now will continue to assess financial penalties over DOE’s failure to meet the deadline for beginning operations at the […]

Congress had not produced a compromise National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2020 as of Friday morning, prolonging a lack of authorization for key nuclear modernization programs. It was a week of whiplash predictions from top defense authorizers Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who in the aggregate appeared less certain of […]

The federal fund intended to pay for the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., held $40.9 billion in U.S. Treasury securities at the end of fiscal 2019 on Sept. 30, according to the latest audit from the Department of Energy. That was up from $39.2 billion in the Nuclear Waste Fund at the close […]

The U.S. Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico received 275 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during the first 10 months of this year, compared to 272 during the same period in 2018. October is the last full month for which shipment information is available through WIPP’s public database. It shows that the […]

Rick Perry ended his tenure as U.S. secretary of energy on Sunday, but not before issuing a press release highlighting the progress of cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) in Ventura County, Calif. “I am proud of the work the Department of Energy (DOE) has done to advance the final cleanup of the […]

Dan Brouillette was sworn in Wednesday as the 15th U.S. secretary of energy, after the Senate voted 70-15 to confirm him for the Cabinet spot earlier this week, a Department of Energy spokesperson said. Brouillette had served since 2017 as the deputy secretary of energy under Rick Perry, who resigned as secretary effective Sunday. The […]

Perma-Fix Northwest accepted a $23,275 fine for its failure in 2013-2014 to ensure it had sufficient third-party liability coverage for its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) radioactive waste facility in Richland, Wash., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. Representatives for the federal agency and the company signed a consent agreement on Aug. 12. […]

Jacobs Engineering on Nov. 25 posted $3.4 billion in revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 27, a step up from $3 billion from the same period a year earlier. The Dallas-based multinational reported earnings for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2019 before the market opened for the day. Its earnings per diluted share was […]

Congress had not produced a compromise National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2020 as of early Friday afternoon, prolonging a lack of authorization for key nuclear programs. It was a week of whiplash predictions from top defense authorizers Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who in the aggregate appeared less certain of […]

Dan Brouillette was sworn in Wednesday as the 15th U.S. secretary of energy, after the Senate voted 70-15 to confirm him for the Cabinet spot earlier this week, a Department of Energy spokesperson said. Brouillette had served since 2017 as the deputy secretary of energy under Rick Perry, who resigned as secretary effective Sunday. The […]

The chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees were emphatic Wednesday that a deal on a bicameral fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act could be reached by early next week, despite a number of issues remaining up for debate. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) sets policy and authorizes appropriations for active nuclear-weapon […]

Fluor is receiving strong interest as it seeks a buyer for the government contracting business that does work for the U.S. Department of Energy and other federal agencies, CEO Carlos Hernandez said Wednesday. “The interest in that business is very, very substantial,” Hernandez said during an appearance at the Credit Suisse 7th Annual Industrials Conference […]

A federal mediator will assist the U.S. Energy Department and the Washington state Ecology Department in their talks over cleanup milestones at the Hanford Site. The parties have agreed to use the services of a Justice Department mediator to assist in the “holistic talks” on Hanford remediation issues, according to a slide presentation from Suzanne […]

The U.S. Senate on Monday passed legislation to reauthorize the Energy Department’s cleanup of the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state. The measure awaits President Donald Trump’s signature after receiving unanimous consent from the Senate. The House of Representatives in March approved the bill, which was then advanced by the Senate Energy and […]

Perma-Fix Northwest accepted a $23,275 fine for its failure in 2013-2014 to ensure it had sufficient third-party liability coverage for its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) radioactive waste facility in Richland, Wash., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. Representatives for the federal agency and the company signed a consent agreement on Aug. 12. The […]

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has not received a status report yet from the U.S. Department of Energy on procurement of a new multibillion-dollar contract for the Hanford Site in Washington state. “We haven’t received a response yet,” a Feinstein spokesman said via an email Tuesday. On Sept. 27, Feinstein, along with Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), […]

AECOM disclosed Nov. 29 that Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Carla Christofferson was resigning her post effective immediately. The Los Angeles-based infrastructure multinational said its leadership and Christofferson “mutually agreed” she would resign her management position, but would remain a “non-executive” employee of AECOM through Dec. 16, according to a filing with the […]

Washington state Department of Ecology Director Maia Bellon said Monday she would retire at the end of this month. Ecology is the state regulator for the U.S. Department of Energy’s sprawling Hanford Site through a variety of permits including the dangerous waste, or site-wide, permit. Bellon announced her pending retirement Monday after 25 years as […]

The U.S. Energy Department’s prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., is optimistic the state will green light its plans for a new utility shaft that is opposed by two local advocacy groups. “The project remains on course as we prepare for the construction process,” Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP) spokesman Bobby […]

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Dan Brouillette to be the 15th secretary of energy by a 70-15 vote, setting the stage for former secretary Rick Perry’s deputy to lead the roughly $30-billion-a-year agency responsible for U.S. nuclear weapons, waste, and energy. A Department of Energy spokesperson did not immediately reply to a query about […]

The U.S. Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico received 275 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during the first 10 months of this year, compared to 272 during the same period in 2018. October is the last full month for which shipment information is available through WIPP’s public database. It shows that the […]

Rick Perry ended his tenure as U.S. secretary of energy on Sunday, but not before issuing a press release highlighting the progress of cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) in Ventura County, Calif. “I am proud of the work the Department of Energy (DOE) has done to advance the final cleanup of the […]

The federal fund intended to pay for the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., held $40.9 billion in U.S. Treasury securities at the end of fiscal 2019 on Sept. 30, according to the latest audit from the Department of Energy. That rose from $39.2 billion in the Nuclear Waste Fund at the close of […]

Oversight of contractors and environmental remediation remain at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Energy’s management challenges for fiscal 2020, according to a Nov. 15 special report from DOE’s Office of Inspector General. Other major concerns include nuclear waste management, cybersecurity, safeguards and security of DOE installations, civilian stewardship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, […]

After already being delayed several times, publication of a draft record of decision (ROD) for a proposed new landfill at the U.S. Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee could slip into 2020. The document is supposed to be issued Dec. 19, but DOE managers have informed the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation of […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and other branches of the Department of Energy continue to struggle to improve their defenses against cyberattacks, according to the DOE Inspector General’s Office. The inspector general’s 2019 evaluation of the department’s unclassified cybersecurity program involved control testing and other evaluations of 28 DOE sites, largely overseen by […]

Based on conversations with the U.S. Department of Energy, the state of Idaho expects the long-awaited Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) will start operating in late 2020 at the Idaho National Laboratory. However, the state for now will continue to assess financial penalties over DOE’s failure to meet the deadline for beginning operations at the […]

Dallas-based Jacobs said Monday it is “rebranding” itself, but one thing that remains constant is the company’s heavy reliance on the U.S. government for a large chunk of its revenue. The international provider of construction, business, and technical services is changing its legal name from Jacobs Engineering to Jacobs Solutions, as it puts less emphasis […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite one soil sample that showed an elevated level of radioactive contamination, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) thinks land near the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant poses no significant threat to people. “Our state experts and toxicologists do not believe there is any immediate threat to public […]