Department of Energy

Outlays at the Department of Energy as well as the Department of Defense are two areas that remain among the federal government’s “high-risk areas needing significant attention,” Comptroller General Gene Dodaro said last week in testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. On the other hand, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) is […]

The Department of Energy said Tuesday it has finished commissioning the long-anticipated new underground ventilation system for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. The roughly $500-million Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) is designed to more than triple underground airflow to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), to 540-,000 cubic feet per minute, […]

The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site could see completion of its Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative this June at the nearby University of South Carolina-Aiken, a spokesperson said recently.  Construction of the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative was 85% completed  in November 2024. Contractor North Wind Group started building it in March 2023 and will wrap up this […]

Whether Texas and Fasken Land and Minerals Co. waited too late to fight the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s authority to license interim offsite private facilities for spent fuel, took up much of a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. During the Wednesday NRC versus Texas hearing webcast from Washington, D.C., Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart argued […]

Kevin Dressman, a longtime federal manager who heads the Department of Energy’s Office of Health and Safety, said this week he has accepted a deferred resignation buyout and will leave government after more than 30 years. Dressman announced his departure Tuesday on his LinkedIn profile page. “After 33 years of federal service, I have elected […]

To listen to U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments Wednesday on whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has authority to license private spent fuel storage facilities, go to this high court webpage about 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Then click on the live audio icon. A recording and transcript will subsequently be posted on this website by […]

The House of Representatives member whose district includes the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant expressed alarm Monday at reports the Donald Trump administration might pull the plug on the building housing DOE’s Carlsbad Field Office. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) is “deeply concerned about reports indicating that the General Services Administration (GSA) is planning […]

Dae Chung, a long-serving Department of Energy executive, has been tapped by the Donald Trump administration to serve as the acting head of DOE’s multi-billion-dollar nuclear cleanup branch. A status change in Chung’s LinkedIn profile Tuesday now lists him as acting principal deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Environmental Management. Chung takes over the […]

The House Financial Services Committee will mark up legislation Wednesday morning promoting international funding for nuclear power projects. The International Nuclear Energy Financing Act (H.R. 1474) would set up a nuclear trust fund at the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other financial entities. With dozens of nations planning or studying […]

Chantilly, Va.,-based Amentum has appointed Michele St. Mary as its chief legal officer and general counsel, the government contractor said Feb. 17. In her role, St. Mary will oversee a wide array of legal issues ranging from ethics to contracts to litigation, according to the press release. Before Amentum, St. Mary served as the vice […]

Outlays at the Department of Energy as well as the Department of Defense are two areas that remain among the federal government’s “high-risk areas needing significant attention,” Comptroller General Gene Dodaro said last week in testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. On the other hand, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) is […]

The 97th Academy Awards ceremony was held last night in Los Angeles and while no nuclear power or nuclear weapon-themed movies were among the front runners for the 2025 Oscars, here are a few of the more memorable ones from past years. This list was curated by Exchange Monitor. Your list may vary. Oppenheimer is […]

The Department of Energy issued a memo dated Thursday Feb. 27 saying telework and remote work agreements will be terminated, with exceptions, and all employees will return to in-person work. The memo, obtained by the Exchange Monitor on Friday, said DOE was pursuing President Donald Trump’s executive order from his first full day in office, […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week: 05: U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments: NRC V. Texas  23-1312) Interim Storage Partners LLC V. TEXAS. 9 a.m. Eastern Time in Washington, D.C.  05: Permit public meeting for Storm Water at Los Alamos National Laboratory starts at 4 p.m. Mountain […]

Carrie Meyer, who heads communications and stakeholder engagement for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, has left the agency. “After 18 years with the US Department of Energy, I’ve officially checked out for the last time,” Meyer said over the weekend on her LinkedIn profile page. “Excited for new opportunities on the horizon!” […]

A company called Last Energy announced Friday it hopes to build up to 30 micro-reactors on a 200-acre site in Northern Texas to help power data centers. The company, which bills itself as a technology developer for 20-megawatt reactors, said in a press release it has already applied to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas […]

Chris Wright, the newly confirmed Secretary of Energy, visited Los Alamos National Laboratory this week on his nationwide tour of the national laboratories and touted artificial intelligence as “the next Manhattan project” in a post on the website X. “More than 70 years ago, the Manhattan Project brought together the world’s greatest scientists and engineers […]

WASHINGTON — Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), whose district abuts Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said Tuesday the nuclear enterprise was facing a “workforce shortage.” Fleischmann, who chairs a House Appropriations subcommittee on Energy & Water, also told the Exchange Monitor Tuesday recent layoffs at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee were […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has advised Department of Energy employees to “please pause” on responding directly to an email from the Office of Personnel Management entitled, “What did you do last week?” “The Department of Energy is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and will conduct any review in accordance with its […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board recently welcomed Secretary of Energy Chris Wright to the weapons complex with a summary of safety issues including waste drums and transportation. “On behalf of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), I extend our warmest congratulations and welcome you to this pivotal role,” DNFSB Acting Chair Thomas Summers […]

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), who represent the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site, last week sought details on recent terminations of personnel at DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The Nevada lawmakers issued a statement and letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright and acting National Nuclear Security Administration […]

The Department of Energy’s multi-billion-dollar nuclear cleanup wing could see 11 members of its federal Senior Executive Service level managers leave via buyout, according to a document viewed Friday by Exchange Monitor. In addition to the previously-reported anticipated departure of the head of DOE’s Office of Environmental Management operations at the Savannah River Site in […]

Investigations, including whistleblower cases, at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Investigations increased during fiscal 2024, according to a recent report, cited this week by a Washington, D.C.,-based law firm. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) investigation office’s case inventory in fiscal 2024, ended Sept. 30, 2024, was 129, up from 119 in fiscal 2023, the […]

The Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management released a joint memo Wednesday detailing how federal agencies should develop agency reorganization plans to reduce their work force. The memo also said President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency directed agencies to draft the plans by March 13 and to […]

The Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management released a joint memo Wednesday detailing how federal agencies should develop agency reorganization plans to reduce their work force. The memo also said President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency directed agencies to draft the plans by March 13 and to […]

WASHINGTON — Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), chair of the energy and water appropriations subcommittee, told the Exchange Monitor Tuesday that he put “unique and robust funding” for nuclear power in the House budget proposal that passed that evening. “If you take a look at the energy and water bill, which I wrote for the House […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has advised Department of Energy employees to “please pause” on responding directly to an email from the Office of Personnel Management entitled, “What did you do last week?” “The Department of Energy is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and will conduct any review in accordance with its […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has advised Department of Energy employees to “please pause” on responding directly to an email from the Office of Personnel Management entitled, “What did you do last week?” “The Department of Energy is responsible for reviewing the performance of its personnel and will conduct any review in accordance with its […]

Soon-to-retire Department of Energy senior executive Jim Owendoff is not worried about there being enough management talent around the nuclear cleanup complex to make up for seasoned hands departing in the near future. In a Friday Feb. 21 afternoon telephone interview with Exchange Monitor  Owendoff confirmed he plans to leave government, after about a half-century […]

Effective this week, BWX Technologies-led Tank Waste Operations & Closure (H2C) is taking over as the contractor in charge of about 56 million gallons of liquid radioactive and chemical waste at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. “H2C leads the nation’s largest and most complex radioactive waste cleanup, including closure of the […]