National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

The Senate approved its version of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a 90-8 vote Monday, setting the stage for a conference with the House to iron out differences between the two chambers’ version of the annual military policy bill. The White House has said it opposes some of the bill’s provisions. The […]

Ellen Tauscher will replace Norman Pattiz as the chair of the University of California Board of Regents’ national laboratories subcommittee, the board said Thursday. Tauscher is a former California congresswoman. Pattiz is the founder of radio giant Westwood One. California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) appointed Tauscher to the board in June. Pattiz was originally appointed […]

The Senate this week marked a major milestone toward passing its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2018, which would set reporting requirements for unmet Energy Department nuclear-weapons needs, and encourage appropriators to fund research on a new intermediate-range missile. The Senate voted to end debate Thursday, setting up floor action on the bill as […]

Damage at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site this week from Hurricane Irma was limited to downed trees, with no reported issues at any facilities. Wind gusts reached up to 76 mph at the site near Aiken, S.C., with sustained winds of 35 mph on Monday when Irma did most of its damage in the area. Outside […]

Former House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard “Buck” McKeon penned an op-ed in support of the Department of Energy Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina, which since retiring from Congress he has lobbied the federal government to continue building. “I am concerned about the effect on our national security of a further proliferation […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to publish a master schedule for overhauling elements of its uranium program no sooner than Dec. 31, 2018, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. A cornerstone of that overhaul is the Uranium Production Facility (UPF) to be built at the Y-12 National Security Complex near […]

The University of California will seek new industry partners to chase a follow-on operations contract the Department of Energy expects to award next year for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, a university regent suggested Thursday. “As we go forward … we’re going to be bidding with a different group of private sector […]

A number of major policy questions must be addressed before the federal government drops the mixed-oxide fuel (MOX) project in South Carolina in favor of a “dilute and dispose” approach to disposal of 34 metric tons of surplus weapon-grade plutonium, House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said Thursday. “There are a […]

Former Sen. Peter Domenici (R-N.M.), a stalwart ally of virtually all things nuclear in his state, died Wednesday following complications from abdominal surgery, the Albuquerque Journal reported. He was 85. Domenici was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and served six terms. During his Senate career, he chaired the chamber’s Energy Committee and Budget […]

A number of major policy questions must be addressed before the federal government drops the mixed-oxide fuel (MOX) project in South Carolina in favor of a “dilute and dispose” approach to disposal of 34 metric tons of surplus weapon-grade plutonium, House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said Thursday. “There are a […]

Damage at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina this week from Hurricane Irma was limited to downed trees, with no reported issues at any facilities. Wind gusts reached up to 76 mph at the site near Aiken, S.C., with sustained winds of 35 mph on Monday when Irma did most of its damage in […]

Former Sen. Peter Domenici (R-N.M.), a stalwart ally of virtually all things nuclear in his state, died Wednesday following complications from abdominal surgery, the Albuquerque Journal reported. He was 85. Domenici was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and served six terms. During his Senate career, he chaired the chamber’s Energy Committee and Budget […]

The University of California on Wednesday made all but official what has until now been merely “likely”: that the longtime Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) manager plans to compete for the next contract to manage that critical Energy Department facility. “It is anticipated that Regents’ approval for the formal bid submission will be requested at […]

Former House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard “Buck” McKeon penned an op-ed in support of the Department of Energy Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina, which since retiring from Congress he has lobbied the federal government to continue building. “I am concerned about the effect on our national security of a further proliferation […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to publish a master schedule for overhauling elements of its uranium program no sooner than Dec. 31, 2018, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. A cornerstone of that overhaul is the Uranium Production Facility (UPF) to be built at the Y-12 National Security Complex near Oak Ridge, […]

The Energy Department’s Savannah River Site has lost about 900 jobs over the past five years, primarily due to attrition, according to a recent economic impact study. Released late last month, the study – The Savannah River Site: Economic Impact and Workforce Transition – was prepared by the SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO), a group tasked with working […]

Congress this week passed a temporary spending bill that will keep the Department of Energy funded at 2017 levels for at least more than two months into the new fiscal year, setting up another holiday-season budget showdown on Capitol Hill. The House on Friday voted in favor of a Senate-approved plan of disaster relief and debt-ceiling […]

The Energy Department has extinguished wildfires that were burning at the Nevada National Security Site, the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration wrote in a social media post Tuesday. “NNSS firefighters successfully extinguished a lightning-generated fire which began on Aug. 24,” reads a post on the Nevada National Security Site’s Facebook page. “The NNSS fire […]

The University of New Mexico is the third institution to express interest in the next management and operations contract for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a university official confirmed to Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor this week. “The University of New Mexico is very interested in the LANL Management and Operations contract competition,” Joseph Cecchi, senior adviser […]

Although the soon-to-be-retired Charles McMillan, director of the the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory now only through December, has two deputies, the order of succession at the northern New Mexico nuclear-weapon facility will officially remain a mystery at least until later this year. McMillan announced Tuesday he would step down in December after six years […]

The Department of Energy should take a number of steps to ensure it comprehensively understands its transuranic waste management needs as it looks to dispose of 34 metric tons of diluted plutonium at its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, the Government Accountability Office said in a report Tuesday. WIPP is the nation’s sole permanent […]

The White House shouted its objection to the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility and reseearch on a new intermediate-range missile system in a statement of administration policy Thursday. The measures are part of the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2018, which the upper chamber plans to take up next week now that […]

The Energy Department’s Savannah River Site has lost about 900 jobs over the past five years, primarily due to attrition, according to a recent economic impact study. Released late last month, the study – The Savannah River Site: Economic Impact and Workforce Transition – was prepared by the SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO), a group tasked with working […]

The Department of Energy should take a number of steps to ensure it comprehensively understands its transuranic waste management needs as it looks to dispose of 34 metric tons of diluted plutonium at its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, the Government Accountability Office said in a report Tuesday. WIPP is the nation’s sole permanent underground […]

The Senate is set to take up the National Defense Authorization Act after it deals with a three-month spending bill to keep the Energy Department and the rest of the government funded for the first quarter of fiscal 2018. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made the announcement Wednesday in a press conference after the GOP’s weekly […]

Congress is working on a stopgap spending bill that will, by and large, keep the Energy Department funded at 2017 levels until mid-December, leading lawmakers and President Donald Trump said Wednesday. The so-called continuing resolution will fund the federal government through Dec. 15, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy […]

Charles McMillan will retire as director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory on Dec. 31, the long-time lab hand told employees of the northern New Mexico weapons lab Tuesday. McMillan was appointed director of the weapons lab in 2011 by Los Alamos National Security: a consortium led by the University of California and industry partners. […]

The Energy Department said Friday it is extinguishing fires in the west-central corner of the remote Nevada National Security Site. The blaze, which burned cheat grass and sage grass in an estimated 5,000-acre area, did not affect any structures, facilities, or radiologically contaminated spots at the former nuclear weapon-testing site, DOE said in a press release […]

A portion of the Savannah River Site’s security personnel with union representation are on the job this week even as nearly 300 of their colleagues remain on strike in the wake of failed labor negotiations. Of the 337 security employees represented by the United Professional Pro-Force of Savannah River (PPSR), 48 are currently working. That encompasses workers who […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration said Thursday it is is pleased with the outcome of a federal operational readiness review (FORR) for the Transuranic Waste Facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, in which 12 of the 13 functional areas passed muster. “This was a successful review in the eyes of […]