National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

The House of Representatives’ fiscal 2018 energy funding bill directs the National Nuclear Security Administration to address various legal and diplomatic hurdles in its proposed alternative plutonium disposition method before Congress considers funding the new approach and abandoning the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility under construction in South Carolina. The House version of the energy and […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has released a draft request for proposals for the next management and operations contract for its Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, while the facility takes steps to address a recent error in shipping special nuclear material, the latest in a series of safety and security issues that have plagued […]

The White House’s pick to lead the National Nuclear Security Administration will meet next week with Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who might still be pursuing other candidates for the job, sources told NS&D Monitor this week. Sources said late last month that Lisa Gordon-Hagerty is the White House’s choice to replace Obama administration holdover Frank […]

Despite reservations from at least one lawmaker, there was no move to cut funding for the Department of Energy’s controversial MOX facility Wednesday as the House Appropriations Committee advanced its fiscal 2018 energy and water funding bill to the full House for consideration. The appropriations legislation would grant $10.2 billion for weapons activities at the Department of Energy’s […]

Lawmakers debated nuclear-weapon-related amendments to the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act Wednesday evening on the House floor, postponing votes for some contentious proposals and adopting one to prohibit funding for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization. The House Rules Committee approved this week for floor debate 88 of roughly 400 amendments filed on […]

House lawmakers on Wednesday approved a fiscal 2018 energy and water budget that would give the the Department of Energy about $30 billion, including new cleanup work for the agency’s Office of Environmental Management. The House Appropriations Committee voted by a voice vote, with a few Democrat dissenters, to send the nearly $38 billion 2018 Energy and Water Development […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has released a draft request for proposals for the next management and operations contract for its Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The semiautonomous Department of Energy agency is inviting prospective bidders to submit questions and other feedback on the document by 11 a.m. EDT on July 26, to SEB7@nnsa.doe.gov. Responses […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory has reportedly fired an employee following the finding that special nuclear material was mistakenly been shipped by air cargo instead of by ground, in violation of federal regulations. The National Nuclear Security Administration said late last month that LANL shipped the material to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and […]

The House of Representatives’ fiscal 2018 energy funding bill directs the National Nuclear Security Administration to address various legal and diplomatic hurdles in its proposed alternative plutonium disposition method before Congress considers funding the new approach and abandoning the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility under construction in South Carolina. The House version of the energy and […]

Members of the House of Representatives have thrown early support in the latest budget process behind sustaining funding for the MOX project at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, but their colleagues in the Senate are so far silent on whether they will also again back the program. The House version of the fiscal 2018 DOE […]

Amendments to the House of Representatives’ fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act cover a wide range of concerns over nuclear modernization costs, the size and scope of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, and the status of arms control agreements with Russia. One of the nearly 400 amendments submitted to the House version of the bill, for […]

The full House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday is scheduled to mark up a fiscal 2018 spending bill that would give the Energy Department about $30 billion, including a big boost for nuclear weapons funding, and provide $120 million for the agency to license Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev., as a permanent disposal site for nuclear […]

Stephen Kadenacy on June 30 formally ended his nearly two-year tenure as president and chief operating officer of global engineering firm AECOM, one of the major contractors at Department of Energy nuclear sites around the country. Kadenacy has been with AECOM for nearly a decade, starting as senior vice president for finance in 2008 and […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration will extend its contract with Centerra Group for protective force services at the agency’s Nevada Field Office for up to six months due to the incumbent’s bid protest over a follow-on contract the agency recently awarded to a competitor, SOC. The current security contract, awarded in December 2011 to Centerra, […]

Two aging buildings at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee are undergoing electrical modernization upgrades under the facilities’ Extended Life Program (ELP), according to the National Nuclear Security Administration. The NNSA last December received an ELP implementation plan from site contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security for extending the lives of Buildings 9215 and 9204-2E, decades-old enriched uranium […]

Three of the 26 companies recognized for safety excellence in 2016 by the state of South Carolina are contractors at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site. The companies are: liquid waste management contractor Savannah River Remediation (SRR); management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS); and security provider Centerra. The Energy Department reported June 28 that […]

Two aging buildings at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee are undergoing electrical modernization upgrades under the facilities’ Extended Life Program (ELP), according to the National Nuclear Security Administration. The NNSA last December received an ELP implementation plan from site contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security for extending the lives of Buildings 9215 and 9204-2E, two decades-old enriched […]

The House of Representatives’ version of the Department of Energy funding bill for fiscal 2018 would again defy the agency’s intention to kill its Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. The House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee on Wednesday approved its $37.56 billion spending legislation, which would provide $340 million for construction of the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Tuesday issued a presolicitation notice for the next management and operations contract for its Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The notice comes just days after the semiautonomous Department of Energy agency said it is investigating the improper shipment of nuclear material from the laboratory to sister sites […]

South Carolina’s governor reiterated his concerns late last week about the federal government’s continued efforts to end the Savannah River Site’s MOX project, a local elected official said Monday. The 310-square-mile Department of Energy facility is primarily housed in Aiken County, S.C., near the state’s border with Georgia. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster was in Aiken on […]

Former National Security Council and Department of Energy senior staffer Lisa Gordon-Hagerty is the White House’s choice to lead the National Nuclear Security Administration, informed sources told NS&D Monitor this week. If confirmed by the Senate, Gordon-Hagerty would replace Frank Klotz, a retired Air Force general and Obama administration holdover who has headed the semiautonomous […]

A House Appropriations panel on Wednesday approved a spending bill that would greatly increase the budget for the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons branch and fund a restart of the agency’s application to license Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev., as a nuclear waste site. The House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee approved the measure on a […]

Nuclear weapons programs would get the big boost the Donald Trump administration sought in 2018 and Cold War nuclear cleanup programs would get a little less than requested, if a draft spending bill released Tuesday by House appropriators becomes law. The bill, essentially a first draft that will undergo many changes before it reaches the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Tuesday issued a presolicitation notice for the next management and operations contract for its Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The notice comes just days after the semiautonomous Department of Energy agency said it is investigating the improper shipment of nuclear material from the laboratory to sister sites […]

One of the recently disclosed improper shipments of nuclear material from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico involved 100 grams of plutonium sent to a sister site in California, according to an incident report posted Monday. The Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration said Friday that Los Alamos had during the […]

South Carolina’s governor reiterated his concerns late last week about the federal government’s continued efforts to end the Savannah River Site’s MOX project, a local elected official said Monday. The 310-square-mile Department of Energy facility is primarily housed in Aiken County, S.C., near the state’s border with Georgia. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster was in Aiken on […]

The House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee is scheduled Wednesday to mark up the bill that includes the fiscal 2018 budgets for the Energy Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The markup will be held in room 2362-B of the Rayburn House Office Building, according to a subcommittee notice. The Donald Trump administration proposed cutting […]

The House Armed Services Committee chairman’s mark of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act keeps the door open for sustaining the Department of Energy’s Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina – assuming Congress provides any money for the project. The 701-page document, released Monday by HASC Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), says the energy […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico mistakenly transported nuclear material to two other national laboratories by air instead of by ground, the Energy Department’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration said late Friday. While the material was prepared for transport by commercial ground cargo, as was proper, shipment documents indicated it should be flown by […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry this week reaffirmed his department’s commitment to sticking within the cost and schedule guidelines for construction of the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) in Tennessee, given stable funding. Perry, who was on Capitol Hill repeatedly for a series of hearings on the Energy Department’s fiscal 2018 budget plan, confirmed DOE would build […]