Two weapons complex watchdog groups are asking Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to slash the Fiscal Year 2014 performance fee for Los Alamos National Laboratory contractor Los Alamos National Security because of the lab’s role in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant radiological release and problems with the lab’s Plutonium Facility. In a
Dec. 3 letter to Moniz, the Project On Government Oversight and Nuclear Watch New Mexico said the lab’s performance in FY 2014 was “demonstrably worse than other years” and called on the National Nuclear Security Administration to cut the $40 million in available performance fee at least in half. The lab contractor earned $41.9 million in FY 2013, including 82 percent of its at-risk fee ($34.1 million). “The Department of Energy’s cozy relationships with its contractors must end, given their repeated failures and massive cost overruns,” Nuclear Watch New Mexico Director Jay Coghlan said. “Substandard performance by the Los Alamos Lab contractor is costing the taxpayer dearly.”
The lab’s role in the WIPP radiological release has been well documented. The lab is believed to have used unapproved waste handling methods to pack waste for disposal at the plant, and a drum containing the Los Alamos waste ruptured earlier this year, closing the disposal site. Major operations at the lab’s Plutonium Facility have also been largely shut down since June of 2013 because of concerns about nuclear criticality safety. The NNSA is expected to release information about FY 2014 fee determinations for weapons complex contractors, including Los Alamos, later this month. “As a matter of good governance, proper federal oversight and contractor accountability, we again urge you to cut LANS’ possible incentive award fee for FY 2014 at least in half,” the groups wrote. “Moreover, given its major failures, you should seriously consider whether it is in the best interests of the American taxpayer to have LANS continue to operate the Los Alamos National Laboratory.” Los Alamos declined to comment on the letter.
