With Hanford Site Manager Brian Vance having resigned from the Department of Energy, longtime federal supervisor Brian Harkins is now the highest-ranking fed at the former plutonium production complex in Washington state, a spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.
Acting deputy manager Brian Harkins is currently leading the site, after Vance’s departure last week, a DOE spokesperson said via email in response to an Exchange Monitor inquiry.
Vance, who is leaving DOE to explore private sector opportunities, left the agency effective April 24.
On April 3, Harkins became acting deputy manager at Hanford, succeeding Brian Stickney who left DOE in March.
Hanford is the most extensive nuclear cleanup site within the Department of Energy’s $8-billion Office of Environmental Management. Coming into 2025, it had about 13,000 workers, mostly contractors.