In a closed-door meeting Thursday, the acting head of the Energy Department’s nuclear cleanup program briefed the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on the 45-day review of his office’s operations and other key issues.
An entry on the DNFSB calendar says the five-person board was scheduled to receive one of its periodic briefings from EM-1, the short title given to the assistant energy secretary for environmental management. James Owendoff, a longtime EM hand dating to 1995, took over the position in June, replacing Sue Cange as acting head of the roughly $6 billion per year Office of Environmental Management.
The session was not open to the public, according to a DNFSB representative, who added that no decisions were to be made at the briefing. A DOE EM spokesperson reached Friday declined to provide any additional details on the meeting.
A memo on the DNFSB website says potential topics for discussion included Owendoff’s 45-day review of the EM office as well as matters concerning the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico and the national transuranic waste program.
The DNFSB acts as a safety watchdog for DOE nuclear weapons and cleanup operations, with on-site inspectors at the Hanford Site in Washington state, Pantex Plant in Texas, Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, and other facilities.
A CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. project director has been selected as the new manager for the Office of River Protection at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Brian Vance takes over from Kevin Smith, who retired at the end of September.
The Office of River Protection is responsible for management of 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste held in underground tanks at Hanford and the Waste Treatment Plant being built to vitrify much of the tank waste for permanent disposal.
Vance will start work for DOE on Nov. 6. He currently leads the CH2M team working on the remotely handled equipment for the highly radioactive spill beneath the Hanford 324 Building, including installing the equipment in a mockup facility for testing and training on the tools.
“I know he will be able to leverage his skills and expertise to assist ORP in maintaining the strong momentum now underway to address the Hanford tank waste mission and continue making progress on the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant,” said Jim Owendoff, acting assistant secretary for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management.
Vance joined CH2M at Hanford in June 2016 after about three decades of leadership experience in nuclear-related work. He was a Navy submarine officer for 25 years, and worked on projects from initial concept through sustainment, according to DOE. More recently he was a product development director for Westinghouse Electric Co. from 2013 to 2016 and a principal project manager for AREVA NP from 2009 to 2013. Vance said in a statement he was honored and excited to lead DOE’s work on “one of the largest environmental challenges at Hanford – radioactive tank waste.”
Ben Harp, who has been serving as acting manager of the Office of River Protection, will resume his position as ORP deputy manager.
Robert Card, who served as undersecretary of energy from 2001 to 2004 and later became president and CEO of the Canadian engineering firm SNC-Lavalin, has joined the Strategic Advisory Board for Energy Department contractor Longenecker & Associates.
“Bob is one of the most brilliant strategic minds in our industry and I am honored that he has agreed to join our board. His experience both in industry and the Department of Energy will be invaluable as we grow,” L&A President John Longenecker said in an Oct. 21 news release.
Card, who currently works as an industry consultant, stepped down as SNC-Lavalin president and CEO in 2015 after more than three years in the top spot.
He previously served as president and CEO of Kaiser-Hill Co. LLC, where he assumed responsibility for the DOE Rocky Flats cleanup project in Colorado during the mid-1990s.
Card spent most of his professional career with CH2M HILL, joining the company in the 1970s and advancing into the ranks of management before overseeing Rocky Flats. He would return to CH2M Hill in 2004 to serve as president of energy, water, and facilities until 2012.
Las Vegas-based Longenecker & Associates offers technical and management consulting for nuclear and environmental industries.
