WC Monitor
4/17/2015
IN DOE
Chip Lagdon, the Department of Energy’s Chief of Nuclear Safety, is preparing to retire from federal service, WC Monitor has learned. Langdon’s retirement request was recently approved by senior DOE officials, though the exact timing of his departure remains unclear. Langdon has served as Chief of Nuclear Safety since January 2006.
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has scheduled one-on-one meetings with industry representatives for next week and its next Business Opportunity Forum for June 10. The one-on-ones will be on April 22 and 23 with EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Project Management Jack Surash and are rescheduled after being canceled last month. EM has also scheduled its next quarterly business forum for June 10 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at DOE’s Forrestal Building in Washington. Surash will also be available for one-on-one meetings with industry June 11.
Kevin Hall was named this week as the new Manager of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office. He has served as deputy manager of the Oak Ridge office for the past couple of years and has served as acting manager since the death of Oak Ridge Manager Larry Kelly in February. Hall came to Oak Ridge in 2013 following a series of management positions at the Savannah River Site Office. In a statement, Joe McBrearty, deputy director of field operations for DOE’s Office of Science, said Hall had exhibited “all of the qualities required to lead one of the Office of Science’s most important assets.”
Jonathan Elkind was again nominated by the Obama Administration this week to serve as Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs. Elkind was previously nominated for the position in early 2014, but was not approved by the full Senate before the end of the last Congress. He currently serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for DOE’s Office of International Affairs, and served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy and International Affairs from 2009 to 2013. Before joining DOE, Elkind worked as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and also founded and headed EastLink Consulting, LLC, an independent consultancy focusing on energy, environment, and investment.
IN THE DNFSB
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board would be funded at $29.9 million next year under the House version of the Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, reported out of subcommittee this week. The bill would provide approximately $1.4 million more than the Board’s current funding level, and approximately $700,000 more than what the agency had sought in its FY 2016 budget request. In its request, the Board proposed a funding level of approximately $29.2 million, including an additional $1.76 million to hire additional employees and an additional $200,000 for an employee pay raise that would largely be offset through the use of approximately $1.85 million in available unobligated balances. “The Board’s requested FY 2016 budget of $29,150,000 in new budget authority and 122.5 FTEs is necessary to address congressional concerns and provide the scientific and technical resources needed to review DOE’s design and construction projects, remediation activities, and weapons programs in a timely and efficient manner,” the DNFSB’s request said.
IN THE INDUSTRY
CH2M HILL announced a rebranding effort this week in which it shortened its name to CH2M and unveiled a new logo. The rebranding comes after the company released what it calls a “refreshed business strategy” in January that focuses on collaboration across its five business groups. “Through the years, CH2M has evolved from a regional engineering and consulting firm associated with first-of-a-kind projects to a global leader associated with some of the largest, best-known infrastructure programs for public and private clients,” CH2M Chairman and Chief Executive Jacqueline Hinman said in a statement. She added: “The last time we rebranded the company was in the 1990s. Since that time, CH2M has grown from 5,000 to 25,000 employees, working in more than 50 countries, with annual revenues of almost US$6 billion. Our distinctive new look reflects the energy and passion of the firm and its zest for bringing the smartest approaches to the markets and industries we serve.”
IEI-PEC won late last week a support contract for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract has a maximum value of $4 million over five years, and will consist of firm fixed-price and time and material task orders, according to a DOE release. Services to be provided include facilities and infrastructure management, project management, technical and subject matter expert support, communications, business and administrative support, market research and acquisition planning, among other services. IEI-PEC, JV, is a small-disadvantaged business based in Lincoln, Neb.
Editor’s Note: This section was revised from an earlier version to correct the spelling of DOE Chief of Nuclear Safety Chip Lagdon’s name.
