Savannah River Remediation VP Heading to Los Alamos
WC Monitor
8/29/2014
Bechtel executive Kim Cassara is joining Los Alamos National Laboratory as its associate director for Project Management starting Oct. 1, LANL Director Charlie McMillan said in a message to employees earlier this month. Cassara most recently served as the vice president for Projects, Design, and Construction Services for Savannah River Remediation, LLC. Bechtel is part of the URS-led liquid waste contractor. At Los Alamos, Cassara will replace Matt Nuckols, who left the lab earlier this month to work on the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12. McMillan said Cassara’s “excellent track record managing high-profile projects, and more than 30 years of experience in the DOE complex, make her uniquely qualified to handle large construction and site projects at Los Alamos, and the complex nature of our expansive and aging infrastructure.”
At Savannah River, Jim Rugg, who comes most recently from the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, will take Cassara’s former position. ”Jim has been area project manager for some 20 facilities at WTP known as the LBL—the Low Activity Waste Vitrification Facility, the Analytical Laboratory, and Balance of Facilities,” according to a separate message to Bechtel employees. “Jim was instrumental in implementing the LBL Quality Assurance Plan, using People-Based Quality to lead a team of more than 1,000 to significant performance improvements while supporting the DOE customer’s milestones.”
Savannah River CAB Members Upset About DOE Communication
WC Monitor
8/29/2014
The Department of Energy has missed giving several important updates to the Savannah River Site Citizens’ Advisory Board on time, and that may be hampering the CAB and public trust in the Department, according to a CAB draft recommendation discussed at a meeting this week. The CAB found out about several noteworthy issues through media reports, states the draft. That includes the proposal to import highly enriched uranium from Germany, potential fines from the state for missed cleanup milestones and safety concerns raised by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. “In order for the Citizens Advisory Board to be able to provide meaningful input and formal written recommendations to the Department of Energy, as required by law, its members need to be informed of situations at the Site in a timely manner. The failure of the Department to do such is threatening to erode public trust and hampering the effectiveness of the Board,” states the draft recommendation, which will be voted on at the next CAB meeting in September. It also adds, “The Department’s lawful commitment to transparency requires a more forthright approach.”
The potential receipt of the German material in particular has been controversial in South Carolina, and the CAB did not know about it until it was raised at a meeting during the public comment period. “At that time, information was also provided by the public about the German-funded contract with the Savannah River National Laboratory for developing an extraction technique concerning this material,” the draft recommendation states. “Direct questioning of Savannah River Site personnel did not result in information that clarified the issues of whether the Site was going to be receiving and storing this material and what its ultimate disposition would be.”
Normally information is communicated from DOE to the CAB through formal presentations at bimonthly meetings. “Key information about the Site could be delivered in a timely manner by simply building on existing communication methods between the Department and the Board, resulting in an increased opportunity for open dialogue and developing a stronger relationship,” the draft recommendation states. It also asks for e-mail updates “when a situation arises” so that information does not appear in the press “before the Board is informed in a meeting environment.” DOE this week declined to comment on the proposed recommendation, noting that it was still in draft form and hadn’t been approved by the full Board.
