Alissa Tabirian
WC Monitor
10/16/2015

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) have approved a memorandum of understanding that dictates the responsibilities of each entity in the transition of legacy environmental cleanup work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site representative report released this week. The DOE has been shifting oversight and management of LANL’s legacy waste cleanup operations from the NNSA to EM.

The two agencies approved the memorandum of understanding in late September, according to the site rep report for the week ending Sept. 25. “Under this arrangement, the NNSA Field Office will maintain safety basis approval and startup authority until the EM Field Office can achieve appropriate staffing,” the report says. “However, EM will have participation and concurrence on all applicable safety basis approvals.”

The report mentions other milestones, including the arrival of Douglas Hintze as permanent manager of the new Los Alamos EM Field Office and a one-year cost-plus-award-fee contract award to LANL contractor Los Alamos National Security (LANS) for legacy cleanup “until such time that EM can procure a new contractor” for the remediation work, the report says. The contract, valued at a maximum of $309.8 million, features two six-month options for cleanup activities while the DOE works on securing prime contracts for future cleanup. The report adds that “the bridge contract includes a milestone to complete treatment of the inappropriately remediated nitrate salt wastes by September 29, 2017.” LANS has been in charge of legacy cleanup activities at LANL since 2006.

The report also notes that the NNSA Field Office “recently improved staffing levels” with a returning deputy manager, a new deputy assistant manager for operations, two new facility representatives, and a safety basis analyst.