Longtime Department of Energy nuclear cleanup manager Ken Picha will join Strata-G, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based subcontractor, on Dec. 1.
Picha, who has most recently been the DOE Office of Environmental Management’s acting associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations, is retiring from federal service at the end of this week, an industry source said Wednesday.
Picha, who joined the Energy Department cleanup office in 1991, was appointed acting field operations chief in late May by Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management Anne Marie White. White announced on Nov. 6 that Jeff Griffin, associate director for environmental management at the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina, would fill the slot on a permanent basis.
In an emailed statement Wednesday, Strata-G praised Picha for 35 years of nuclear and waste management experience for both the government and commercial clients. He has held DOE posts at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the West Valley Demonstration Project in western New York state, and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Picha is also a Navy veteran with experience in operating naval nuclear power systems, according to his DOE biography.
“Ken’s service to our nation has been extraordinary and we are delighted that Ken is joining the Strata-G team,” Strata-G founder and President Dan Hurst said by email. “We believe that his invaluable experience and expert knowledge delivered with our shared core values of integrity, service, and quality will serve our clients well.”
Picha will be a senior program manager at Strata-G, but further details about this role were not immediately available. It was unclear Thursday if he will relocate to Tennessee from the Washington, D.C., area.
Strata-G is a veteran-owned small business with experience in nuclear operations and quality assurance, radioactive waste management, transportation, and project management, according to its website. The company has about 200 employees.
It received a $1 million DOE contract early this year for environmental sampling at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee as part of research on a planned new landfill. The company has also done research on a mercury water treatment facility planned at Oak Ridge’s Y-12 National Security Complex.
