After acting as the lone deputy manager for 17 months at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, Brian Stickney is now officially the agency’s sitewide second-in-command, DOE said Monday.
In 2019, DOE made Brian Vance the sole site manager for the former plutonium production complex, overseeing both Hanford’s Richland Operations Office and Office of River Protection.
“Today, DOE is announcing its selection of Brian Stickney as the single deputy manager at Hanford,” a DOE spokesperson said in an emailed announcement.
Stickney was chosen as deputy manager for Richland in 2020 and 17 months ago and also became the acting deputy for River Protection, as prior deputy Ben Harp became a DOE Office of Environmental Management senior adviser in February 2022. Harp retired in May, according to DOE.
As the No. 2 executive at Hanford, Stickney is responsible for oversight of daily operations, program planning and compliance with the Tri-Party Agreement among other duties, DOE said.
“This transition will enhance sitewide integration, and support transition from two site offices to one upon the sunset of [the Office of River Protection] at the end of fiscal year 2024,” according to the DOE statement.
Carved out in 1998, Hanford’s Office of River Protection is charged with overseeing about 54 million gallons of radioactive tank waste stored in underground tanks not far from the Columbia River. More than five years ago, in an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2019, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash), ensured River Protection would continue as a standalone office through fiscal 2024.
But DOE has gradually worked toward a “one Hanford” policy, with Vance as boss for the entire site and increased coordination of Hanford’s six major environmental contracts, according to the Monday announcement.
At conferences, Vance has frequently called increased coordination at Hanford vital as the site works towards the startup of the Bechtel National-built Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, designed to solidify tank waste into a glass-like form. Startup of the plant’s Direct-Feed-Low Activity Waste Facility is slated for 2025.
