Wrap up: Fires avoid ETEC so far; EnergySec hearing coming up; DOE awards emergency training contract

The Department of Energy is keeping a watchful eye on the  devastating wildfires sweeping through Southern California, but as of Thursday evening, the blazes had not  reached the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Simi Valley.

DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, Energy Technology and Engineering Center (ETEC) site at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory “is closely monitoring the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Currently, none of these fires are impacting the site,” said a DOE spokesperson.  As of Friday  morning, the Los Angeles County fires had killed at least several  people and left mass destruction behind, according to the Washington Post and other news outlets. 

Sen. Catherine Cotez Masto (D-Nev.) said on the website X Thursday that she met with Chris Wright, president-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Energy.

“I sat down yesterday with Chris Wright to discuss his nomination to the Department of Energy,” Cortez Masto, whose district abuts the Nevada National Security Site, said on the site. “As we prepare to hear from him before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I will continue to review his qualifications and reiterate Nevada’s priorities.”

Wright will be considered for nomination by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Wednesday, Jan. 15.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environment Management awarded a three-year contract worth up to $4.5 million to a small Idaho- based consulting company for emergency preparedness training connected to radioactive material shipments.

Technical Resources Group, based in Idaho Falls, will provide Environmental Management’s Office of Packaging and Transportation with training to “prepare for a response to a transportation incident/accident involving shipments of DOE radiological material,” according to a Dec. 31 online procurement notice. Under the set-aside contract, the woman-owned Technical Resources Group trains and prepares federal, state, local, local and tribal entities for potential mishaps related to shipments of radioactive material.

Under DOE supervision, the contractor will provide “emergency response radiological transportation training program classes,” according to the notice.