ECA communities provide Local Government Recommendations on the EM Strategic Vision 2021-2031
ECA Staff | 11/30/2021
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The Energy Communities Alliance’s (ECA) goal is to promote a collaborative working relationship between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the local government officials in the communities adjacent to or hosting DOE activities. These communities play a critical role in the cleanup process and elected officials across the nation’s cleanup sites have a fundamental responsibility to protect the health, safety, quality of life, and economic future of the community –
a responsibility they share with DOE.
ECA members recommend that future iterations of the EM Strategic Vision include:
- An outline of opportunities for local government partnership and engagement in DOE decision-making.
- Plans to improve and mitigate environmental justice and climate change impacts in frontline communities hosting and adjacent to DOE sites.
- Commitment to regular interaction with local governments to ensure alignment with communities’ future vision for DOE cleanup sites.
- An annual scorecard to measure progress towards EM goals outlined in the Strategic Vision.
Specific priority recommendations outlined in the document include:
- The Strategic Vision should identify how EM plans to engage with local governments and communities in cleanup and ensure their involvement in medium- to long-term decision making.
- The Strategic Vision should identify how EM works with other DOE program offices including NNSA, Office of Science, LM, and NE at each site.
- The Strategic Vision must identify that EM will continue to evaluate risk-based approaches for addressing high-level waste, including making disposal decisions based on radiological content and clarifying the high-level waste definition to safely expedite cleanup and save taxpayer money.
- The Strategic Vision needs to identify for the first time how EM plans to integrate frontline communities into the Administration’s environmental justice directive.
- As part of DOE’s 2021 Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan, DOE aims to “enhance climate adaptation and mitigation co-benefits at DOE sites.” To that end, EM’s Strategic Vision should reflect plans to engage directly with local governments in frontline communities in pursuit of shared goals.
- The Strategic Vision should further address how EM will manage a changing workforce, due both to retirement and cleanup completion.
- Given their existing relationships with DOE, shared infrastructure, and community knowledge, the Strategic Vision should establish how EM plans to coordinate locally with communities to support ongoing economic transition and diversification.
- EM should develop an annual scorecard to demonstrate progress made towards the stated goals and to identify areas for program improvement in the Strategic Vision.
ECA members provided thoughtful comments and insightful feedback throughout the process of creating these recommendations – thank you for this meaningful involvement and input.
To read the full recommendations, please click here.
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"CAPITALIZING ON A NEW ERA OF CLEANUP
SUCCESS"
December 7-9, 2021
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center
Alexandria, Virginia
If you have already registered for the Workshop, you will not need to re-register. If you need to register, please click here. If you have questions, please contact Autumn Bogus at abogus@la-inc.com or (865)
300-1061.
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT
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DECEMBER 6
On Thursday, December 6, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM ET, the Committee on Merits and Viability of Different Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Technology Options and the Waste Aspects of Advanced Nuclear Reactors will hear from the sponsor U.S. Department of Energy-Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), congressional staff
from the appropriations committees, an expert on China’s advanced nuclear energy systems, and an expert on the U.S. advanced nuclear programs.
The meeting information is below:
WEBEX MEETING LINK
Meeting number: 2764 170 4525
Password: ekHPhJp4i35 (35474574 from phones and video systems)
The committee welcomes input and will host public comment sessions at the end of each public session. Attendance is open and free to the public. Both public sessions will be held exclusively online and will be recorded. The recordings will be made available pending permissions and processing time.
Agenda and connection information may also be accessed here.
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NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
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NNSA awards M&O contract for Y-12 and Pantex
NNSA Press Release | 11/29/2021
On November 29, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) announced it has selected Nuclear Production One, LLC (NPOne) for the Management and Operating (M&O) contract for the Y-12 National Security Complex and Pantex Plant, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Amarillo, Texas, respectively.
NPOne is a limited liability company, which consists of Fluor Federal Services, Inc. and AECOM Energy & Construction (an Amentum company).
“For over 40 years, the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas has been the Nation’s primary nuclear weapon assembly, disassembly, and life-extension center. The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee has been strengthening our national security and reducing the global threat from weapons of mass destruction since 1943,” said Jill Hruby, Administrator of the NNSA. “I look forward to NPOne helping us accomplish our mission.”
The contract includes a four-month transition period starting in December 2021 and a five-year base period with five, one-year options, for a total contract period of up to 10 years if all options are exercised. The estimated value of the contract is $2.8 billion annually.
NNSA has designed the contract and transition period to minimize the impact on workers at Y-12 and Pantex. Aside from a handful of top managers, the contract requires NPOne to offer positions to all current employees it deems necessary for completing the requirements of the contract, and offer the same pay to all employees who remain in their current positions. NPOne will also be required to become the sponsor of the existing retirement benefit plans and must permit incumbent employees to remain
in those plans.
The current M&O contract for Y-12 and Pantex, held by Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS), expires on March 31, 2022, and allows for an approximately four-month transition period, which will provide stability for the workforce employed under the current contract and ensure efficient continuity of operations.
ECA will continue to provide information on the type, timing, and value of major contract awards as DOE/NNSA continues to announce them. To read more, please visit http://www.energyca.org/doe-contracts.
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Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
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Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments.
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