DOE announced this afternoon that Jim Owendoff will be Acting Assistant Secretary for EM (EM-1). Owendoff has worked with the vast majority of ECA
communities for over 20 years and is familiar with the programs and operations at each of the sites. Owendoff has spoken at over 10 ECA meetings over the years and we look forward to more spirited discussions with
him.
ECA understands that this transition in EM leadership has been in the works for several weeks as EM waits on the White House to name a nominee for
the permanent EM-1 position. ECA expects several additional management changes in EM to be announced in the coming days.
DOE is still waiting for the nomination of Dan Brouillette as Deputy Secretary to be taken up by the full Senate. ECA sources say that a hold has
been placed on Brouillette's nomination by Senator Heller (R-NV) likely due to disagreement with the Administration's intention to revive Yucca Mountain. This stalled nomination is impacting the rate at which other nominations for NNSA, EM, NE, and other DOE offices are
made.
The complete text of DOE's press release announcing Jim Owendoff's appointment is
below:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that James M. Owendoff, who has served as a Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary in the Office of
Environmental Management (EM) since January 2010, has been named Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Environmental Management.
In this role, Mr. Owendoff will also serve as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management until such time as a Presidential nominee
is submitted and confirmed by the Senate. As one of his first actions, Mr. Owendoff plans to initiate a full EM program review to identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness and execution of the nuclear legacy waste cleanup
program.
“I am honored to again serve in this leadership role for the Office of Environmental Management,” said Mr. Owendoff. “Our review will help to
focus the Department’s cleanup efforts by emphasizing more timely decisions on some of our more complex cleanup challenges. This will go a long way toward putting the program on the path to safely and successfully achieving our cleanup mission sooner and at less cost to
taxpayers.”
EM was created in 1989 and charged with cleaning up the radioactive legacy of the Manhattan Project, the Cold War, and World War II. It is the
largest environmental cleanup program in the world. Today, following 25 years of progress, only 16 of the original 109 Manhattan Project sites remain in need of cleanup. These sites present some of the most challenging and riskiest remediation work left to be
performed.
Mr. Owendoff served in various capacities in the Office of Environmental Management from September 1995 to November 2003 and again from November
2005 to January 2010, including Acting Assistant Secretary, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Chief Operations Officer, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environmental Restoration, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology, and Chief Office of Project Recovery. He also served in the Department of Energy’s Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management from November 2003 to November 2005 as the Associate Director for
Integration.
Prior to joining the Department of Energy and his retirement from active duty in the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Owendoff served in the Office of the
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security and served as Chief of the Air Force Environmental Restoration Division.
Mr. Owendoff was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant in June 1968, immediately following his graduation from Virginia
Polytechnic Institute where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He held a series of successively responsible leadership positions during his 25-year career in the U.S. Air Force, which included assignments throughout the United States and overseas. He also holds a Master’s of Engineering Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell
University.
