Senate approves new NE head; EM leadership settles into place
ECA Staff | 6/21/2019
Nucelar Energy
Thursday afternoon the Senate confirmed Rita Baranwal to be Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy (NE-1) at DOE by a vote of 86-5. While Baranwal's nomination received bi-partisan support, Sens. Cortez Masto and Rosen (D-NV) were notable objectors, citing Baranwal's support for re-opening the Yucca Mountain licensing process as a non-starter.
Baranwal's nominated was advanced by voice vote back in March by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Previously, Baranwal served as the head of DOE's GAIN initiative, based in Idaho.
Environmental Management
Meanwhile, in the Office of Environmental Management (EM), new leadership there is finishing their first week on the job.
The EM leadership web page has been updated to reflect William "Ike" White's (formerly at NNSA) new capacity as Senior Advisor for EM. Todd Shrader is listed as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
(EM-2).
Read more
BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
House Sends 2020 Energy Spending Bill to Senate on Party Line
Exchange Monitor | 6/20/2019
The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a fiscal 2020 spending bill that would provide more funding than requested by the White House to clean up nuclear weapons sites and less funding that requested for active weapons programs.
The Democrat-led House approved the bill on an essentially party line vote of 226-203. The so-called minibus spending measure funds the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The DOE portion of the bill contains just over $7 billion for the Office of Environmental Management’s cleanup of Cold War nuclear sites, and just under $16 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) nuclear weapons and nonproliferation programs. Those numbers are, respectively, about $700 million above and $600 million below what the Trump administration requested for the fiscal year beginning Oct.
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LEGISLATIVE
NUCLEAR SAFETY
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NATIONAL CLEANUP WORKSHOP
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"Advancing Goal-Oriented Nuclear Waste Cleanup, Today and Tomorrow"
September 10-12, 2019
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center
Alexandria, VA
Join more than 700 attendees, including senior DOE officials, Congressional leaders, DOE contractors, and state, tribal and local government leaders for the largest EM-focused gathering in the D.C. area.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Paul Dabbar, DOE Under Secretary for Science
- Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN), Co-Chair, House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus
- Ron Woody, ECA Chair; County Executive, Roane County, Tenn.
- Sandra Fairchild, EFCOG Vice Chair; Director, Project Services and Support, Savannah River Remediation
Scheduled sessions at this year's workshop include:
- Insights from the House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus Leadership
- 30 Years of EM Cleanup: A Foundation of Success
- EM Contracting: Moving Forward on Contract Management Enhancements
- Legislative Challenges and Opportunities for the EM Program
- Clarifying the Definition of HLW: Challenges and Opportunities
- Continuing Progress on Direct Feed LAW at Hanford
- The Future of the Savannah River Site
- Congressional Staff Perspectives
- Roundtable with DOE Field Office Managers
- Investing in Infrastructure to Enable Cleanup and Future Missions
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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Read ECA's Latest Publication
Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High-Level Waste Definition:
A Guide for Communities and Recommendations for DOE
This paper was developed as a guide for communities to understand a new interpretation of the statutory definition of high-level nuclear waste proposed by DOE in October 2018. This new interpretation could speed up cleanup at several sites, develop a path forward for waste stranded in interim storage and tanks, and potentially save tens of billions of dollars. The paper provides local communities and other DOE
stakeholders with information needed to enable informed decisions and constructive input to the Department as it determines next steps and implementation.
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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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