EM Update | Vol. 11, Issue 10 | March 12, 2019

• Senior EM Managers Look Back and Forward at Waste Management Symposia Session
• Deputy Secretary Brouillette: DOE Committed to Continued Success of Environmental Cleanup
• Idaho Site Featured at 2019 Waste Management Symposia
• Waste Management Panel Ponders Finding and Keeping Next Generation Professionals
• Panelists Discuss WIPP’s Future and Implementing New Waste Acceptance Criteria
• Women in Waste Management Discussion Focuses on Transformational Leadership
• PPPO on Track for Sustained Success in Coming Years
• Hanford Contractor Talks Future of Site’s Infrastructure Needs

Senior EM Managers Look Back and Forward at Waste Management Symposia Session

EM senior managers, from right, Betsy Connell, Jeff Griffin, Steve Trischman and Mark Gilbertson discussed the origins of the DOE environmental management program and provided a snapshot of present-day Office of Environmental Management activities and initiatives during an EM 30th Anniversary presentation at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia. Also in the photo (far left) is the panel moderator Martin Schneider of Longenecker & Associates.

PHOENIX – The Department of Energy environmental cleanup program was born in 1989 from the alignment of a new presidential administration and energy secretary with the demands of a coalition of governors seeking creation of a national program to remediate DOE defense and research facilities.

   Today, 30 years later, the Office of Environmental Management is a $7 billion enterprise that has completed work at 91 of its original 107 cleanup sites and is modernizing its efforts to complete the remainder.

   Senior EM managers reminisced about the early days and provided a snapshot of the present-day during a 30th anniversary panel discussion at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

   EM Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Gilbertson recalled the early days of EM. Newly elected President George H.W. Bush appointed Admiral James Watkins as Energy Secretary with a charge to improve management of DOE defense programs and tackle environmental cleanup. On March 15, 1989, Leo Duffy was named special assistant, with a charge to develop the first five-year plan for cleanup.

EM Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Gilbertson holds up the first Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Five Year Plan, a document from the earliest days of the Department of Energy cleanup program.

   Weeks later, Watkins received a letter from 10 governors of states home to DOE sites expressing concerns about cleanup and disposal of wastes at those facilities and calling for creation of a national remediation program.

   “And that letter included a proposal for a solution that was incorporated into our strategies moving forward,” Gilbertson said. 

   “That’s the climate we were in,” Gilbertson said. “It was an exciting time. We recognized that we couldn’t do things the same way as was done before, and we had to tackle the environmental legacy around the complex.”

   In December of that year, Bush declared an end to the Cold War which led to the downsizing of the nuclear complex and a focus on cleaning up sites that had served the mission, such as Rocky Flats in Colorado, the Fernald site in Ohio and the Pinellas Plant in Florida.

   “It was a pretty dramatic time as we strove to bring more definition into the program so we could continue to make progress,” Gilbertson said.

   Since 1989, “we’ve cleaned up a lot of sites,” Gilbertson said. “This sets the stage for where we are now. It’s time to move towards the future. We are trying to modernize our approaches to cleanup and to focus on completion.”

   Gilbertson and other EM managers pointed to the end state contracting model being put in place by EM Assistant Secretary Anne White as an initiative with to accelerate cleanup and infuse a “completion mindset” into the program.

Betsy Connell, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regulatory and Policy Affairs, outlined EM’s efforts to maintain and strengthen relationships with states, tribes, regulatory agencies and other stakeholders.

Jeff Griffin, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations, described improvements in EM processes to evaluate contractor performance and determine award fees.

Steve Trischman, Director of Budget and Planning, discussed EM funding levels over the years.

   Betsy Connell, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regulatory and Policy Affairs, said EM is evaluating public comments on its high level radioactive waste interpretation proposal, another priority initiative.

   Jeff Griffin, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations, said changes are being made in the processes for evaluating contractor performance to ensure they are aligned with EM priorities, and in determining award fees intended to foster consistency. Also, “art of the possible” analyses underway at field sites are seeking to identify ways to further accelerate cleanup and reduce risks and liabilities.

   “We challenged the site managers: How do we get out of your site in 10 years or less?” Griffin said. “You can’t throw out the laws of physics, but outside of that what would it take to get there?”

   Steve Trischman, Director of Budget and Planning, discussed the trajectory of EM funding since its birth. The program has received $178 billion over its 30 years – in today’s dollars that amounts to about $245 billion. With that funding, he said, “we have made a lot of advances.”

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Deputy Secretary Brouillette: DOE Committed to Continued Success of Environmental Cleanup

Addressing the 2019 Waste Management Symposia, Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette said environmental cleanup is and will continue to be a Department of Energy priority. “We have a responsibility to complete the cleanup of this environmental legacy,” he said.

PHOENIX – The Department of Energy is committed to ensuring the continued success of the Office of Environmental Management cleanup program which is marking its 30 year anniversary this year, DOE Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette told government and industry leaders at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

   “From day one, Secretary Perry and I, and this Administration, have made the EM mission a key priority,” Brouillette told an audience of more than 1,000 participants at the international conference. “We take seriously our commitment to the people and communities that call EM sites home. We have a responsibility to complete the cleanup of this environmental legacy.

   “Recognizing that the EM program constitutes one of the federal government’s largest liabilities, we also take seriously our commitment to the American taxpayer to complete cleanup in a safe, efficient and cost-effective manner,” he said.

   “To that end, we are reinvigorating the completion mindset that has been the foundation of EM’s greatest successes,” Brouillette said. “We are ensuring that the EM program has the resources necessary to maintain and build upon that track record of progress.

   “And we are instituting management and regulatory reforms throughout the Department so that those resources, provided by Congress and the American taxpayer, are best utilized,” he said.

   In its work so far, EM has reduced an initial cleanup inventory from 107 sites comprising 3,100 square miles, to 16 sites with an active footprint of less than 300 square miles, Brouillette pointed out.

   And under the leadership of Assistant Secretary Anne White, the EM program is poised to further improve the trajectory of cleanup, he said.

   “Anne and her team are taking lessons learned from our three decades of cleanup, and institutionalizing a completion-centric approach that protects our nation, continues progress and enables host states and communities to plan for a vibrant and growing future,” Brouillette said

   “This approach touches every aspect of the EM program including overall planning and prioritization, regulatory reform, contracting strategies, project management, strengthening oversight, workforce development, collaborations and more.

   “To ensure EM is best positioned for the long-term, we know that new and innovative ideas and approaches are necessary,” Brouillette said. This includes tapping into the ingenuity of the national laboratories, and nurturing young talent through a variety of STEM-focused DOE programs, internships and fellowships.

   “We vitally need these new innovators and leaders to help us continue to push forward and complete the EM mission,” he said. “We all want to see a push toward the completion of our cleanup that leads to safer, cleaner sites, and growing, thriving communities.”

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Idaho Site Featured at 2019 Waste Management Symposia

Jack Zimmerman, Deputy Manager of Idaho National Laboratory Site and Manager of EM Idaho Cleanup Project, leads a panel discussion on the history and progress being made on environmental remediation at the Idaho Site during the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

PHOENIX – The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was the featured U.S. site at this year’s Waste Management Symposia, a nod to the lab celebrating its 70th anniversary and its cleanup program celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. 

   In a video message, U.S. Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho congratulated INL during the opening of the conference. He encouraged the conference participants to share both successes and challenges related to their waste management work. Congressman Simpson also spoke of the need to recruit the next generation of professionals to complete the cleanup work that started at the end of the Cold War.

   The INL Site was featured throughout the symposia in exhibits, panel discussions, videos, presentations, and posters. INL Site contractors Fluor Idaho and Battelle Energy Alliance, as well as DOE management and project engineers, participated in various events throughout the four-day conference. State of Idaho officials, Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper, and Dana Kirkham, Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Economic Development, Inc., of Idaho Falls also offered their insights about the accomplishments of the cleanup program.

Darrell Early, Idaho Deputy Attorney General, discusses the Idaho Settlement Agreement during a panel discussion regarding the 30 years of cleanup at the INL Site.

Fred Hughes, Fluor Idaho Program Manager, and Connie Flohr, Associate Deputy Manager of the Idaho Site, co-chair a panel discussing the Idaho TRU Program.

Hoss Brown, Fluor Idaho Radioactive Waste Management Complex Operations Director, discusses Idaho-developed technologies and processes that provide unique solutions to waste management challenges.

   INL site-specific panels were held on the cleanup agreements between the DOE and state of Idaho, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit for treatment of liquid waste, transuranic waste challenges and successes, and the collaboration between the U.S Navy and the INL’s two contractors as they execute multiple missions for both DOE-EM and DOE-Nuclear Energy.

   Specific presentations were given by Fluor Idaho’s engineers and senior leadership on the April 2018 drum pressurization event at the Accelerated Retrieval Project V facility, the use of a pilot plant in Colorado to help resolve challenges at the IWTU, as well as the development of innovative equipment and processes to aid transuranic waste retrieval, treatment, and repackaging, and spent nuclear fuel storage.

   Many of the speakers — from the state of Idaho, DOE, and contractors — complimented the site workforce in executing the cleanup workscope in compliance with regulatory agreements. The ingenuity of the workforce and commitment to safety have helped to accelerate the safe completion of many waste management projects at the INL Site, they said.

   “I was pleased that Idaho was chosen to be the featured site at Waste Management 2019,” said Jack Zimmerman, Deputy Manager of Idaho National Laboratory Site and Manager of EM Idaho Cleanup Project. “I thought we had some very interesting panel discussions about Idaho topics, in particular the significant progress that has been made in cleanup at the INL Site over the past 30 years.

   “Idaho is the No. 1 shipper of transuranic waste to WIPP, we’ve emptied, cleaned and grouted 11 of 15 high-level waste tanks, taken down over 200 contaminated structures, and moved 98 percent of our spent nuclear fuel from wet to dry,” Zimmerman said. “We completed retrieval of the 65,000 cubic meters of stored transuranic waste and will complete treatment of the debris TRU waste later this year. Most significantly, we’ve met 97 percent of our regulatory milestones on, or ahead of schedule. I think that was a good story to tell a national and worldwide audience.”

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Waste Management Panel Ponders Finding and Keeping Next Generation Professionals

EM Assistant Secretary Anne White shares thoughts on fostering early career professionals during a panel discussion at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia. White said she is encouraged by the fresh energy that new workers bring to waste management.

PHOENIX – The waste management industry faces a big challenge in becoming “Millennial-friendly,” as it grapples with how to attract and keep its next generation of cleanup professionals, according to a panel at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

  Compared to the Baby Boomers, the way millennials communicate, buy things, and find out what’s going on around the world has changed, and so has how they work, according to Katie Warner, Jacobs North American Nuclear Stakeholder Interface Manager.

   The waste cleanup industry must “figure out how to become a Millennial friendly industry,” Warner said. “Whether we like it or not, now is here.”

   EM Assistant Secretary Anne White said she is sold on the value of early career professionals. She said EM is reinvigorating internship programs and the organization plans to step up even further in giving early career workers and young professionals meaningful voices.

   “It’s a lot of times young people who drive innovation, who drive change, and who have new ways of looking at things,” White said. “That’s super-important in our industry because a lot of the technology has been developed, and now it’s about being more clever in how we deploy it.”

   “Innovation doesn’t always have to be about technology,” she said. “Sometimes it can be how you approach a problem, how you think about it, how you bring people together."

   However, attracting new blood may be easier said than done. The established nuclear industry may find itself at a disadvantage to Silicon Valley.

The panel on attracting the next generation of waste management professionals was a popular segment of the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

   Troy Pfaffle, a student at Washington State University Tri-Cities, said the industry is in a tough competition for millennials with the tech sector, “an industry created by millennials, by the younger generations for the younger generations.”

   “That’s where they want to go,” Pflaffle said. “That’s where all their friends are going.”
In many cases, young professionals have no idea about the opportunities that may exist in waste management, Pfaffle said, a situation made worse by a lack of mentorships in the industry.

   “Younger people are not being embraced,” he said.

   Grace Snell, a young professional and Project Manager for Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, suggested the waste management industry emphasize its environmental responsibilities, as a way to attract environmentally conscious young people.

   “They can get on board with the fact they’re applying for jobs to do environmentally friendly research, really cool things that are going on, decommissioning and sensible waste management,” Snell said.

   Terry Hagen, Chief Operating Officer of Jacobs, said his company has embraced workforce change. Companies need to be willing to take more risk on younger workers, even though it may seem counterintuitive, he said.

   “In the nuclear industry we work very hard to identify risk and mitigate it, to largely avoid it,” he said. “What I’m talking about here, though, is taking risks in new ideas and people, to put younger people in positions of real leadership.”

   “One of the real enemies of innovation is a tendency to go with what you are familiar with, what you are comfortable with, and that to me is an absolute death knell to real engagement with the workforce as a whole and especially to inspiring and engaging younger professionals.”

   Hagen said Jacobs executives make sure to include team members under the age of 40 when they form teams to solve problems facing the company. This is “driving the point of ensuring we have a spectrum of perspective.” Hagen said. “The best source of innovation for this company, this industry, is going to continue to be people who are not burdened by longstanding paradigms.”

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Panelists Discuss WIPP’s Future and Implementing New Waste Acceptance Criteria

PHOENIX – The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, celebrates its 20^th anniversary on March 26 and continues to be a critical part of DOE environmental cleanup strategy, speakers emphasized during the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

Bruce Covert, President and Project Manager of Nuclear Waste Partnership,  discussed infrastructure improvements and other key activities at WIPP during panel discussions at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

   According to Bruce Covert, President and Project Manager for Nuclear Waste Partnership, WIPP is focused on the next phase of site operations. Members of the panel titled “WIPP – Future Plans for the Utilization of a National Asset,” discussed key activities including plans for a new ventilation system and utility shaft, infrastructure improvements to extend WIPP’s operational life, regulatory activities, and the continued characterization and certification requirements at generator sites to ensure shipments continue.

J.R. Stroble, Director of Business Operations at the Carlsbad Field Office, discussed recent accomplishments at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

   J.R. Stroble, Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) Director of Business Operations, talked about recent accomplishments including ramped-up activities for TRUPACT-III shipments from Savannah River Site, and recent shipment from Argonne National Laboratory using shielded containers.

   A second WIPP-related panel titled “TRU Waste Generator Sites – Implementation of the New WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC),” provided additional details of the challenges at TRU waste generator sites including the new Basis of Knowledge requirement sites must meet before they can characterize and certify waste for disposal at WIPP.   

   Ken Princen, CBFO Assistant Manager of the National Transuranic Program, highlighted different scenarios for the next 10 years and beyond, specifically related to TRU waste streams. Princen also discussed waste packaging alternatives for remote-handled TRU waste including shielded containers, which are expected to become more cost effective when used with greater waste volumes.

National Transuranic Program Manager Mark Pearcy of Nuclear Waste Partnership,  provided an overview of the WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria during a presentation to the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

   Mark Pearcy, National Transuranic Program Manager for Nuclear Waste Partnership, gave an overview of revision 9 to the WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria. 

   CBFO Institutional Affairs Manager James Mason provided a presentation about stakeholder outreach and collaboration with elected officials and stakeholders to select transportation routes. He also talked about cooperative assistance provided along routes including staff augmentation, training, exercise planning, and equipment.

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Women in Waste Management Discussion Focuses on Transformational Leadership

The Women in Waste Management panel at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia featured from left, Kathryn McCarthy, Vice President for Research and Development for Canadian Nuclear Laboratories; Karen Wiemelt, Jacobs Senior Vice President; Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper; Melissa Burnison, DOE Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs; and EM Assistant Secretary Anne White.

PHOENIX – A willingness to work hard, take risks and chart new paths rather than accept the status quo are often the characteristics of true transformational leaders, panelists agreed during the Women in Waste Management discussion at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

   The annual discussion serves as a forum for women leaders associated with the industry and also a charity fundraiser.  This year’s panel consisted of moderator Dr. Kathryn McCarthy, Vice President for Research and Development for Canadian Nuclear Laboratories; EM Assistant Secretary Anne White: DOE Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs Melissa Burnison; Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper; and Karen Wiemelt, Senior Vice President and General Manager for North American Nuclear for Jacobs.

   To move forward in leadership, women and young career professionals in the audience were urged to take risks. Wiemelt said she seized an opportunity to move into deactivation & decommissioning despite having a limited background in the field. Having previously proven herself in the environmental remediation field, she said her management had the confidence to take a chance on her for a position in D&D. 

EM Assistant Secretary Anne White makes a point during the Women in Waste Management program at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

   Burnison shared insight on the importance of trust. Being a “go-to” person builds management’s confidence in your leadership ability, she said. Casper said willingness to be the hardest worker in the room but also willing to share success with others also is key.

   Projecting confidence and knowing where to turn for support also are necessary components for building leadership acumen, panelists agreed.

   The industry leaders were asked how parents can encourage their daughters to break into a STEM field like they did.

   White expressed appreciation for her father, who left her with no doubt she could be successful in whatever field she chose.

   “I was lucky,” White said. “My Dad just raised me to believe I could do anything. There were no limits, no governor, no nothing. In a way I am really fortunate. My Dad used to always say, ‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life, and live that way all the time.

   “Having people who believe in you is absolutely game-changing and critical,” she said.

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PPPO on Track for Sustained Success in Coming Years

Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Manager Robert Edwards led presentations at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia on progress being made at the EM cleanup sites in Ohio and Kentucky.

PHOENIX – The Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) updated an audience at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia on progress being made on cleanup at the Ohio and Kentucky gaseous diffusion plants.

  PPPO Manager Robert Edwards opened the session by acknowledging seven senior leaders from the Portsmouth and Paducah sites on the discussion panel, and the group’s mantra of “One PPPO” that exemplifies a commitment to cleanup progress.

  Joel Bradburne, PPPO Deputy Manager, discussed how the sites worked interdependently and how the collaboration allows them  to take advantage of the current administration’s focus on reduction of overhead costs and fluid application of lessons learned to progress to an end state status.

   New PPPO Portsmouth Site Lead, Jeff Bettinger, said the site will be poised for significant skyline changes over the next five years, with the massive X-326 Uranium Enrichment Process Building in the final stages of becoming demo ready, the first On-Site Waste Disposal Facility cell moving toward completion, and with solidifying  for X-749 plume excavation. Bob Smith, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth Program Manager, detailed recent accomplishments and upcoming actions to ensure actions are in step with cleanup plans.

Senior managers of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site and the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site outlined remediation progress being made at both EM sites during the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

   Jennifer Woodard, PPPO’s Paducah Site Lead, outlined ongoing strategy to clean up the C-400 Cleaning Building Complex. An important component of this strategy will allow DOE to reach the primary source of groundwater contamination at the site, while accomplishing a small but significant D&D activity early in the project.

   Woodward also discussed how Paducah is using lessons learned from the Portsmouth site to evaluate deactivation strategy. Jeff Bradford, Program Manager for Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, the cleanup contractor at the Paducah site, followed with site accomplishments over the past year and with upcoming projects.

   Reinhard Knerr, PPPO’s Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Lead, and Zack Smith, Mid-America Conversion Services Program Manager, celebrated the success of running all seven conversion lines for the first time in several years, allowing for increased processing of DUF6 cylinders. The two leaders felt as though this success could open the door for future performance-based incentives that will further solidify sustainable operations at the DUF6 plants at Portsmouth and Paducah.

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Hanford Contractor Talks Future of Site’s Infrastructure Needs

Hanford contractor Mission Support Alliance is upgrading utility systems, roads, and information technology services to support the site’s cleanup mission. Recently, workers installed eight antennas on a 400-foot meteorological tower located in the center of the site to support wireless services for tank farm operations and cleanup projects in remote locations.

PHOENIX – The Hanford Site is focused on key infrastructure needs to ensure it is well-prepared for the future, participants were told at the 2019 Waste Management Symposia.

   EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Mission Support Alliance’s (MSA) Director of Project Services Rick Moren said the site is moving to address its infrastructure requirements.

   “We have a critical need to reconfigure, rejuvenate and right-size Hanford’s aging infrastructure to support both current and future missions,” Moren said in a presentation.

   Working with an infrastructure that is, in some cases, 75 years old, and as the site prepares for around-the-clock operations at the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, RL and MSA are keenly focused on reliability projects, Moren said.

   “Utility systems, roads, and information technology are focus areas targeted for upgrades in the years ahead at Hanford,” Moren said

   Moren’s presentation included the video that can be seen here.

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