EM  Shares Accomplishments, Goals at Waste Management Conference 

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Typifies Optimizing Resources to Maximize Results

EM Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) Manager Joe Franco, right, presents a memento to EM Senior Advisor Dave Huizenga at the February 2013 Waste Management Conference in Phoenix presented by WM Symposia. The t-shirt displays the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) as an example of the EM initiative to "Optimize Resources to Maximize Results." Huizenga and Franco participated in the weeklong 39th annual conference, which drew more than 2,000 national and international participants to discuss management of radioactive materials and related topics. CBFO has responsibility for WIPP and the National Transuranic (TRU) Program. WIPP, located 26 miles outside of Carlsbad, N.M., is a DOE facility designed to safely isolate defense-related TRU waste from people and the environment. Waste temporarily stored at sites around the country is shipped to WIPP and permanently disposed in rooms mined out of an ancient salt formation 2,150 feet below the surface. WIPP, which began waste disposal operations in 1999, has removed legacy TRU waste from 22 sites.

Three HalfPACT transportation packages on a Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) truck are parked inside the exhibit hall at the 2013 Waste Management Conference. WIPP featured the exhibit as part of outreach to visitors at the annual gathering in Phoenix.

EM Highlights Advisory Board Contributions

   Advisory board contributions to the EM program were the subject of a session at the Waste Management Conference. 

   Designated Federal Officer Kristen Ellis and Elizabeth Schmitt with EM’s Office of Intergovernmental and Community Activities held a presentation marking the 20th anniversary of the Environmental Management Advisory Board. The session also featured presentations and a panel discussion on the EM Site-Specific Advisory Board (EMSSAB).

   EMSSAB local board Chairpersons, Ralph Young, with the Paducah Citizens Advisory Board and Ralph Phelps, the former Chair of the Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board, presented practices that contribute to the board’s effectiveness. Local Deputy Designated Federal Officers, Karen Guevara of the Savannah River Site and Dave Adler of the Oak Ridge site, reported site management views of their local board’s contributions, including some of the most significant recommendations.

Participants in the session on Advisory Board contributions to the EM program included, left to right, Karen Guevara, Savannah River Site; Ralph Phelps, Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board; Cate Alexander, EM; Eric Roberts, EHI Consultants; Dave Adler, Oak Ridge site; and Ralph Young, Paducah Citizens Advisory Board.

   Cate Alexander, Designated Federal Officer for the EMSSAB, gave an overview of the legal and policy framework within which the board operates and current methods of assessing board effectiveness. Portsmouth SSAB facilitator Eric Roberts described some of the challenges of public involvement with board activities on contentious matters.

   Representatives of cleanup efforts in Canada and Brazil noted that both countries are evaluating the EMSSAB experience for public advisory input in their countries.

In a Waste Management Conference session titled “Hot Topics in U.S. DOE Environmental Management,” EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Site Restoration Mark Gilbertson, left, identified several EM achievements. He pointed to the startup of the 200 West pump-and-treat operation at Hanford, the first facility in the DOE complex to attain the Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification for sustainable design. Gilbertson also highlighted the 2012 launch of the Biomass Cogeneration Facility at the Savannah River Site.

DOE Discussion on Small Business Contract Barriers

   Small and large business representatives discussed barriers to competition at a well-attended Waste Management Conference session.

EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Project Management Jack Surash speaks during the session on barriers small businesses face competing for prime contracts.

   A panel of diverse experts from DOE headquarters and leaders from small business companies talked about meaningful work scopes to develop business, challenges faced with the current budget forecast and insight into future business opportunities.

Pictured at the session on barriers in small business contracting, left to right, are Jim Fiore of Fiore Consulting; John Coffman of DeNuke Contracting Services, Inc.; John Hale III of the DOE Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization; Jack Surash of EM; and Matt Moeller of Dade Moeller. 

   EM and the DOE Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) hosted the session and are working to address the barriers small businesses face.

   The panel comprised of government and contractor representatives offered multiple points of view in an open forum. Panelists included OSDBU Deputy Director John Hale III; EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Project Management Jack Surash; Dade Moeller CEO Matt Moeller; and Wastren Advantage, Inc. President and CEO Steve Moore.

EM Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Alice Williams, far right, was among the panelists at a Waste Management Conference reception for "Women of Waste Management," attended by more than 160 people. The panel of four women discussed their views on how technology and workplace practices impact the influence and success of women in the workplace. The event was sponsored by Fluor. For each participant in attendance, Fluor donated $25 to the Women for Wounded Warriors organization, which provides guidance and support to spouses of wounded service members. The event raised $4,000 for the organization. Los Alamos National Laboratory Deputy Director Beth Sellers, pictured far left, also represented DOE on the panel.

U.S. and Canada Sign Statement of Intent on Nuclear Cleanup

   DOE and the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) at the Waste Management Conference. The SOI enables information sharing on lessons learned and the development and application of new technologies and approaches to improve the safety, cost effectiveness and schedule of EM and the Canadian Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program. 

   EM’s International Program and Office of Nuclear Materials Disposition negotiated the SOI, which incorporates radioactive waste management, decommissioning and environmental restoration. Alice Williams, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for EM, signed the agreement on behalf of DOE. Joan Miller, Vice President of Decommissioning & Waste Management, and Sheila Brooks, Director for Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program, were AECL signatories.

Alice Williams of EM, left, and Joan Miller of the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, sign a Statement of Intent (SOI).

   “EM highly values international cooperation, and the SOI is a major step forward in strengthening both the United States’ and Canada’s efforts to expand the technical depth of our cleanup programs,” Williams said.

   Miller said, “AECL looks forward to the information exchange facilitated by this agreement with the Office of Environmental Management which enables both parties to realize benefits to the delivery of our respective missions.”

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