Federal Archives - Page 24 of 72

Trump nominates finance executive for DOE under secretary for science

Posted at 3:08 pm July 12, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Image by U.S. Department of Energy

President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Paul Dabbar of New York, an investment banking executive at J.P. Morgan, to be under secretary for science in the U.S. Department of Energy.

Dabbar is managing director for mergers and acquisitions for J.P. Morgan, and he has more than $400 billion in investment experience across all energy sectors, according to a statement posted by the White House Office of the Press Secretary on Tuesday. Those energy sectors include solar, wind, geothermal, distributed-generation, utility, LNG, pipeline, oil and gas, trading, and energy technology, the statement said. Dabbar has also led the majority of all nuclear transactions.

Before joining J.P. Morgan, Dabbar served as a nuclear submarine officer in Mare Island, California, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and he was deployed to the North Pole, where he conducted environmental research, the statement said.

Dabbar currently serves on the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Advisory Board.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Dabbar would succeed Franklin “Lynn” Orr in the post. Orr left the job January 20, Inauguration Day, after serving as DOE’s first under secretary for science and energy. Orr started serving as under secretary on December 17, 2014. [Read more…]

President’s budget would close NOAA lab that has Oak Ridge division

Posted at 12:43 pm July 12, 2017
By John Huotari 4 Comments

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 9:20 a.m. July 13.

The Trump administration’s budget request for the next fiscal year would close a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration air research laboratory that has a division in Oak Ridge, according to budget documents posted online.

The budget request for fiscal year 2018, which starts October 1, would close NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory, or ARL, which has headquarters in College Park, Maryland. The Air Resources Laboratory has satellite campuses in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Mercury, Nevada. Those satellite campuses would also close, according to the documents, which were posted by the NOAA Budget Office.

The Oak Ridge campus is on South Illinois Avenue, in a historic building that was once an emergency hospital and then a health department. It now houses the Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, or ATDD. The Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division is one of several field divisions of the Air Resources Laboratory. The ARL in turn is part of NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.

There are 33 employees at the Oak Ridge campus, including NOAA and ORAU workers. The primary focus of the ATDD is to maintain NOAA’s Climate Reference Network, a network of weather stations across the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, to monitor climate change.

The Oak Ridge division also works with other NOAA groups that study the formation of tornadoes, using unmanned aerial vehicles to understand tornado formation. It also works with the Air Resources Laboratory headquarters on air quality modeling and forecasting.

The NOAA budget request, which has not been approved by Congress, proposes zeroing out funding and employment at the Air Resources Laboratory, cutting base funding from about $4.7 million and 34 full-time equivalents (FTE) to $0 and zero FTE. President Donald Trump submitted his administration’s budget request to Congress on Tuesday, May 23. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge group sends delegation to Germany to address U.S. nuclear deployment

Posted at 12:03 pm July 11, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Ralph Hutchison

Members of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance will join peace activists from around the world in Büchel, Germany, from July 12-18 in protests at the Büchel Air Base to call for the withdrawal of the 20 U.S. B61 nuclear bombs that are currently deployed there, a press release said.

University of Tennessee student Carmella Cole, an OREPA Board member, and Ralph Hutchison, OREPA coordinator, will join nuclear abolition advocates from the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Belgium for a week of actions culminating in an international day of action on Sunday, July 16, the press release said.

“We have been invited to participate in this gathering because of the role the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex (the Y-12 National Security Complex) plays in the refurbishment of U.S. nuclear weapons,” Hutchison said in the press release. “Y-12 is currently making plans for the ‘life extension upgrade’ of the B61-Modification 12. The upgrade will result in a new, more threatening nuclear bomb, which will then be deployed in Büchel over the objections of the German Bundestag, which has voted, overwhelmingly, across all parties, for the removal of NATO nuclear weapons from German soil.” [Read more…]

Emergency preparedness exercise at Bull Run on Wednesday

Posted at 1:51 pm July 10, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton is pictured above. (File photo)

Emergency responders from state and local agencies will join Tennessee Valley Authority personnel in an emergency preparedness exercise involving the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton on Wednesday, July 12.

The exercise is part of an ongoing series of training drills and exercises at TVA plants across the service area, a press release said.

“The exercise will involve personnel working in multiple locations, including at and near the plant,” the press release said. “Residents may see increased vehicle traffic and may hear on- and off-site sirens briefly activated.”

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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President’s budget: DOE cleanup funding could be up, with benefits for Oak Ridge

Posted at 2:05 pm July 6, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Jay Mullis, front center, acting manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, talks about federal site cleanup work in Oak Ridge during a visit by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, left, on Monday, May 22, 2017. Pictured between Perry and Mullis are U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, both Tennessee Republicans. (Photo by DOE)

Note: This story was last updated at 4:30 p.m.

Cleanup funding could be up for the U.S. Department of Energy under the budget request from the Trump administration for fiscal year 2018, and there could be benefits for Oak Ridge, according to budget documents.

President Donald Trump submitted his budget request to Congress on Tuesday, May 23. In that request, the DOE Office of Environmental Management, or EM, asked for $6.5 billion, the largest request in a decade. That would be $290 million above fiscal year 2016.

The funding request for Oak Ridge includes $390 million, or $78 million below fiscal year 2016, to continue deactivation and demolition of remaining facilities at East Tennessee Technology Park, continue preparing Building 2026 to support the processing of the remaining U-233 material at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and to support activities for the Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex.

It’s not clear whether that $390 million in the funding request includes part of the $225 million in funding requested for high-risk excess contaminated facilities at Y-12 and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. It’s also not clear whether the total funding for Oak Ridge cleanup programs would be up or down, compared to previous years. The DOE public affairs office in Washington, D.C., has not responded to about a dozen budget-related inquiries from Oak Ridge Today since May 23.

Among the highlights of the EM request for Oak Ridge, according to budget documents posted online by DOE and an EM press release: [Read more…]

While here in May, Secretary Perry made his first visit to UPF

Posted at 12:49 pm July 3, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Pictured above from left are Uranium Processing Facility Federal Project Director Dale Christenson, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, Secretary Rick Perry, Rep. Chuck Fleischman, and UPF Project Director Brian Reilly. (Photo by NNSA)

Note: This story was originally published by the National Nuclear Security Administration on May 24.

While he visited Oak Ridge in May, new Energy Secretary Rick Perry made his first visit to the planned Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex, a project that has been described as the single largest government investment in Tennessee since World War II.

Perry visited the UPF project with U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander and Representative Chuck Fleischmann, both Tennessee Republicans, and UPF Federal Project Director Dale Christenson and UPF Project Director Brian Reilly.

Christenson and Reilly provided an update on the project’s progress and discussed key upcoming milestones, including achieving 90 percent design by September 2017, the National Nuclear Security Administration said in a post published May 24. Y-12 is an NNSA site. [Read more…]

DOE not responding to questions about budget, Perry’s advocacy

Posted at 9:10 pm June 29, 2017
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Energy Secretary Rick Perry drives a 3D printed personal utility vehicle at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility on Hardin Valley Road on Monday, May 22, 2017. His passenger is Craig Blue, director of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs at ORNL. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The U.S. Department of Energy is not responding to questions about Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s advocacy of Oak Ridge or the fiscal year 2018 budget request.

The only question from Oak Ridge Today that DOE has answered is: Will the department have a teleconference to discuss the budget request with reporters? The answer was “no.”

DOE, which could have a funding decrease under President Donald Trump’s budget request, has not responded to any specific questions about the budget itself. Oak Ridge Today has tried about a dozen times in the past month to reach someone in the public affairs office at DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C., using emails, phone calls, and on Wednesday night, a five-part tweet to active Twitter accounts for Perry and the DOE press staff.

Oak Ridge Today has sought information from the department since Trump sent the fiscal year 2018 budget request to Congress on Tuesday, May 23. Among other things, the news website has wanted to make sure that it is correctly interpreting the preliminary budget numbers published online by DOE. (See here, here, and here for more information about the budget request.)

According to the information Oak Ridge Today has received and reviewed, some Oak Ridge programs and sites could see funding increases under the president’s budget request, while others could see decreases. The programs and sites that could benefit include the environmental management program (the cleanup work at federal sites), Oak Ridge Office, and Y-12 National Security Complex. Those that could lose funding are DOE’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information, or OSTI; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, which is managed by ORAU; and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Oak Ridge Today has sent specific questions about funding for most of these programs and sites to the public affairs office at DOE headquarters, but no spokespeople have responded, not even to acknowledge that the messages were received or to reply with a “no comment.”

Oak Ridge Today has also tried to follow up on Perry’s pledge to be a strong advocate for at least some programs in Oak Ridge. Perry made the pledge at ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility in Hardin Valley on Monday, May 22. The pledge came after he toured ORNL, the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, and Y-12. During his visit to Oak Ridge and Hardin Valley, Perry learned about the planned Uranium Processing Facility and nuclear weapons work at Y-12, the environmental management program, and advanced manufacturing, 3D printing, materials science research, and supercomputing at ORNL. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project program in Jackson Square on Saturday

Posted at 11:21 pm June 28, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

You can join Manhattan Project National Historical Park staff for a walk through Jackson Square on Saturday, July 1, at 10 a.m.

The program is free. It will begin in the upper parking lot of Jackson Square in front of the fountain, a press release said.

“During the program, we will discuss how routine, tradition, and the comforts of home helped keep Oak Ridge residents focused on the mission and not their hardships,” the press release said. “We will walk to the Alexander Inn Guest House and the Chapel on the Hill during the program.” [Read more…]

Public invited to free tour of Melton Hill Lock on Clinch River in August

Posted at 10:53 pm June 28, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District and Tennessee Valley Authority invite the public for a free tour of Melton Hill Lock southwest of Oak Ridge at Clinch River mile 23.1 in Lenoir City on Saturday, August 19, 2017. (Photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District and Tennessee Valley Authority invite the public to a free tour of Melton Hill Lock south of Oak Ridge at Clinch River mile 23.1 in Lenoir City on Saturday, August 19, 2017. (Photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

There will be a free tour of Melton Hill Lock on the Clinch River just south of Oak Ridge on Saturday, August 19.

The tour has been organized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District and Tennessee Valley Authority.

The Melton Hill Lock is at Melton Hill Dam on the Clinch River (Melton Hill Reservoir) at mile 23.1 in Lenoir City.

Four groups of 25 will be able to tour the facility at 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11 a.m., a press release said. Pre-registration is required for all tour guests (including minors) at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080948a4a92eaafa7-melton. The deadline to register is August 11. Personal information collected during sign-up is used for security background checks.

Tour Details and Rules [Read more…]

Feinstein: President’s budget request could lead to 1,600 layoffs at ORNL

Posted at 9:56 pm June 27, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Photo by ORNL

Note: This story was updated at 12:20 p.m. June 28.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein on Wednesday said the president’s budget request for the next fiscal year could lead to a 33 percent workforce reduction at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. About 1,600 of the lab’s roughly 4,800 employees could be laid off, the senator’s office said.

Feinstein, a Democrat from California, and other members of the Senate Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, including Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, a Republican who is chair of the subcommittee, had a budget hearing with new Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Wednesday afternoon, June 21.

Across the U.S. Department of Energy, a workforce of 29,000 employees could be reduced by 23 percent at labs such as ORNL that are managed for DOE and not for the National Nuclear Security Administration, Feinstein said. (The NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within DOE.) That would be a reduction of 6,700 employees at the non-NNSA, non-weapons labs, the senator said.

“Every non-NNSA lab would see drastic employment cuts under this proposed budget,” said Feinstein, the ranking Democratic member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee. “We must change this budget.”

The potential layoffs at DOE labs would be the result of a budget request submitted by President Donald Trump to Congress on Tuesday, May 23. But the president’s budget request has not yet been approved by Congress, and it has run into bipartisan opposition. Some legislators have declared the budget request “dead on arrival,” and others have said they won’t even review some proposed cuts such as a 30 percent funding reduction for the State Department. [Read more…]

Bridge inspection to temporarily close one lane over Norris Dam

Posted at 9:54 am June 21, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

A routine bridge inspection will require a single lane closure on U.S. Highway 441 across Norris Dam near Norris on Wednesday, June 28. The closure should begin by 11 a.m. and be complete no later than 5 p.m., a press release said.

Law enforcement officers will be on hand to direct traffic, but motorists should expect delays, said the press release from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

“Bridge inspections are a necessary part of ensuring these pieces of vital transportation infrastructure continue to operate safely,” the press release said. “We apologize for this temporary inconvenience of visitors to Norris Dam.”

National Park Service in Oak Ridge to move to Children’s Museum

Posted at 9:52 am June 16, 2017
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Now housed at the American Museum of Science and Energy, the National Park Service will move its visitor center and offices in Oak Ridge to the Children’s Museum in October, officials said Friday, June 16, 2017. (Submitted photo)

The National Park Service will move its visitor center and offices in Oak Ridge to the Children’s Museum in October, officials said Friday.

The National Park Service has a visitor center and offices in Oak Ridge as part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, a three-site park that was established in November 2015 after years of advocacy.

The visitor center and offices are now located at the American Museum of Science and Energy, or AMSE, on South Tulane Avenue. But that museum is closing as part of a land transfer related to the Main Street Oak Ridge development.

“We have been so fortunate to have been based at AMSE for the first 18 months of this new national historical park,” said Kris Kirby, Manhattan Project National Historical Park superintendent. “The staff and volunteers have been outstanding partners providing space and backup support with all of our activities. We consider the entire City of Oak Ridge to be part of the park and will continue to offer programming in multiple locations throughout the area.” [Read more…]

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