security breach Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Federal judge orders Y-12 protesters jailed until September sentencing

May 10, 2013 By John Huotari 3 Comments

Pictured above are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex and vandalized a uranium storage building on July 28. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

The three protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and vandalized a uranium storage building must stay in jail until they are sentenced Sept. 23, a federal judge said Friday.

The three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, 57; Megan Rice, 83; and Michael Walli, 64—had sought to be released until their sentencing hearings this fall. They each face up to 30 years in prison.

But U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar denied that request in a four-page order filed late Friday afternoon. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex, Y-12 Security Breach Tagged With: Amul R. Thapar, anti-nuclear weapons activists, damage, detention, disruption, Greg Boertje-Obed, Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, Megan Rice, Michael Walli, Paul Magno, security breach, sentencing, sentencing hearing, Sharry Dedman-Beard, Transform Now Plowshares, trial, U.S. Attorneys' Office, U.S. District Court, Y-12 protesters

Y-12 protesters guilty of two federal charges, jailed overnight

May 8, 2013 By John Huotari 6 Comments

The Fruit of Justice is Peace Slogan on HEUMF at Y-12

Three anti-nuclear weapons activists who sneaked into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28 splashed human blood and, quoting Proverbs, sprayed paint on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. The protesters also hammered the building, causing it to chip, and strung up crime scene tape. (Submitted photo)

KNOXVILLE—The Catholic nun, house painter, and laborer who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on a uranium storage building were found guilty on two federal counts Wednesday, one charging them with property depredation of more than $1,000 and the other alleging they willfully injured national defense premises.

The three protesters—Megan Rice, 83; Michael R. Walli, 64; and Greg Boertje-Obed, 57—were taken to the Blount County jail after the verdict was read at the end of a two-day trial in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. Dozens of courtroom supporters sang softly as the three anti-nuclear weapons activists were taken into custody after about 2.5 hours of deliberations by the nine men and three women on the jury panel.

Boertje-Obed, Rice, and Walli have a detention hearing on Thursday morning. Each faces up to 30 years in prison. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex, Y-12 Security Breach Tagged With: Amul R. Thapar, anti-nuclear weapons activists, Bill Quigley, Greg Boertje-Obed, Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, Jeffrey Theodore, Megan Rice, Michael Walli, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, property depredation, protesters, Ralph Hutchison, security breach, Transform Now Plowshares, U.S. District Court, verdict, willfully injuring national defense premises, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 protester case goes to jury this afternoon

May 8, 2013 By John Huotari 1 Comment

Pictured above are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

Note: This story was last updated at 12:51 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—The case against three anti-nuclear weapons activists who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and vandalized a uranium storage building could go to a jury this afternoon.

The government rested its case yesterday, and the defense rested this morning after the three defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—testified.

The three acknowledge sneaking into Y-12 on July 28, cutting through high-security fences, and pouring blood and spray-painting biblical passages on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where most of the nation’s bomb-grade uranium is stored. But they say they were religiously motivated and peacefully protesting the plant’s nuclear weapons work, symbolically disarming the 811-acre plant. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Police and Fire, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex, Y-12 Security Breach Tagged With: Amul Thapar, Greg Boertje-Obed, Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, Megan Rice, Michael Walli, nuclear weapons, property depredation, security breach, Transform Now Plowshares, U.S. District Court, willfully injuring the national defense, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 site manager, fired security guard could testify at protester trial

May 6, 2013 By John Huotari 2 Comments

Anti-nuclear weapons activists Megan Rice, left, and Greg Boertje-Obed are pictured with Michele Naar-Obed after jury selection in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Monday. Rice and Boertje-Obed and a third defendant, Michael Walli, are on trial this week for vandalizing a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July.

This story was updated at 9 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—A federal official who oversees production work at two nuclear weapons plants and the guard who was fired after the unprecedented security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July could both testify this week during the trial of three anti-nuclear weapons activists accused of vandalizing a uranium storage building.

The federal official, Steven C. Erhart, oversees nuclear production work at Y-12 and the Pantex Site in Amarillo, Texas. He manages the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office, or NPO.

The guard, Kirk Garland, was the first security officer to reach the three anti-nuclear weapons activists, who cut through three fences in a high-security Protected Area at Y-12 before dawn on July 28 and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where most of the nation’s bomb-grade uranium is stored. Garland was fired Aug. 10, a few weeks after the intrusion. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Police and Fire, Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex, Y-12 Security Breach Tagged With: Kirk Garland, National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office, NPO, security breach, Steven C. Erhart, Y-12 National Security Complex

United Way donations down after security breach, contractor changes

April 19, 2013 By John Huotari 8 Comments

Tom Hilton, 2012-2013 campaign chair, left, with outgoing United Way of Anderson County Board President Jimmy Stone, who accepted the No. 1 Company Campaign Award on behalf of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy of D. Ray Smith)

Donations to the United Way of Anderson County were down this year, and on Thursday, officials cited challenges in the federal contracting community, including the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex and the later departure of security contractor WSI.

There was also an end to federal stimulus money, a freeze in federal budgets and salaries, and a new consolidated contract to manage Y-12 and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, which could result in the departure of B&W Y-12, said Rick Morrow, UWAC executive director.

The United Way of Anderson County had hoped to raise $1.4 million in the fiscal year that ended March 31, but volunteers and staff members fell short of that, collecting $1,277,771. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Nonprofits, Top Stories Tagged With: B&W Y-12, budgets, Buzz Patrick, DOE, DOE contractors, donations, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Rick Morrow, Rober Kiger, security breach, Tom Hilton, U.S. Department of Energy, United Way, United Way of Anderson County, UT-Battelle, UWAC, WSI, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 protesters submit witness list, want extra time for jury questioning

April 18, 2013 By John Huotari 1 Comment

Pictured above at U.S. District Court in Knoxville are the three anti-nuclear weapons protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28. From left, they are Michael Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

The three protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July want to call a retired bishop, a doctor, a former U.S. attorney general, a civil rights leader, and a retired military officer and diplomat as witnesses in a Tuesday hearing and May 7 trial in Knoxville.

The proposed witnesses include former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, civil rights sit-in participant Robert Booker, doctor Ira Helfand, retired Col. Mary Annette Wright, and retired U.S. Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton.

The three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—also want six hours, and not 1.5, to question prospective jurors for their May 7 trial in U.S. District Court. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Police and Fire, Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex, Y-12 Security Breach Tagged With: Greg Boertje-Obed, hearing, Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, Ira Helfand, jury, Mary Annette Wright, Megan Rice, Michael Walli, national defense, nuclear war, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge Reservation, Ramsey Clark, Robert Booker, security, security breach, thermonuclear warheads, Thomas Gumbleton, trial, U.S. District Court, Y-12 National Security Complex

Trespassing at Y-12 costs U.S. government thousands of dollars, NNSA says

April 7, 2013 By John Huotari 1 Comment

There is a greater threat of trespassing at the Y-12 National Security Complex, the National Nuclear Security Administration said last week when it announced plans for a new fence that would block a traditional protest area at the plant’s main entrance.

And the costs of responding to those threats are increasing, the NNSA said.

“Responding to these illegal acts of trespassing has cost the U.S. government thousands of dollars of additional expenses above and beyond what we have to spend to protect the plant during major protests,” the NNSA said in a statement released by spokesman Steven Wyatt on Saturday. “The security-related costs required to respond to protests is very large, but we cannot discuss our specific costs.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: National Nuclear Security Administration, Special Sections, Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex, Y-12 Security Breach Tagged With: costs, fence, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, protest, security breach, Steven Wyatt, trespassing, Y-12 National Security Complex

After 13 years guarding federal facilities, WSI leaves Oak Ridge

March 25, 2013 By John Huotari 2 Comments

Friday was the last day for many employees at security company WSI Oak Ridge, which lost its contracts to protect federal facilities after the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

After 13 years of protecting federal facilities, WSI Oak Ridge has left the Secret City.

Friday was the last day for many employees at WSI, and the contract ended Sunday, spokeswoman Courtney Henry said.

Formerly known as Wackenhut Services Inc., the company once provided up to 1,000 security police officers and support staff at federal facilities that included East Tennessee Technology Park, the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex.

But WSI lost its contract to guard Y-12, a National Nuclear Security Administration site, after the July 28 security breach, and it did not win a separate contract to protect local U.S. Department of Energy sites, including ETTP, ORNL, the Federal Building, and the rest of the Oak Ridge Reservation. That contract was awarded to National Strategic Protective Services LLC, or NSPS. [Read more...]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Special Sections, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex, Y-12 Security Breach Tagged With: B&W Y-12, Courtney Henry, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, G4S Government Solutions, Joe L. Evins Federal Building, National Nuclear Security Administration, National Strategic Protective Services LLC, NNSA, NSPS, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, protective force contract, security breach, security police officers, Steve Hafner, U.S. Department of Energy, Wackenhut Services Inc., WSI, WSI Oak Ridge, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 evaluation: Some excellent ratings, but unsatisfactory on security, UPF

February 12, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

Although it received excellent and very good ratings in some areas, the contractor that manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge was stung by unsatisfactory marks for its performance before and during the July 28 security breach and the redesign of the new Uranium Processing Facility.

The National Nuclear Security Administration said the UPF redesign could add $539 million to the project cost and extend its schedule by 13 months. The UPF has been estimated to cost up to $6.5 billion, and plans have called for it to start operating as early as 2023.

The NNSA also said the Y-12 security system and protective force completely failed when three anti-nuclear weapons activists penetrated a high-security Protected Area before dawn on July 28. The three protesters were able to avoid detection and cut through three fences inside Y-12 before spraying paint and splashing human blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

But federal officials awarded “excellent” or “very good” ratings to the contractor, Babcock and Wilcox Y-12 Technical Services LLC, or B&W Y-12, for operations in areas that include environmental and waste management activities, infrastructure improvements, risk reduction initiatives, cyber security, and stockpile and nuclear nonproliferation work.

Security breach costs B&W Y-12 $12.2 million

January 11, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

B&W Y-12, the company that manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex, lost $12.2 million in award fees because of the July 28 security breach, a federal report said.

B&W earned $35.9 million, about 59 percent of its available fee of $60.9 million, the National Nuclear Security Administration said in a fiscal year 2012 performance evaluation of Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Y-12 LLC.

The company lost 100 percent of its potential security-related fee, and there was also a $10 million “negative overall management fee adjustment,” the NNSA said.

Security breach given ‘due consideration’ in Y-12, Pantex award

January 9, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex was given “due consideration” in the competition to award a consolidated contract to a company to manage Y-12 in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, federal officials said Tuesday.

Federal officials said they evaluated past performance—both positive and negative. Although past performance was a key part of the selection analysis, it was not the determining factor, federal officials said during a Tuesday teleconference. Instead, it was one of a number of factors.

The Y-12 intrusion was given the same consideration as other incidents, federal officials said. During the intrusion, three anti-nuclear weapons activists sneaked into a high-security area at Y-12. They allegedly cut through fences and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

Y-12 security breach top story of 2012 on Oak Ridge Today

December 31, 2012 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The three anti-nuclear weapons activists pictured above allegedly cut through fences and vandalized a high-security building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and now face federal charges of property destruction, property depredation, and injuring national defense premises. From left to right the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

Four of the Top 5 stories on Oak Ridge Today in 2012 were related to the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Of those four, the most viewed—and also our most viewed story of the year—was the one we wrote the day of the intrusion: Y-12 protesters enter high-security area, spray paint, splash blood. That’s when three anti-nuclear weapons activists allegedly hiked over Pine Ridge, cut through fences, and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

Other stories related to the security breach that ended up in the Top 5 were: