Carl Strock
Retired Lt. Gen Carl Strock has been named Uranium Processing Facility project director for B&W Y-12 at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
He reports to Jim Haynes, B&W Y-12 deputy general manager for projects.
Strock is Bechtel’s former manager of global construction. He joined Bechtel in 2007 after retiring as head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after serving in the U.S. Army for more than 36 years. [Read more…]
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…]
B&W Y-12 released a short statement Saturday saying it was pleased with the contract extension approved by hourly union workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Friday.
The 14-month contract extension includes a 2.5 percent wage increase, and it was ratified by members of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council during voting at a union hall on Friday afternoon and evening. The ATLC represents 14 international unions.
“We look forward to continuing our productive relationship ensuring the missions of the National Nuclear Security Administration at Y-12,” B&W Y-12 said in the statement. [Read more…]
The temporary fence erected at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex encloses an area, pictured above, that has been used for protests and vigils for years. Despite a court challenge Friday, the fence will stay up for now.
KNOXVILLE—The temporary fence that blocks a traditional protest area at the Y-12 National Security Complex will stay up for now.
A group that has used the grass field and small parking lot for protests and vigils near the Y-12 entrance at Bear Creek and Scarboro roads had sought to have the fence removed before an annual spring demonstration on Saturday. Workers started erecting it on Monday.
But the arguments about the fence and its alleged violations of the protesters’ First Amendment rights took a surprise turn in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on Friday.
District Judge Curtis L. Collier quickly raised a question about whether the court has jurisdiction to address the complaint filed Wednesday by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, its board members, and people affiliated with the nonprofit organization. [Read more…]
A new fence at the Y-12 National Security Complex would enclose this field near the entrance at Bear Creek and Scarboro roads, and the nonprofit organization that organizes demonstrations and vigils here plans to challenge the fence.
After three trespassing incidents involving five people in the past year, the National Nuclear Security Administration announced plans on Thursday to extend the boundary fence at the Y-12 National Security Complex along Scarboro Road.
The new fence will be relatively close to the road, an NNSA spokesman said. A field traditionally used for protests near the Y-12 sign at the entrance on Bear Creek Road would be behind the fence. The new fence would run along Scarboro Road from Bear Creek Road to New Hope Road, and it would also enclose New Hope Center, which is often used for public events.
The new fence, which would run along the U.S. government property line, is expected to be in place by April 4, the NNSA said.
“Events of the past several months have shown that there is a greater threat of trespassing on the site, and the costs for responding to this threat are increasing,” the NNSA said in a Thursday afternoon press release. “Y-12 is taking conservative and appropriate measures to make such illegal actions more difficult.” [Read more…]
Earlier scenarios had called for possible furloughs at the Y-12 National Security Complex in response to automatic federal budget cuts that went into effect March 1—the so-called sequester—but plant officials said they no longer expect the temporary layoffs.
However, B&W Y-12, the plant’s managing and operating contractor, said it is implementing spending reductions, including in summer intern and educational assistance programs. The company is deferring employee award benefits for services, performance, and special recognition; and suspending upgrades to personal computers, wireless projects, and the information technology infrastructure. In addition, some discretionary travel, professional development training, and materials and supplies purchases will be significantly reduced, B&W Y-12 said in a statement. [Read more…]
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…]
Chuck Spencer
Note: This story was updated at 8:05 p.m.
The work week at the Y-12 National Security Complex could occasionally be reduced to 30 hours for many employees between April and October as part of a budget-cutting plan announced Thursday.
Under the proposal, nonessential personnel could work three 10-hour days rather than four 10-hour days every third week. The plan has been proposed in response to the automatic federal spending cuts scheduled to start taking effect at midnight.
B&W Y-12 General Manager Chuck Spencer said the cuts would require furloughs, or temporary layoffs, for most employees.
Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)
A report released Wednesday said the automatic federal spending cuts set for March 1 would require furloughs at the Y-12 National Security Complex and a shutdown of the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The report was issued by Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee.
It said Y-12 would have to furlough 700-1,000 of its 4,500 employees for up to six months, and there would be hundreds of layoffs at national laboratories, universities, research facilities, and private sector companies that rely on grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science for energy research, the report said.
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.
Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)
A second protest has been filed challenging the federal decision to award a five-year contract to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.
The second protest was filed Jan. 25 by Integrated Nuclear Production Solutions LLC.
The first was filed Jan. 17 by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, a team led by Babcock and Wilcox.
The proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Image courtesy of B&W Y-12)
The following is an edited version of a question-and-answer session with John Eschenberg, federal project director for the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Federal officials said last fall that the UPF could be larger than originally planned to make sure all the building’s equipment fits inside.
Q: What is the status of the UPF redesign?
A: UPF is currently at 66 percent of design completion. Once 90 percent design completion is achieved, we will submit a Critical Decision-2 (CD-2) package to headquarters for approval that will contain the complete cost and schedule baseline for UPF. This process, which involves both an independent cost estimate and an external independent review, will likely take several weeks to complete.
The cost range for UPF is unchanged: $4.2 billion-$6.5 billion.
