Oak Ridge Today

B&W says it’s pleased with federal decision on Y-12, Pantex contract protests

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex

The Babcock and Wilcox Co., the lead management and operating contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex, said it was pleased with a federal decision Monday upholding protests of a five-year consolidated contract to manage Y-12 and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

One of the two teams that lost a bid to manage two nuclear weapons facilities in Tennessee and Texas said it was pleased by a federal decision announced Monday that upheld protests of the five-year contract, which was awarded in January.

The decision by the U.S. Government Accountability Office also recommended that the procurement be re-opened.

The contract is reported to have a total value of $22 billion, and it was awarded to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, a team that includes Bechtel National Inc. and Lockheed Martin Services Inc. [Read more…]

Parts of Y-12, Pantex contract protests upheld; GAO says procurement should be re-opened

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has upheld parts of two protests filed over the January award of a five-year contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex, pictured above, and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. (Submitted photo)

A federal agency has upheld parts of two protests challenging a five-year contract to manage two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office also recommended re-opening the contract procurement, raising questions about the status of the $22.8 billion contract awarded to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, in January. CNS was one of three bidding teams who competed for the contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

At the heart of the GAO decision, announced Monday, were questions about proposed savings. In particular, the agency seemed to question whether the National Nuclear Security Administration, which awarded the consolidated contract to CNS on Jan. 8, had properly evaluated the expected savings.

“NNSA failed to follow the publicly stated solicitation criteria, which provided that the agency would evaluate the feasibility and size of each offeror’s proposed cost savings resulting from the consolidation of the management and operation of these sites,” Ralph O. White, GAO managing associate general counsel for procurement law, said in a statement released Monday afternoon. [Read more…]

Asbestos removal in final stage at Federal Building

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Joe L Evins Federal Fuilding

A four-month project to remove asbestos-containing insulation from the Joe L. Evins Federal Building in Oak Ridge is wrapping up, and federal employees and contractors could move back in next month.

Work crews are wrapping up a four-month project to clean up and remove asbestos-containing insulation from the Joe L. Evins Federal Building in Oak Ridge, and displaced federal workers and contractors could move back into the building next month, a spokeswoman said Friday.

“We have reached the final stage of the project and expect to have the building available to tenants in May,” said Saudia Muwwakkil, regional public affairs officer for the U.S. General Services Administration, which owns the building.

There have been about 350 workers in the five-story building, which is home to the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office as well as a district office for U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann. The workers include roughly 200 federal employees and close to 150 contractors. [Read more…]

Government asks court to dismiss one charge against Y-12 protesters

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 Plowshares Protesters

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 9:47 a.m. April 29.

Federal prosecutors have asked the U.S. District Court in Knoxville to dismiss one of the charges against the three anti-nuclear weapons activists accused of breaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July and splashing blood and spray-painting slogans on a uranium storage building.

A motion filed on Thursday said the United States has determined that it is unable to establish jurisdiction for that charge, one of three faced by the defendants: Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli. That charge alleges that the trio destroyed and injured, and attempted to destroy and injure, Y-12 property. [Read more…]

Court will not limit time for jury examination in Y-12 protester case

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A federal judge will not limit the time used to examine prospective jurors during jury selection on May 6 in the trial against three anti-nuclear weapons activists accused of breaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex last summer and vandalizing a uranium storage building.

As previously reported, attorneys for the defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—had asked for six hours for jury selection because of the publicity the unprecedented security breach has generated. [Read more…]

House committee passes bill to set up Manhattan Project National Park

Posted at
By 5 Comments

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

A U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation to establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that would include sites in Oak Ridge and Hanford, Wash., and Los Alamos, N.M.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

The legislation stalled in the last session of Congress, but it has been reintroduced this session. [Read more…]

Alexander, Corker support legislation to allow states to collect online sales taxes

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker announced their support this week for federal legislation that would allow states to collect sales taxes on items bought online and through catalogs.

“Currently, remote businesses do not have to collect sales taxes in the states they sell into, while brick-and-mortar businesses do, creating a price disadvantage,” said Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.

He said the Marketplace Fairness Act would grant states the option to require that remote businesses, such as those selling online or through catalogs, collect sales taxes on purchases within states’ borders. The U.S. Senate voted 74-20 on Monday to begin debating the legislation. [Read more…]

Former attorney general says Y-12 work unlawful, nuclear weapons should be eliminated

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Ramsey Clark

Ramsey Clark

Note: This story was updated at 3:54  p.m.

KNOXVILLE—A former U.S. attorney general who said he has been involved in many cases that address the legality and wisdom of the nation’s nuclear arms policy on Tuesday said he supported the mission of the three protesters who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July, splashing blood and spray-painting slogans on a building that stores most of the country’s bomb-grade uranium.

“I agree absolutely with their purpose, which is to eliminate nuclear weapons,” said Ramsey Clark, who was U.S. attorney general from 1967-1969.

The three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli—face a May 7 trial in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. Clark could testify for them. [Read more…]

Closed-circuit TV may be used for jury selection in Y-12 protester case

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 Plowshares Protesters

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.

There could be 70 potential jurors during jury selection for the May 7 trial against three protesters accused of breaking into Y-12 National Security Complex last summer, so supporters and reporters might not be allowed in the courtroom.

One defense attorney said there would be a problem fitting everyone into even the largest courtroom in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, but another said jury selection is part of the trial and should be open to the public.

U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar said federal officials may try to set up a closed-circuit television system for jury selection, which could last several hours. [Read more…]

Motive unknown for Sunday shooting at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant; suspect could be male

Posted at
By 4 Comments

Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

A Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman declined to speculate on a motive for a Sunday morning shooting at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Rhea County, but he said the suspect could be a male wearing a dark-colored sweatshirt with a hood.

Other than that, officials have little information on the suspect, who appears to have fled in a small boat, TVA spokesman Jim Hopson said Monday.

“It was difficult to provide any kind of description,” he said.

The unidentified man was spotted by a nuclear security officer at about 2 a.m. Sunday. The guard was on a routine patrol in a pickup truck on the perimeter of the 1,700-acre plant. As the officer came around a curve, the truck’s headlights illuminated a person on the shore of the Tennessee River, on the eastern side of the plant and near its southern boundary. [Read more…]

Former U.S. attorney general, civil rights participant can testify at Y-12 protester hearing

Posted at
By 4 Comments

Y-12 Plowshares Protesters

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.

A federal judge will allow a former U.S. attorney general and civil rights sit-in participant to testify at a Tuesday motions hearing for the three anti-nuclear weapons activists who broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July.

The two witnesses are former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and civil rights sit-in participant Robert Booker.

The three anti-nuclear weapons activists are accused of cutting through three fences in the high-security Protected Area at Y-12 on July 28 and splashing human blood and spray-painting messages on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where most of the nation’s bomb-grade uranium is stored. [Read more…]

TVA: Suspect shoots at security officer at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, officer shoots back

Posted at
By 4 Comments

Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

An unidentified suspect fired on a security officer at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant near Spring City early Sunday morning, and the officer fired back. No one was injured, and the suspect fled. (Photo courtesy of TVA)

An unidentified suspect fired multiple rounds at a security officer on patrol at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant early Sunday morning, and at least one round hit the security officer’s vehicle, an official said.

The Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear security officer fired back, also shooting multiple rounds.

The suspect appeared to have initially been on the ground but may have fled in a boat, TVA spokesman Jim Hopson said.

The shots were fired just after 2 a.m. this morning on the east side of the 1,700-acre plant, near the Tennessee River, toward the plant’s southern boundary, TVA said. The officer was several hundred yards outside the protected area where the reactor and power equipment are located. [Read more…]