Oak Ridge Today

Mason to brief feds on UPF alternatives report today

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Ernest Moniz, Lamar Alexander, Thom Mason, Joe DiPietro, Jimmy Cheek at University of Tennessee

From left are UT President Joe DiPietro, Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, and ORNL Director Thom Mason.

Note: This story was last updated at 2:30 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—Federal officials have expressed concerns about increasing cost projections and delayed construction dates for a new Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and a so-called Red Team has drafted an alternative approach that could keep the project at $6.5 billion or less—and help workers get out of the aging Building 9212 at Y-12 by 2025.

Thom Mason, the director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, chaired the Red Team, and he is expected to brief federal officials in Washington, D.C., today (Monday) on the team’s report. The report will then go to Congress, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a media briefing at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center at the University of Tennessee on Friday.

Among the questions that could be answered are which old production buildings at Y-12 should be replaced and which can be refurbished. Y-12 was built to enrich uranium as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II as the United States raced to beat Germany to build the world’s first atomic weapons. [Read more…]

Retired Air Force general sworn in as NNSA administrator

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Frank Klotz, Nancy Klotz, and Ernest Moniz at NNSA Swearing-in Ceremony

NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz, his wife Nancy Klotz, and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz at a swearing-in ceremony on Thursday. (Photos courtesy NNSANews)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz swore in Frank G. Klotz as the U.S. Department of Energy’s undersecretary for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration in a private ceremony on Thursday afternoon. Klotz was joined by his wife Nancy and Acting Administrator Bruce Held.

“I am very pleased that Gen. Klotz has now been sworn in as the fourth undersecretary of nuclear security and administrator for the National Nuclear Security Admiration,” Moniz said. “With his years of service to our country, his vision for NNSA’s nuclear security programs, and his dedication to supporting the men and women of the organization, I am confident Gen. Klotz will bring strong leadership and management to this critical Department of Energy mission. I look forward to working closely with Frank in support of the President’s nuclear security priorities.”

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is an NNSA site. The NNSA is a separate agency within DOE.

Klotz is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general. He is the former commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, a position he held from 2009 to 2011. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 8. [Read more…]

Review team develops UPF alternative, sends report to NNSA

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Thom Mason

Thom Mason

The projected cost had passed $10 billion and the completion date pushed back to 2038, so federal officials were looking for an alternative approach for the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Earlier this year, the National Nuclear Security Administration asked Thom Mason, Oak Ridge National Laboratory director, to lead a team—a so-called “Red Team”—that would develop an alternative approach.

The team’s task was to find a faster, more efficient solution, NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held told a House subcommittee on April 3.

On Tuesday, the deadline for submitting a report, Mason said the team has identified a possible alternative and provided information on how the proposal could be implemented if the NNSA adopts it. The next step will be up to the NNSA. Y-12 is an NNSA site.

The goal is to still allow workers to get out of Y-12’s aging Building 9212 by 2025 and keep the cost within an approved range of $4.2 billion to $6.5 billion, Mason said late Tuesday afternoon, when the report was being polished before transmittal. [Read more…]

Retired Air Force general confirmed as NNSA administrator

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Retired Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz of the U.S. Air Force is pictured above in a Sept. 16, 2009, speech. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)

Retired Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz of the U.S. Air Force is pictured above in a Sept. 16, 2009, speech. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)

Acting Administrator Bruce Held returns to associate deputy secretary position

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed a retired U.S. Air Force general as the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the nuclear weapons work at the Y-12 National Security Complex and other federal sites.

Retired Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz is also the Energy Department’s under secretary for nuclear security.

Acting NNSA Administrator Bruce Held will return to his position as associate deputy secretary, a press release said.

“Lt. Gen. Klotz’s confirmation comes at a critical point for the National Nuclear Security Administration,” Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. “His breadth of military and national security leadership experience makes him uniquely suited to lead the NNSA, fulfilling its commitments to the management and security of the nation’s nuclear weapons, nuclear nonproliferation, naval reactor programs, and nuclear and radiological emergency preparedness efforts. [Read more…]

NNSA budget request includes slight spending increase for UPF

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Uranium Processing Facility

Pictured above is the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, with the administrative area in the front and the fortified section of the building in the rear. (Submitted image)

The budget request announced this week for the National Nuclear Security Administration includes a slight increase in spending for the proposed multi-billion-dollar Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The $335 million request for UPF in Fiscal Year 2015, which starts Oct. 1, is up slightly from $326 million in FY14. That’s roughly a 2.8 percent increase.

The UPF project, which has an official cost estimate of up to $6.5 billion, is part of a broader effort to modernize Y-12, including its production facilities. The 811-acre plant was built during World War II to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic weapons.

But questions have been raised about rising cost projections and a redesign of the UPF. In February 2013, the NNSA said the redesign could add $539 million to the project cost and extend its schedule.

During a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held said the agency wants to get workers out of Building 9212 at Y-12 by 2025. [Read more…]

NNSA: 2013 a year of important accomplishments, improvements

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—As 2014 begins, the National Nuclear Security Administration has released a list of some of its most important accomplishments and improvements during the past year. NNSA reached significant milestones in the areas of nonproliferation and counterterrorism, made a host of significant achievements through its work with the United States’ nuclear weapons stockpile, and saw improved operations throughout the complex.

“In 2013, even with a challenging budget situation, NNSA’s successes ensured that the United States’ nuclear weapons stockpile is safe, secure and effective; saved taxpayers millions of dollars; and supported emergency preparedness and the next generation of nuclear security workers,” said NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held. “Our people, both our government employees and the employees in our government-owned labs and plants, have done great work executing our mission and improving the way we do business.”

NNSA’s 2013 list highlights accomplishments in operations and at its sites, international partnerships to support nonproliferation and removals of dangerous materials, and emergency preparedness trainings and university programs. [Read more…]

NNSA reaffirms decision to have CNS manage, operate Y-12, Pantex

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View


The National Nuclear Security Administration on Friday reaffirmed its January decision to pick Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Friday reaffirmed its January decision to pick Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC  to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

That earlier decision, announced almost 10 months ago, had been challenged in two rounds of bid protests. Those protests delayed the transition to a new contractor, and it wasn’t clear Friday if the NNSA’s new decision might also be challenged.

The five-year extendable contract, which could be worth up to $22.8 billion over 10 years, includes project management of the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 and an unexercised option for Savannah River Tritium Operations at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.

“Our nuclear production capabilities are critical to our national security, and CNS represents the best value to the government as evidenced by its superior technical and management approach and its lower evaluated cost,” NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held said. “Additionally, this award puts NNSA in a position to improve mission delivery by focusing on improving the way we operate, saving taxpayer dollars, and aligning ourselves for the future.” [Read more…]

Picture: NNSA’s acting administrator visits ORNL

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Bruce Held Visits ORNL

From left are Brent Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s associate laboratory director of global security; Johnny Moore, the U.S. Department of Energy’s site office manager at ORNL; Bruce Held, acting under secretary for nuclear security and administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration; and ORNL director Thom Mason in the lobby of Building 5300 at ORNL. (Photo by ORNL’s Jason Richards)

Bruce Held, acting under secretary for nuclear security and administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration, visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Thursday for a brief discussion with ORNL Director Thom Mason; Johnny Moore, the U.S. Department of Energy’s site office manager at ORNL; and Brent Park, ORNL’s associate laboratory director of global security.

Picture: Acting NNSA administrator visits Y-12 National Security Complex

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Bruce Held Visits Y-12

Bruce Held, center, acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration and acting undersecretary for nuclear security, is pictured above at the Y-12 National Security Complex with NNSA Production Office Manager Steve Erhart, left, and Captain Geoffrey deBeauclair, Held’s military aide. (Submitted photo)

Bruce Held, the acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration and acting undersecretary for nuclear security, visited the Y-12 National Security Complex on Thursday.

Held toured the site and conducted an “all hands” meeting at the site’s New Hope Center to talk to federal and contractor employees.

Held is a retired clandestine operations officer of the Central Intelligence Agency, a former national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, former counterintelligence chief at Sandia National Laboratories, and former director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. [Read more…]