Oak Ridge Today

Kohlhorst, Klemm retire from Y-12; new manager starts

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Darrel P. Kohlhorst

Darrel P. Kohlhorst

Note: This story was updated at 11:30 p.m. Aug. 12.

Two weeks after an unprecedented security breach, two top executives have retired from the company that manages the Y-12 National Security Complex, and one of them has been replaced.

In a press release, The Babcock and Wilcox Co. announced that Charles “Chuck” G. Spencer is now acting president and general manager for Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Y-12 LLC, the contractor that manages the plant for the National Nuclear Security Administration. He replaces Darrel P. Kohlhorst, who has retired.

William R. Klemm

William R. Klemm

It said William R. Klemm, deputy general manager of operations, has also retired.

The statement didn’t say whether the staff changes were related to the highly publicized July 28 intrusion by three anti-nuclear weapons activists, and it didn’t say who would replace Klemm.

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Y-12 protesters plead not guilty to new charge, face more jail time

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Megan Rice and Michael R. Walli

Anti-nuclear weapons activists Megan Rice, left, and Michael R. Walli leave U.S. District Court in Knoxville after pleading not guilty Thursday morning to three counts of trespassing, property depredation, and property destruction at the Y-12 National Security Complex. A third protester, Greg Boertje-Obed, remains jailed in Blount County.

Note: This story was last updated at 1:51 a.m. Aug. 10.

KNOXVILLE—A new felony property depredation charge and the possibility of more jail time have been added to two earlier charges filed against three anti-nuclear weapons activists arrested in July near a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—are accused of sneaking into Y-12 before dawn July 28, cutting through three fences, and setting off alarms before spraying paint and splashing blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

The new charge, contained in a three-count grand jury indictment filed Tuesday, carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The three activists pleaded not guilty to all three counts during a Thursday morning arraignment in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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Y-12 activists indicted by federal grand jury for trespassing, property destruction

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Three anti-nuclear weapons activists arrested July 28 in the high-security Protected Area at the Y-12 National Security Complex have been indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of trespassing, property depredation, and property destruction.

The three defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—are expected to be arraigned this morning in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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Top management changes at WSI after Y-12 security breach

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Two administrators at security contractor WSI Oak Ridge have been replaced after three anti-nuclear weapons activists penetrated the high-security Protected Area at the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28, allegedly splashing blood and spraying paint on a uranium storage building.

Lee Brooks, former general manager at WSI Oak Ridge, has been replaced by Steve Hafner, who will serve as acting general manager, a press release said. Hafner is senior vice president and director of safety, security, and environment for Mission Support Alliance in Hanford, Wash.

Brooks and Gary Brandon, former director of the Y-12 Protective Force, are waiting to be reassigned by G4SGS, the WSI Oak Ridge press release said. WSI is a G4SGS company.

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Secretary Chu: Y-12 security breach ‘unacceptable,’ guards suspended

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Steven Chu

Steven Chu

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said guards involved in an unprecedented security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex last week have been suspended, and the general manager of the contractor protective force has been removed.

Two members of the general manager’s leadership team have also been removed from their positions, Chu said in a statement.

In addition, a federal official at the site has been temporarily reassigned, pending the outcome of the investigation into the July 28 intrusion into the high-security Protected Area on the west end of Y-12 by three anti-nuclear weapons activists, Chu said.

“The Department has no tolerance for security breaches at any of our sites, and I am committed to ensuring that those responsible will be held accountable,” Chu said.

Chu did not name the suspended guards or the employees who have been removed or reassigned.

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Y-12 protesters face new felony charges, judge releases two

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Note: This story was last updated at 1:14 p.m. Aug. 4.

KNOXVILLE—New felony property destruction charges were filed Friday against three anti-nuclear weapons activists who allegedly sneaked into the Y-12 National Security Complex on Saturday, and U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley agreed to release two of the defendants.

The new charges carry stiffer penalties than the previously filed misdemeanor trespassing charges, including up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

The new charges were filed against Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli, who have been detained at the Blount County Corrections Facility after being arrested at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday in the high-security Protected Area on the west end of Y-12.

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Plan to cut Y-12 staff hasn’t changed despite security breach

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Transform Now Plowshares

The breach of a high-security area at the Y-12 National Security Complex by the three anti-nuclear weapons activists pictured above has not changed plans to cut up to 34 security officers. From left to right, the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed.

The plan to cut up to 34 security police officer jobs at the Y-12 National Security Complex hasn’t changed, despite a breach of a high-security area early Saturday morning by three anti-nuclear weapons activists, a federal spokesman said Wednesday.

Steven Wyatt, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the decision is not being re-evaluated.

“The size of the protective force is determined through a comprehensive process that considers a number of factors, which have not changed since the decision to reduce the size of the protective forces was made,” Wyatt said in a Wednesday evening e-mail.

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Nuclear operations halted at Y-12 National Security Complex

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All nuclear operations have been halted at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, a federal spokesman said Wednesday.

The unprecedented security “stand down” occurred after three activists breached the plant’s high-security area on Saturday and after an internal review by B&W Y-12 and the National Nuclear Security Administration found procedural violations, NNSA spokesman Steven Wyatt said.

“Once we found those, B&W decided it was prudent to stand down operations,” Wyatt said. B&W Y-12 manages and operates Y-12 for the NNSA.

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Activists who sneaked into Y-12 waive detention hearing, remain jailed

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Transform Now Plowshares

Three activists opposed to nuclear weapons pose with banners before their arrests on Saturday at the Y-12 National Security Complex. From left to right, the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

Three anti-nuclear weapons activists facing federal trespassing charges after sneaking into a high-security area at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Saturday have waived a detention hearing, meaning they will remain jailed for now, a court representative said Monday.

The three Plowshares activists are Michael R. Walli, 63, of Washington, D.C.; Megan Rice, 82, of New York; and Greg Boertje-Obed, 57, of Duluth, Minn. They have been jailed at the Blount County Corrections Facility.

The federal trespassing charges reportedly carry potential sentences of up to one year in prison and one year of supervised release as well as a maximum $100,000 fine. Supporters and officials have said other charges are possible.

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Y-12 protesters allegedly enter high-security area, spray paint, splash blood

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Transform Now Plowshares

Three activists opposed to nuclear weapons pose with banners before their reported arrests on Saturday. From left to right, the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

Note: This story was last updated at 6:40 p.m. July 29.

Three Plowshares protesters who oppose nuclear weapons allegedly sneaked through four fences at the Y-12 National Security Complex before dawn Saturday and spray-painted messages and splashed human blood on the walls of a uranium storage building before they were detained by security guards, an activist said.

The three were identified by supporters as Michael R. Walli, 63, of Washington, D.C.; Megan Rice, 82, of New York; and Greg Boertje-Obed, 57, of Duluth, Minn.

They are now in the Blount County Corrections Facility, said Ellen Barfield, of Baltimore, Md., who said she is a longtime anti-war and anti-nuclear weapons activist and friend of the three detainees.

Federal spokesman Steven Wyatt wasn’t able to confirm the identity of those arrested, but he said they entered a high-security area on the west end of Y-12—the Protected Area—at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday, spray-painted a building there, and splashed a substance that appeared to be like blood on a wall.

It could be the first security breach of that area, Wyatt said.

“I don’t ever recall this happening before at Y-12,” he said.

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