New Strategic Vision ‘Charts a Steady Beat of Progress’ Across EM Complex

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) today released its Strategic Vision 2024-2034, a blueprint to the program’s anticipated cleanup achievements over the next decade.

Built on successes achieved in recent years, the document is an update of previous editions and was developed through outreach and with feedback from regulators, tribal nations, EM advisory boards, local communities and other partners.

“The fifth iteration of the Strategic Vision charts a steady beat of progress for 2024 to 2034 at every EM site,” EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White said. “No longer mapping out how to achieve the cleanup mission, we are now focused on successfully executing remaining work while encouraging innovation and driving continuous improvement along the way.”

EM has entered a new era across the cleanup complex, focused on achieving goals in protection of the workforce, the public and the environment; radioactive tank waste stabilization, treatment and disposal; spent nuclear fuel storage, receipt and disposition; nuclear material consolidation, stabilization and disposition; transuranic, mixed and low-level waste disposition; soil and groundwater remediation; and excess facility deactivation and decommissioning.

EM’s vision for its cleanup sites over the next decade includes:

• Treating and stabilizing radioactive tank waste in glass at the Hanford Site through the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste System; ramping up the site’s high-level tank-waste treatment capabilities; and completing significant risk reduction activities;
• Emptying and closing up to 19 of 51 underground waste tanks and completing disposal of remaining legacy transuranic waste at Savannah River Site;
• Completing the new Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System, Utility Shaft Project and other key infrastructure upgrades at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant;
• Completing disposal of uranium-233 at Oak Ridge, along with finishing construction of the site’s new Mercury Treatment Facility;
• Finishing treatment of remaining liquid sodium-bearing waste at the Idaho National Laboratory Site;
• Finalizing and implementing long term treatment approaches for contaminated groundwater at Los Alamos National Laboratory;
• Completing demolition of former uranium enrichment process buildings at the Portsmouth Site;
• Completing deactivation activities at the C-333 former uranium enrichment process building and beginning fieldwork for the C-400 remedial action at the Paducah Site;
• Completing Phase 1 demolition activities at West Valley Demonstration Project;
• Initiating soil remediation and final groundwater treatment approaches at the Energy Technology Engineering Center;
• Finishing legacy cleanup activities at the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project and Nevada National Security Sites.

Most importantly, EM will continue to perform work activities within a strong safety culture that integrates worker and public health, safety and environmental requirements.

The Strategic Vision 2024-2034 is available here.