Secretary Perry Honors EM Employees for Achievements

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Energy Secretary Rick Perry honored members of the EM workforce last week for developing a new approach to cleanup contracting, and ensuring the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) can meet the needs of cleanup and national defense missions.

A 27-member DOE team received the Secretary of Energy Achievement Award for its work on the End State Contracting Model. This innovative approach uses improved acquisition processes to achieve accelerated cleanup and taxpayer savings; significant financial liability and risk reduction; and balanced risk-sharing between the federal government and contractors.

The end state model defines contract work in segments that are easier to track and accomplish, and improves incentives to drive cost and schedule performance. It also is expected to result in increased competition among contractors.

"It is an honor to accept this prestigious award and recognition on behalf of the multi-disciplined team of dedicated colleagues across DOE and at Hanford who worked diligently to develop a new way of doing business for the EM program," said Janis Ward of the Hanford Site.

EM has issued requests for proposals for the Hanford Central Plateau Cleanup and Tank Closure contracts, the first to use the end state model.

The Achievement Award honors a group or team of DOE employees and contractors who accomplish significant achievements on behalf of the Department, demonstrating cooperation and teamwork in attaining their goals.

An 18-member team with many WIPP federal and contractor employees also received the Secretary of Energy Achievement Award for developing the Volume of Record accounting method for waste disposal. The team also prepared a permit modification request for the Volume of Record method that the state of New Mexico approved earlier this year.

The permit modification was requested to clarify the way transuranic (TRU) mixed waste disposal volume at the underground waste repository is reported.

"We are extremely proud of the WIPP team for this significant accomplishment," EM Carlsbad Field Office Acting Manager Kirk D. Lachman said. "The change was extremely important to WIPP's future and provides DOE the ability to fully utilize WIPP for TRU waste disposal as originally intended by Congress."

Other EM federal and contractor employees were honored with the Secretary of Energy Achievement Award as part of teams for other DOE initiatives, including:

• Kara Bush, Katherine Hernandez, and Ben Williams of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM); and Stacy Kirby and Kelly Rhodes with OREM contractor UCOR. All five were part of the American Museum of Science and Energy Project Team, which was recognized for its contributions to establishing the museum in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
• Melody Bell, EM’s acting deputy assistant secretary for resource management, served on the Crowdsourcing Team, which met the Secretary's aim of improving DOE's standing among federal workplaces. The team developed and implemented ideas submitted by DOE employees under the Workplace Improvement Network campaign.

Read more about this year's Honor Awards and the ceremony here. View the full list of winners here.