EM to NNSA landlord transition complete at Savannah River Site

EM to NNSA landlord transition complete at Savannah River Site 

AIKEN, S.C. – (October 1, 2024) Nearly six years after it was first announced, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has transitioned landlord responsibilities at the Savannah River Site (SRS) from the Office of Environmental Management (EM) to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), aligning with the start of federal fiscal year 2025.

Landlord responsibilities include the primary authority, accountability and stewardship responsibilities of SRS. All other non-landlord federal entities at SRS are referred to as ‘tenants,’ which describes EM’s new role at the Site. 

“With the growth in NNSA missions coming to SRS, a shift in landlord responsibilities made sense,” said Mike Budney, Manager, DOE-Savannah River Operations Office. “While we are no longer responsible for the day-to-day administration of SRS; we are not going anywhere; we’ll be here until the job is done on our environmental cleanup mission.”

SRS joins other sites like the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Nevada National Security Sites, and the Pantex Plant under the direct responsibility of NNSA.

“We could not be more excited about what this means for the Site,” said Michael Mikolanis, Manager, NNSA-Savannah River Field Office. “We understand that the unique capabilities at SRS, its strong production culture, and the support from the surrounding communities, are something NNSA will need to leverage as a permanent piece of the nuclear security enterprise for years to come.” 

NNSA’s expanded footprint goes beyond its long history of success in tritium operations to include providing the backbone of plutonium pit production and continuing to expand its plutonium disposition capabilities.

The effort to bring the landlord transition opportunity to a reality was a significant undertaking, requiring the combined effort and commitment of employees across SRS. The effort featured the transition of the multi-billion dollar management and operating contract, the protective force security contract, the responsibility for the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and U.S. Forest Service interfaces, along with other major utility and infrastructure contracts with Dominion Energy South Carolina, Ameresco, Inc., and CSX Transportation. Additionally, approximately $180 million of budget scope and 85 full-time federal positions moved from EM to NNSA.

Media Contacts:                                                   
Julie Petersen                                                                        
DOE – Office of External Affairs
(803) 952-7690                                                                                                        

Bryan Cox
NNSA - Savannah River Field Office
(803) 989-9050