Savanah River Field Office (2020 Presidential transition)
| Book 3 - Organization Overview
|
|---|
| Entire 2020 DOE Transition book As of October 2020 |
The Savannah River Field Office (SRFO) enables NNSA to meet its mission of enhancing national security through its support of three major mission areas in addition to other provided support. First, SRS provides tritium to support the nuclear weapons stockpile and is the only source of tritium in the Nation for this purpose. Second, SRS supports NNSA’s nonproliferation mission through surplus plutonium disposition. Third, the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review called upon NNSA to produce 80 plutonium pits per year during 2030 to support the Nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. To implement this objective, NNSA and the Department of Defense approved of a two-site solution for pit production to include the production of at least 50 pits per year during 2030 at SRS and at least 30 pits per year during 2026 at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Savannah River Field Office is to administer the Management and Operating (M&O) contract for NNSA’s Savannah River Site activities, acting as the risk acceptance agent for NNSA. This includes:
- directing, overseeing, and evaluating the work and business systems of the M&O contractor;
- overseeing, managing, and executing NNSA programs;
- ensuring the safe, secure, and environmentally responsible operation of facilities under the purview of NNSA; and
- planning for the long-term viability of the site.
Budget
| Fiscal Year | Budget |
|---|---|
| FY 2019 | enacted $587,363,000 |
| FY 2020 | enacted $964,250,000 |
| FY 2021 | requested $1,092,790,000 |
Note: includes only weapons and nonproliferation activities
Human Resources
FY 2020 authorized full-time equivalents (FTEs): 46
History
SRS has its roots in a letter from President Harry Truman, dated August 1950, that authorized private industry to locate, design, build, and operate a new facility to produce tritium and plutonium needed to create the Nation’s nuclear weapons. Between 1953 and 1988, SRS produced and extracted tritium and produced about 36 metric tons of plutonium. At the end of the Cold War, SRS’ tritium production reactors were shut down and the Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF) was built to support the tritium production mission.
Functions
SRFO performs the following functions:
Operations
Nuclear safety, maintenance, conduct of operations, technical training, operational oversight.
Business
Contract administration and evaluation; performance assurance; cost estimation; financial management and oversight; risk management; personal property management; quality assurance; records management; directives.
Security
Cyber security, physical security, secure transportation, classification, badging, barriers, emergency management, information and technology (IT).
Environment, safety, and health
Environmental programs; air and water quality; safety assurance; fire protection; waste management; industrial safety; radiological protection.
Programs
Weapons quality, small projects, packaging, program liaisons, science and technology
Recent Organization Accomplishments
- Met an accelerated shipping request for the DoD despite the many challenges posed by the pandemic, and has not missed any mission deliverable to the Department of Defense.
- Obtained Critical Decision (CD)-1 for the Major System Acquisition Line Item for the Tritium Finishing Facility (TFF).
- Completed the Tritium Facilities Security Risk Assessment to allow implementation of the Design Basis Threat directive.
- Initiated preliminary Tritium Finishing Facility design and executed contract for the site prep work.
- Completed conceptual vulnerability analysis and design of security for the proposed Savannah River Plutonium Professing Facility (p-SRPPF).
- Completed p-SRPPF Conceptual Design packages for all process and balance of plant systems.
- Completed the Environmental Impact Statement required to repurpose Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility to p-SRPPF.
- Repackaged and shipped one metric ton of plutonium from South Carolina to meet a court order by January 2020.
- Completed modifications in K Area to optimize removal of plutonium from South Carolina and began optimized downblending.
- Infectious Disease Response Team formed to actively management SRS response to the COVID-19 pandemic over the past six months.
Leadership Challenges
- Need to increase staffing levels to properly maintain facility oversight, meet future increased production needs; NNSA leadership required to increase FTEs from 45 to 108.
- Dramatically increased workload due to 3 concurrent line item projects.
- Lack of IT system that integrates with rest of NNSA complex and provides for enhanced collaboration.
- COVID-related disruptions and case management.
- Operational reliability in aging infrastructure.
- Attrition and knowledge transfer.
- Cost sharing and resource utilization between DOEEM and NNSA at SRS.
- Contract rebid and separation of SRNL contract.
- SRS M&O contract expires September 30, 2021, with an option to extend performance through September 30, 2022. DOE is preparing the acquisition package for a follow-on contract to be awarded by DOE-Environmental Management. NNSA must ensure ongoing work is not impacted during the process of awarding a new contract and transitioning performance to the new contractor.
Critical Events and Action Items
- Approval of p-SRPPF CD-1 package; will be submitted for review and approval by the end of December 2020. Schedule includes NNSA reviewing and approving of CD-1 package during the second quarter of FY2021.
- Implement countermeasures for known high security risks in tritium.
- Completion of MOX Termination.
- Obtain CD and cost estimate for a new administration building to address increased staffing needs.