House Energy Committee presses DOE on nuclear security

The House Energy and Commerce Committee requested an update Friday on Energy Department (DOE) actions to remedy “governance and security culture issues” at the agency's nuclear operations.

In a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the bipartisan group of lawmakers said they still had concerns regarding a July 2012 trespassing incident at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

“Information and assessments reviewed by the Committee following the July 2012 security breakdown … have identified significant shortcomings in the management of physical security at DOE facilities with Category I and II special nuclear materials,” the committee members wrote.

The department, through the National Nuclear Security Administration, is responsible for overseeing the United States’ stockpile of nuclear weapons.

An August 2012 DOE Inspector General report found “multiple system failures on several levels” allowed three trespassers who “defaced the building” to approach Y-12 undetected.

The lawmakers requested information on how the DOE was addressing security issues at nuclear facilities. The committee is planning a March 13 Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing on the subject.

Letter signatories include full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), ranking member Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Vice Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Oversight and Investigations subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), subcommittee ranking member Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and subcommittee Vice Chairman Michael Burgess (R-Texas).