AIKEN, S.C. – Big changes are in store for the Savannah River Site (SRS) over the next few years.

EM and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have started a joint planning and implementation process to transition primary authority for SRS from EM to NNSA. The transition will be complete in fiscal year 2025.

EM currently manages SRS and continues to lead a comprehensive environmental cleanup onsite. As EM efficiently and safely completes its cleanup work toward a defined end state, NNSA’s nuclear security mission continues to increase onsite. As a result, DOE and NNSA have jointly decided to transition primary responsibilities to NNSA through a joint planning and transition process.

The transition process was formally started in an Oct. 6, 2022 planning memo from EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White and NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby.

The memo instructs EM and NNSA to form an integrated team of senior subject matter experts and develop a transition plan by June 2023. The plan will define responsibility and management of functions and capabilities for each organization. The plan will also assess and recommend the timing of transfer of functions and responsibilities through a phased approach.

In the memo, White and Hruby write the primary principles of the transition should be “effective mission delivery, stable and seamless transition at the site, and fairness and continuity for on-going programs.” Additionally, “The plan shall account for responsibility and management of functions and capabilities for each organization and those which will have shared usage and responsibility,” as NNSA is set to assume primary management responsibility and budget functions in the fiscal year 2025 budget.

EM and NNSA leadership have committed to a transparent process that will engage the SRS workforce and community, Congress, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and other stakeholders throughout the transition process.

On Sept. 28, the SRS Operations Office extended the current contract with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) at SRS for four years, from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2026, plus an additional one-year option through Sept. 30, 2027, for a total of five years. The current management and operations contract with SRNS expired on Sept. 30.

The Savannah River National Laboratory has a separate contract and will remain under EM management and operations responsibility.