(Direct Report to the Deputy Director for Environment, Health and Safety)

Mission

The Office of Environmental Protection and ES&H Reporting works with line managers to minimize DOE’s radiological and environmental footprint and reduce its occupational health and safety impacts.  The Office mitigates and controls risks to the DOE mission by partnering with line management in areas such as:  (1) developing policy and standards and providing assistance in protecting the public and the environment from environmental and radiological hazards associated with DOE operations using the current science and best practices; (2) minimizing energy use, natural resources consumption, and waste generation necessary to complete mission activities; (3) collecting, summarizing and sharing lessons from workplace occurrence and event information from across the DOE complex to improve environmental, safety and health performance at DOE sites, and (4) increasing the use and improving the effectiveness of organizational culture sustainment tools and strategies across the complex.  

Functions

  • Implements an integrated approach to customer and stakeholder needs in the development and maintenance of environmental policy, with particular emphasis on sustainable environmental stewardship and radiation protection of the public and the environment.
  • Provides technical support and assistance to DOE program and field elements in understanding and implementing environmental policies and requirements.
  • Maintains effective liaison with line managers and other offices within the Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security and external organizations to assist in identifying and resolving site-specific and crosscutting issues and concerns related to environmental protection policy.
  • Serves as the Department’s Federal Preservation Officer, under section 110(c) of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), 54 U.S.C. § 306104, with agency-wide authority to support effective implementation of historic preservation programs.
  • Serves as the Departmental Lead for addressing issues relating to per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a widely used family of chemicals of increasing regulatory concern.
  • Serves as the Department’s representative on Federal and international organizations establishing public and environmental radiation protection policy.
  • Maintains effective liaison to Headquarters and field organizations to effectively and efficiently implement the Department’s sustainability requirements and related external requirements.
  • Maintains effective liaison to Headquarters and field organizations to identify and address and safety culture issues and concerns.
  • Provides DOE field managers with high-quality analytical laboratory data for environmental decision-making, and to ensure that the DOE radiological and hazardous waste streams are properly accounted for, treated, and disposed of in a compliant manner.
  • Shares important ES&H information and lessons learned through its management of DOE’s occurrence reporting, operating experience, accident investigation and other related programs.
  • Manages and directs corporate analyses to support line management decision-making in addressing ES&H performance trends.
  • Ensures meaningful and easily understood assessments of the Department’s overall effectiveness in protecting the public, the worker, and the environment are produced in a timely manner and communicated broadly.
  • Leads the Department’s Human Performance Improvement and Behavior Based Safety efforts and coordinates associated training.

Leadership

Dr. Michael J. Silverman, Director