The Savannah River Site's salt-waste contractor announced Monday the appointment of a new project manager for the Salt Waste Processing Facility, or SWPF.
According to a press release, Frank Sheppard Jr. received the appointment after serving as Parson's vice president and former deputy project manager for the facility. Sheppard is replacing Louis Jackson, who has decided to retire.
Sheppard joined Parsons in 2011 as deputy project manager. He was responsible for project cost and schedule performance and major contract actions. With his assistance, the SWPF construction phase is more than 7 months ahead of schedule and more than $40 million under budget.
The Salt Waste Processing Facility is a one-of-a-kind facility designed to process the nuclear waste stored in underground tanks at the site, making it critical to liquid-waste cleanup. Construction of the facility is among the Energy Department's highest environmental-cleanup priorities and is a key component of its commitment to reducing risk at the Site, officials wrote.
Parsons was selected to design, build, commission and operate the facility for one year but has supported the project since 2002. Construction is now 84 percent complete, with startup of the facility targeted for late 2018.
Mary Ann Hopkins, Parsons group president, wrote that Sheppard is a key member of the SWPF management team with "intimate knowledge of the contract and a strong customer relationship."
"We are delighted that he has accepted the position of Project Manager and confident in his ability to lead this complex project," Hopkins wrote.
During Shepard's 21-year career with the federal government, he served in the environmental management's Rocky Flats program office at DOE Headquarters. He worked directly with the assistant secretary for environmental management to create the Office of Acquisition Management and served as its director from 2003 to 2005.
Derrek Asberry is the SRS beat reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been with the paper since June 2013. He is originally from Vidalia, Ga., and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Follow him on Twitter @DerrekAsberry.