Bechtel Principal Vice President Mark Johnson has joined the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant as the new project manager for the High-Level Waste scope.
“Mark brings execution experience to WTP from highly complex commercial liquified natural gas projects he led in Texas,” said Bechtel Senior Vice President Brian Hartman, also the WTP project director. “His long-time knowledge of Hanford and WTP will complement his national and commercial experience as we build on the foundation our HLW team has laid.”
Johnson began his career at the Hanford Site at IFC Kaiser and Flour Daniel Northwest and joined Bechtel at TWRS-P in 1998. He also worked at Bechtel Hanford before joining WTP as the LAW Mechanical Handling Engineering Group Supervisor, a role he held until 2004. He then worked for Bechtel at the Yucca Mountain Project and Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant before returning to WTP, first as engineering manager for the Pretreatment Facility and then as the manager of WTP Engineering.
Since leaving WTP in 2016, Johnson has held leadership roles across Bechtel including as an executive assistant to the company’s chief executive officer and chief operating officer. He most recently was project manager for engineering, procurement, commissioning, and startup for a highly complex $12 billion liquified natural gas megaproject in Texas.
“The Hanford mission is deeply personal to me, having grown up in Eastern Washington and spent time with my family enjoying the Columbia River,” Johnson said. “I’m proud to bring my experience back to a place that helped shape me personally and professionally and to work alongside such a talented team to build a lasting legacy for our community.”
Johnson was elected as a Bechtel principal vice president in 2015. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from Washington State University and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Mechanical Engineering.
His wife, Laura Ashley Johnson, will join him in returning to the Tri-Cities community.
Felice Presti, who led the HLW scope for nearly two years, has accepted an assignment with Bechtel at its Reston, Virginia, headquarters.
About the Vit Plant
In southeastern Washington state, Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). When complete, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant, will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford Site.