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Sanford Underground Research Facility
630 E. Summit St., Lead, SD 57754
www.sanfordlab.org
November Monthly Report Submitted by Mike Headley
SDSTA Executive Director
Sanford Underground Research Facility Laboratory Director
December 9, 2016
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Science
One SDSTA Experiment Support Scientist position was eliminated in November to reduce cost.
A brattice wall was installed on the 1550L to isolate air flow from old workings from entering the Ross Shaft. A ventilation fan was also installed to promote air circulation to work areas near the shaft.
Facility highlights include calibration of one of the oxygen sensors at the Davis Campus that had drifted and floor repairs at Ross Campus laboratories. Chilled water line insulation replacement is underway at the Davis Campus, with plans for insulation improvements at the CASPAR lab at the Ross Campus.
Interruptions: Snow and poor driving conditions resulted in Laboratory closures for ~1.5 days. A set of site-wide power dips was experienced one evening with minimal impact. There was no impact during planned outages for the main ventilation fan over two days to support a laser scan.
Large Underground Xenon—LUX
Progress continues on a small number of decommissioning items, including removal and consolidation of LUX servers in the surface IT Room. Sorting and packing inside the Foundry building followed by shipment of materials offsite continued throughout November. Shipping process is working well.
Authorization was issued for liquid scintillator screening in the Davis Cavern water tank. Assembly of the system and installation inside the water tank was successfully completed with support from SDSTA personnel. During initial tests, a small amount of water leaked in to the photomultiplier tube (PMT) section, and by early December the issue was resolved. Liquid nitrogen deliveries have resumed to support purge needs for screener activities. Testing is expected to continue into early 2017.
Final decommissioning of items within the water shielding tank will take place after the liquid scintillator tests are complete early in the new year. An inspection of the LUX detector internal components will take place on a similar schedule.
LUX crew: average of four people combining for 538 hours.
MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR—MJD
Background and calibration data with both modules operating in the main shield continued.
Detector commissioning continues with testing and refinements on various systems, including preamplifier, trigger and data acquisition systems. Monitoring continues for various issues such as electrical noise and crosstalk as well as investigations of high-voltage breakdown events.
Outer polyethylene neutron shield walls nearing completion, some custom pieces needed for penetrations. Inner shield cooling system optimization, also monitoring sensor (temperature/humidity) location adjustments. Completion of the outer shield is expected in December.
Paper submitted for publication focusing on the low-energy data spectrum from the DEMONSTRATOR relevant for the search for non-WIMP dark matter candidates: https://arxiv.org/abs/1612.00886.
MJD crew: average of four people combining for 643 hours. Onsite effort continues to be relatively low during the transition to operations.
Low-Background Counting
Black Hills State University Underground Campus—BHUC:
Sample storage system was approved by SURF and radon measurements confirm effectiveness of the nitrogen purge. Other designs relevant to the upcoming LZ PMT tests are being evaluated.
BHUC Physics Users:
USD/Alabama low-background counter mechanical design document received. Space considerations continue, the system is unlikely to fit inside the cleanroom due to external hoist requirements.
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Preparations continue for LZ PMT low-background counting, including procedure write-up, use of dummy PMT and PMT holder inside the low-background counter. Minor modifications to the PMT holders are needed based on testing. The first shipment of 40 PMTs from Brown University is expected mid-December (10-12 shipments expected). The current counting capacity is 28 PMTs using all 4 low-background counters.
Compact Accelerator System for Performing Astrophysical Research—CASPAR
Wiring improvements for accelerator control system, improvements to beam line vacuum system including remote sensor readout.
Authorization issued for underground compressed gas use and storage. Small quantities of hydrogen expected to be delivered underground in December.
FY2017 general services agreement was signed.
Comments on ion source commissioning documentation from Sanford Lab and readiness review committee members compiled and discussed with CASPAR experts. Activities, including open-air high-voltage testing, expected to be authorized in December with work to be performed early in 2017.
LUX-ZEPLIN—LZ
Director's Review completed at LBNL November 15-17 in preparation for CD-3 review in January.
Surface facility infrastructure work is proceeding on track.
SURF staff were active in LZ final design reviews in November.
Discussions continued on ESH and preparations for LZ work onsite.
Other Current Research Activities
Physics:
Deep Underground Gravity Laboratory (DUGL): Decommissioning of underground sites completed, including instruments deployed on the following levels: 300L, 800L, 1700L, 2000L, 4100L, 4850L. All 24 instruments (surface and underground) prepared for shipment to lending organization. With personnel first visiting in February 2008, the relationship with DUGL is one of the longest standing. We hope this will not be the last chapter of research in support of gravitational waves at Sanford Lab.
Antineutrino R&D: Researchers from Hawaii and Kansas are interested in testing underwater operation of antineutrino sensor technology in the deep pool at Sanford Lab (nominally via #6 Winze). Ultimately, researchers are interested in performing surveys for sources of antineutrinos for non-proliferation as well as information on the origin and thermal evolution of Earth.
Geology:
Permeability (k) and Induced Seismicity Management for Energy Technologies (kISMET): The final kISMET project summary report with important in situ stress measurements was shared with SURF engineers participating in LBNF designs. While currently in a mothballed state, the kISMET drill holes on the 4850L may be put to use in support of a DOE SBIR proposal that is being submitted by Luna Innovations, Inc. to perform novel optical-fiber-based stress measurements. An expanded kISMET collaboration called Stimulation Investigations for Geothermal Modeling Analysis and Validation (SIGMAV) led by LBNL submitted a $9M proposal for continuing work at SURF.
Rock Melt: Hydraulic (water) conductivity tests continue on the 1550L. SDSTA personnel visited RE/SPEC surface facilities in Rapid City to observe an operational rock heating unit.
Former Homestake geologist interested in adding to geology records/descriptions.
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Biology:
NASA Astrobiology Institute: December trip planned to install new media at existing sites on the 800L, 2000L, 4100L and 4850L. Visit will include new collaborators from the University of Toronto.
Engineering:
Xilinx continues to test two chip arrays on the 4850L.
Underground Access
Ross Shaft
Ross Shaft steel installation continued with six sets (250-255) completed. Various LBNF planning inspections were conducted including maintenance and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC). The 4100L station was refurbished with new ground support and new brattice/gates were installed. The Ross crews also continued to support the Rock Melt experiment on the 1550L and 1700L with no interruption to the shaft rehabilitation schedule.
Yates Shaft
A total of 151 loads were handled through the shaft in November (55 of the total loads was Liquid Nitrogen delivery). Top Down Maintenance (TDM) corrected 84 conditions for the month and 1160 year-to-date. The Yates crews are working toward the 3500L in the cage compartments and will move back up to the 1700L zone once the station is tied in with ground support.
Underground Maintenance Crew (UMC)
The UMC continued installing ground support using the Fletcher bolter along the North side of the 4850L West Lab Access Drift, working toward the Ross Shaft direction. Ground support installation in the East Lab Access Drift on the 4850L continues to work toward the Yates Shaft from the #4 Winze Wye direction. The UMC also assisted with the Rock Melt drilling project on the 1550L/1700L , continued to refurbish legacy timberlines on the 1700L and work on maintenance/controls on the 2000L pipeline.
Facility Infrastructure
Davis and Ross Campus Maintenance
The Facility Infrastructure team monitored and assisted with new equipment installation. Residue acid from copper cleaning was transported to the surface. Quarterly air handling equipment and fire alarm preventive maintenance activities continue with vendors. Condensation issues in various areas continue to be addressed. Oxygen sensors in the MJD clean space were calibrated and tested.
Surface Facility Maintenance Building and Grounds
The SDSTA completed all seven (7) day, thirty (30) day, and annual (360) day preventative maintenance activities. Boart drill and jackleg repairs continue. Staff participated with the Oro Hondo shaft scan. Administration and Education Outreach Building repairs have been completed including office wall repairs and painting.
Dewatering
Ross Shaft pump repairs continued with replacement of degrading portions of the column. The dewatering pump bearings on the 1250L are being closely monitored due to concerns of accelerated bearing degradation. Pump replacement on the 5000L has been completed and monitoring will continue. The 5000L pump discharge column was repaired. The sump pump in the Yates Shaft is being prepared for replacement.
Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP)
At the end of November, the water level in the underground pool was at 5,707 feet—no change for the month. Near term plans are to try to maintain a 1,000 GPM average pump rate from the underground to keep the underground pool level at a manageable level. Design and installation of a new indoor geo tube system to dewater the sludge and make disposal easier and more economical continues. Modifications to the control
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system to automatically place the WWTP in a safe state during a power loss or an upset condition have been made and are being tested with positive results. The WWTP has not discharged any water to the sanitary sewer for over 156 days. Instead, the water is being recycled through the WWTP.
Transportation and Mobile Equipment
The team performed vehicle preventative maintenance actions and repairs to site vehicles. In addition, the team maintained underground locomotives, support equipment and continue to test and evaluate different bolter consumable parts, such as striker bars, hoses and stabilizer brackets. Ninety-day preventative maintenance was performed on forklifts, skid steers: repairs to the two-yard loader continue.
Electrical and Cyber Infrastructure
The team continues to support the Ross Shaft rehabilitation project with the relocation of power cables in the shaft as the new steel is installed. The team continues to work reviewing and modifying the underground communications infrastructure to ensure each level has voice over IP (VoIP) and FEMCO (i.e. twisted pair) phones at each underground facility level. Fiber optic cables are being extended to the pump room levels to allow for installation of new phones. Fiber optic cable and terminations are being installed from the Yates Shaft to the Ross Shaft across the 1700L to add to the redundant fiber routes in the underground. Also, the Yates sump pump cable has been replaced.
Engineering
Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) and Deep Underground Neutrino Facility (DUNE)
The Engineering team is working with the ventilation sub consultant under ARUP’s design contract to complete the evaluation of options for the rehabilitation and/or replacement of the Oro Hondo Fan assembly. Engineers also completed thickness testing and internal inspection of shroud coating and impeller conditions on the assembly to refine this analysis and finalize options for repair or replacement of components.
Arup completed their LBNF Pre-Excavation geotechnical site visit investigation for the proposed new pipe conveyor drift that will be installed in the existing tramway. The tramway rehabilitation concept of operation has been finalized with consensus that SDSTA will be performing the rehabilitation. This will be a combination of in-house and subcontracted workforces versus having the LBNF Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) execute the work. The CM/GC retained the scope of work for installation of the pipe conveyor system and the construction of a short, new drift section.
A plan has been developed to use Tiley and a third-party Timber Consultant to perform the evaluation of the Ross Shaft Cage Guides that will address cracking of the installed Douglas Fir guides and provide recommendations on corrective measure options.
LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ)
Two key milestones were completed this month for the project. The Final Design Review (FDR) for the Cryogenics Systems and Xenon Handling Systems were held at Fermilab on November 1-2 and the Assembly and Installation FDR at the University of Wisconsin Physical Sciences Lab on November 3. For these reviews, completion of interface control documents was the focus in preparation for the Critical Decision-3 (CD-3) Director’s Review held at Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory on November 15-17. This review encompassed all work breakdown structures for the project. The LZ Committee’s assessment was that all elements are ready for the Department of Energy (DOE) CD-3 review which is scheduled for January 2017.
Work on surface facility infrastructure at Sanford Lab continues on schedule. The concrete foundation for the building to house the radon reduction system was poured and steel erection of the Surface Lab Concrete Floor support structure commenced. Final specifications for the pre-fabricated building for this system were delivered to the local contractor. Ateko, the Czech Republic vendor for the surface radon reduction system, has completed fabrication of several elements of the system. A trial run of the system is planned at Ateko’s facility in December.
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Laser scans of the upper level of the Davis Cavern, the liquid nitrogen (LN) storage drift, the ramp to the lower Davis Cavern, and the future Xe Storage Room were completed which will ultimately tie all these elements into one model for LZ.
Facility Infrastructure
Based on SDSTA’s plans to acquire the Ellison Hill block of land within the next six months, evaluation has begun on options for reinforcing the existing Ellison roadway retaining walls which are degrading. This includes the option of using new tramway drift excavated material for slope stabilization. Efforts included capacity calculations on the existing slopes and discussion with the ESH Department personnel on potential environmental considerations.
Environment, Safety and Health
Environmental Communication
The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was apprised of preparation of a sanitary Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) permit for the Davis and Ross Campuses (see below); and of a possible waste rock disposal facility being constructed north of the tramway portal in connection with driving a short (300-foot) drift for the LBNF belt conveyor. The DENR was consulted on disposal of lead-contaminated construction debris requesting reduction of various National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit requirements to be taken into account in issuance of a new permit (see below).
Environmental Compliance
Water—Waste Water Discharge Summary through November 30, 2016:
Total water discharged through outfall 001 since June 5, 2008: 5,751,507,546 gallons
Total Underground water treated since June 5, 2008: 3,373,960,285 gallons
Total Tailing water treated since June 5, 2008: 2,539,194,631 gallons
Total water discharged to sewer since June 5, 2008: 105,071,348 gallons
The October Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) was completed in the month of November. There were no violations. The DMR was electronically filed utilizing the NetDMR reporting tool. The DMR Quality Assurance reporting was submitted to the DENR.
The Davis Campus wash water was sampled for coliform/bacteria in November. There was no evidence of coliform.
A letter and information was prepared to permit two underground sanitary waste water treatment systems at the Davis and Ross Campuses. The information will be sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the action will result in a discharge to the underground pool (injection). The information will also be sent to the state of South Dakota to satisfy permitting requirements for sanitary waste water treatment.
The DENR continues to prepare the new NPDES permit. Sanford Laboratory has made a formal request to reduce the permit’s biomonitoring requirements (eliminate sampling Whitewood Creek Site C and Gold Run Site A, eliminate habitat survey since it does not change and reduce chemistry sampling parameters) and several regular sampling chemistry parameters that have been non-detectible for the past 8-years. The DENR is planning to add nitrate and fecal coliform to the permit in response to permitting the Davis and Ross sanitary waste water treatment systems.
Air—Data continues to be collected for stationary emissions sources.
Solid Waste—Hazardous waste was collected and managed from the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment decommissioning at both the surface lab and the 4850L Davis Campus.
LBNF/DUNE/LZ/CASPAR/MJD
The LUZ-ZEPLIN (LZ)-related screener deployment was observed and suggestions were made to protect the LUX water tank from the screener scintillator solution. The Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) for this project was thoroughly reviewed.
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Numerous discussions were held in respect to LBNF permitting requirements (air, waste rock, and Historical Preservation).
Environmental Support Tasks
The Davis Campus cart wash sump sludge was cleaned out and disposed of. This involved completing a confined space entry permit, being the attendant during the clean-out and characterizing the sludge before disposal.
The American Engineering and Testing (AET) drilling contractor (for the Machine Shop geotechnical study) JHA was reviewed and drilling was overseen and completed without incident.
The GeoTek Phase ll sampling plan and sampling for the Ellison Hill property was overseen and completed without incident.
Health and Safety Summary
TRC (Total Recordable Case) = more than first aid treatment was given. DART (Days Away Restricted Transferred) = more than first aid treatment was given AND restrictions were job-limiting or the employee could not work (subset of a TRC). *Rates are subject to change
November 2016 DARTS/TRC:
No events to report
November 2016 First Aid Cases:
November 15: Cut to finger; band aid required
November 2016 Category 1 or 2 Events:
No events to report
November 2016 Category 3 Events:
No events to report
November 2016 Items of Interest:
1. Updated Emergency Management and Emergency Response documents 2. W-65s weighed for fourth quarter inspection 3. Placed Equipment sheet next to underground locations of FEMCO phones
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4. Compiled 2016 Safety Perception Survey results; report to be dispersed in near future 5. Shipped Sanford Lab radon detection kit to be calibrated 6. Completed leak testing of all licensed sources and sent to vendor 7. Conducted a Technical Review for placing excavated rock in the Open Cut 8. Performed sampling baseline for motor repair barn project 9. Acquired a new radon sampling station (doubled our capacity); instructed Ross staff on how to deploy
the sampling stations 10. Assisted WWTP Foreman with developing procedures for loss of power 11. Provided consultation on eyewash saline change-out at WWTP
Education and Outreach (E&O)
Cultural Activities
As a follow-up to a meeting held last month with SD Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduates Program (GEARUP) regional coordinators, some connections have been made to reservation schools in the GEARUP program. Cultural Diversity Coordinator KC Russell and E&O Deputy Director Peggy Norris will be visiting the first of these, Tiospa Zina in Sisseton, in early December. Other visits will take place after the first of the year.
K-12 Education and Outreach
Curriculum units. Table 1 lists the schools, grades and number of students who completed curriculum units in November.
Table 1. Curriculum Units
Unit School City Grade or Course
(high school) Total # of students
Exploring the Unseen Rapid Valley Rapid City 4 63 Starstuff Hill City Hill City Chemistry 20
Dark Matter Wessington
Springs Wessington
Springs 8, 9 36
May the Force be With You
St Joseph’s Catholic
Pierre 5 56
May the Force be with you Upton, WY Upton, WY 4 21 Seismic Science Summit Summit 12 3
6 schools 199 students
The Search for Dark Matter unit includes an option during the final lesson to talk to a scientist about the LUX and LZ experiments. Wessington Springs 9th graders used the South Dakota digital distance network to connect to the 4850L Davis Campus. Peggy, Science Education Specialist Kari Webb and Research Scientist Markus Horn participated in the session. In addition, at the end of the ‘We are Made of Starstuff’ unit, Peggy visited two chemistry classes at Hill City High School to answer questions about nuclear science, accelerators and careers.
The two new units have been finished and materials ordered to assemble the kits to pilot them this spring.
Classroom presentations. A full schedule of classroom presentations took place in November, shown in Table 2:
Table 2. Classroom or Assembly Presentations
School/City Presenter Presentation Grade(s) # of
presentations Total # of students
Badger Clark / Box Elder KR Day in the Life K-1 25 474 Grandview / Rapid City JD Day in the Life 3 4 87 Grandview / Rapid City JD Accelerators 5 3 69 Valley View / Rapid City JD Day in the Life K 2 100
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Lead-Deadwood / Deadwood JD Day in the Life K-2 3 145
Lead-Deadwood / Deadwood JD Accelerators 3-5 3 178 Black Hawk / Black Hawk JD Accelerators 5 2 66 Black Hawk / Black Hawk JD Day in the Life 2 3 68 South Park / Belle Fourche JD Day in the Life 1 2 93
Alliance / Alliance, NE PN Dark Matter 9 4 123 Whittier / Sioux Falls JMc Dark Matter 6 4 86
Chester / Chester JMc Dark Matter 6-8 5 84 Hill City / Hill City PN Dark Matter 9 2 20 Hill City / Hill City PN Neutrinos 11-12 2 10
Georgia Morse / Pierre JMc STEM Careers 7 10 210
11 schools 74
programs 1,813
students JD = Julie Dahl JMc = John McEnelly PN = Peggy Norris KR = Kathy Rose
Other K-12 Activities. Science Education Specialist Becky Bundy and Kari developed a short activity for Sanford Research Science Discovery Day. The activity, called ‘Dark Matter Mystery Breakout’, is a short introduction to Sanford Lab which can be adapted to time constraints and grade level. They field tested the activity with students in the Talented and Gifted program at Sturgis Williams Middle School then used it with 72 high school students at the Discovery Day in Sioux Falls on November 15.
Undergraduate Activities
The application period is open for both the Dave Bozied and Chris Bauer internship program and the Davis-Bahcall Scholars program.
Other Activities
A proposal was submitted to South Dakota EPSCoR in November to support implementation of the new curriculum units. A larger proposal is in progress for submission to the NSF DRK-12 program.
Table 3. Total Impact
Group Students Educators Community
K-5
6-8
9 -
12
Un
der
gra
d
Gra
du
ate
K-1
2
Ed
uca
tor
Un
iv.
Fa
cult
y/
Sta
ff
Info
rma
l
Pa
ren
ts
Sa
nfo
rd
La
b S
taff
Gen
era
l P
ub
lic
FIELD TRIPS
Subtotal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CURRICULUM UNITS COMPLETED (6 schools)
Subtotal 140 21 38 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0
ASSEMBLY PROGRAMS COMPLETED (9 schools)
Subtotal 1280 380 153 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OTHER
Sturgis Williams 1 12
Discovery Days 72
Subtotal 1 12 72 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Grand Total 1421 413 263 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0
Grand Total: 2,103 students, educators and members of the general public
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Communications
Website planning is moving forward with Sandbox Studio; meetings were held with several SDSTA departments. Planning is taking place for a “ground breaking” event at Sanford Lab after Congressional approval of the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility budget.
Communications Director Connie Walter is working with SDSTA Executive Director Mike Headley, E&O Director June Apaza and Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center (SLHVC) Executive Director Billi Bierli to develop a fundraising plan for Education and Outreach and public events. A meeting was held with Steve Meeker at Black Hills State University (BHSU) to discuss opportunities/strategies.
Community Outreach/Media/Site Visits
Scheduling presentations throughout the state with Mike Headley and Science Director Jaret Heise.
Working with Fermilab on a possible video conference during the Fermilab Open House on February 12.
Deep Talks presentation November 10 (SLHVC); November 7 (BHSU).
Surface tours provided to the SD Governor’s Office of Economic Development. SDSTA managers attended the Lead-Deadwood Community Business luncheon held November 15.
Planning for the History Channel visit to Sanford Lab December 12-14.
Video, Web, Graphics
Work continues with AVI to develop templates for new digital signage.
Completed the economic impact infographic (with Lemonly).
To view albums in the Sanford Lab Photo Gallery go to: http://pics.sanfordlab.org/f216003594. The November Communications Photos are included as Appendix A.
News coverage
• Nov. 14: Stanford Solar Physicist Finds New Way to Study the Inner Workings of the Sun by Staff Writers, Stanford University
• Nov. 12: Latest dark matter searches leave scientists empty-handed by Emily Conover, Science News
Contracts Status
SURF Services-Fermi Research Alliance (FRA): SDSTA received Modification No. 2 to the new SURF Services Bridge Subcontract No. 629760, adding $2,328,391 to fund the contract through December 31, 2016. An extension of the Bridge subcontract is expected for early 2017, pending Department of Energy (DOE) approval of Fermilab’s Request for Proposal (RFP) to SDSTA for a five-year subcontract.
Ross Shaft Subcontract: The current subcontract with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is scheduled to end December 31, 2016. It will be replaced by a new subcontract from Fermi Research Alliance LLC (FRA) for the remainder of shaft set completion. SDSTA’s proposal to Fermilab is under review, and a mid-December start date is expected.
Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF)-Fermilab: SDSTA received revisions to the Excavation and Buildings & Infrastructure design subcontracts for Arup’s participation in 90% design reviews. A proposal was submitted to support the Staff Services subcontract for the period January 1-September 30, 2017.
November Contract Summary:
2016-18 Dean Kurtz Construction CO#1 LZ Surface Infrastructure Improvements
$(5,436) Decrease scope
2015-08 Leo A Daly CO#3 Surface Assembly Lab/Davis Campus
$3,100 Add scope, funds
2016-34 Professional Mapping & Surveying
New Contract
Oro Hondo laser scanning $38,998 New Contract
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Purchase Orders (POs): 113 POs were issued in November totaling $202,545.41.
Warehouse Inventory: Warehouse inventory on November 30, 2016 totaled $204,853.69.
Information Technology Projects
In November, several upgrades took place to include; Manager Plus work order system, Vulcan 3D modeling software and the Microsoft 365 annual renewal was completed. Custom applications enhancements and new designs were made for the Visitor Registration Log, new employee and user account request forms and the digital signage system. A new campus router was procured and is scheduled for delivery in early December. IT worked with science to help decommission the LUX cluster in the server room and switch port reassignments were made for the CASPAR experiment. One new IT blog was posted this month. Daily Activities
IT continues to monitor and review wireless and general network activity and counts, network hardware readiness, virtual private network (VPN) Remote Access logs, and establishes new VPN and DocuShare accounts for individuals and User groups, as requested.
Help Desk Activities (measured in Work Orders)
November Events
For the month of November, a total of 201 Visitors, Contractors and Users visited the lab; an increase of 118 people from last November but a decrease of 238 people from last month, see charts below.
2014-11 True Clean Carpets and Janitorial Services
CO#8 Custodial Services $32,800 Add funds
2014-12 Wolff's Plumbing & Heating
CO#4 HVAC Mechanical Services - Surface
$36,780 Add funds
2016-18 Dean Kurtz Construction CO#2 LZ Surface Infrastructure Improvements
$988 Add scope, funds
2016-18 Dean Kurtz Construction CO#3 LZ Surface Infrastructure Improvements
$13,824 Add scope, funds
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The November Visitor Log Report was submitted electronically to the SD Fusion Center/Homeland Security utilizing the database reporting tool.
Logistical and administrative support were provided for the following:
Nov 7: General Safety Basic Training Nov 10: Annual Refresher Training (ART), Ops Only; Deep Talks at 5pm (Visitor Center) Nov 17: Black Hills Corporation Management Underground Tour (canceled due to winter storm) Nov 24: Catered Lunch for Yates, Ross and WWTP crews working the Thanksgiving Day holiday Dec 1: SD Secretary of Education Melody Schopp and Staff Visit and Underground Tour
Planning continues for upcoming meetings and events at Sanford Lab:
Dec 12-14: History Channel Dec 13-15: Environment, Safety and Health Oversight Committee (ESHOC) Review Dec 15: SDSTA Board of Directors Meeting Jan 10: Community Leaders’ Event Feb 24: Sanford Lab 2017 Winter Social Party (The Lodge at Deadwood)
Monthly Researcher hours were tracked and Science training records processed. Monthly invoices were coded for the Finance Department. Participation in the web design discussions with the Communications Department continue as well as assisting the department with copyediting and updating content on the Sanford Laboratory website, as needed.
Organization charts and telephone lists continue to be updated. Monthly reports for Fermilab and SDSTA were compiled, edited and distributed. SDSTA Leave Policy 4:4 was updated and a new Publication Policy 2:24 was created for board review and approval. Also, Board materials for the December 15 meeting were assembled, distributed and uploaded to the Board and Commissions portal.
Finance and Human Resources
Included in the Financial Report are the following:
• SDSTA SURF Services FY2017 SPA Curve as of November 2016 (included as Appendix B) • SDSTA Staffing Plan by Funding Source as of November 2016 (included as Appendix C) • Financial Summaries (included as Appendix D)
o Balance Sheet as of November 30, 2016 o Comprehensive Statement of Income November 2016 o Comparative Balance Sheet–November 2016 vs. November 2015 o Comparative Statement of Income–November 2016 vs. November 2015 o Available Resources as of November 2016 o Operating Budget Summary o CAPEX Budget Summary o November 2016 and YTD CAPEX Budget—actual vs. budget
SDSTA SURF Services FY2017 Scheduled Performed Actual (SPA) Curve
With the completion of the Operations subcontract No. 6994297 with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
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(LBNL) at the end of September, our Operations support transitioned to Fermi Research Alliance LLC (FRA). This graph now represents an analysis of the SURF Services subcontract No. 629760 scheduled funding compared to actual. The report shows funding through December 2016 along with information related to Funded-to-Date dollars, Scheduled dollars, Performed dollars and Actual dollars by month. This subcontract was negotiated for support from October through December 2016 and will be extended into calendar year 2017 until an additional five-year contract can be negotiated with Fermilab. Actual dollars represent actual invoices for the months sent to FRA for reimbursement. For November, the invoices totaled $1,131,477, which is lower than the anticipated reimbursements of $1,165,313 by $33,836. Cumulative expenses are at $2,065,235 which is lower than the budgeted $2,089,015 by $23,780.
Balance Sheet Items
Cash in Local Checking—Total on hand at November 30, 2016 was $1,182,756; up from last month by $45,542. Funds on hand were necessary to pay employee medical/life/vision insurance all due November 1. The balance also contains funds received from federal contracts late in the month on open accounts receivable.
Cash with State Treasurer—Total balance of $13,843,877. This balance has decreased from last month by $128,733 as this amount was drawn down during November.
Billed Accounts Receivable (A/R)—Billed A/R represents any open invoices based on contracts from sources such as LBNL, Fermilab, other smaller contracts from other universities and Barrick-Homestake Mining Company. Total is at $3,066,786; up from last month by $171,836. Included in the balance are open invoices to LBNL for $890,143; representing invoices for the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) subcontract, LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) engineering support and the Ross Shaft Rehabilitation contract. Additional open invoices include $2,151,601 from Fermilab, $13,260 from small university subcontracts, as well as open invoices from Barrick equaling $11,275. Additionally, there is an open receivable for $507 from Xilinx, Inc., the commercial organization that has established an experiment located near the 4850L Davis Campus. Fermilab receivables have increased due to transitioning the Operations contract to their facility.
Unbilled A/R—Balance at $7. Unbilled A/R represents items that have not been billed on various contracts. There is just that small amount that is open on one contract. November’s balance has decreased by $151.
Other A/R—Current balance of $224,901. This balance represents any Interest Receivable and Miscellaneous Accounts Receivable. The balance increased by $33,925 which includes the interest accrual for November as well as activity for noncontract receivables.
Inventory/Supplies—Balance at $2,408,323 for fixed assets being stored but not in service. The balance has not changed from October.
Inventory Warehouse/Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)—Current balance of $34,560. This balance represents the warehouse inventory that was purchased by SDSTA prior to federal funding. The balance no longer includes our xenon gas inventory for experiment use. This has been moved to Other Assets as the xenon inventory is not considered a Current Asset. The balance has not changed from October.
Other Current Assets—This listing on the balance sheet represents the balances of both prepaid insurance—$308,066 and prepaid other—$46,551. Total balance of $354,617 is down from last month by $62,837. This decrease represents the monthly insurance expense along with expensing various prepaid items in November.
Fixed Assets—Total of $83,749,345 (net of depreciation through November 30, 2016). Fixed assets (not including depreciation) increased for the capitalization of a used Chevy 2011 pickup for operations at $22,657. Including depreciation for November, the net decrease for fixed assets is $136,900.
Work in Progress—This balance represents the current fiscal year progress being made using Sanford/SDSTA Funds to support the budgeted projects on the CAPEX budget less any items that are being capitalized within the Fixed Asset designation. Current balance has increased by $163,470 to $1,076,943.
Capital Lease—This balance of $268,135 represents the deep pump system capital lease. The balance has decreased by $15,305. The lease through AmWest, Inc. was renegotiated to include transference of property to SDSTA at the end of the lease term in January 2018. The rental payments are being directly charged to the
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LBNL federal subcontract. Per the subcontract, the pumping system will become the property of the federal government at the end of the lease period. The equipment will be fully expensed over the period of the lease at which time it will be removed (along with the lease liability) from the SDSTA’s balance sheet.
Pension Deferred Outflows—This designation on our Balance Sheet reflects the requirements related to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) No. 68 and No. 71 in reference to pensions. SDSTA is required to report the net pension asset or liability on the face of our financials along with related deferred inflows and outflows. The Net Pension Asset is a restricted asset. Thus, the equity created would also be restricted (restricted for pension benefits). The balance shown as a noncurrent asset is $6,287,854 created by fiscal year 2016 final entries.
Xenon Purchased—Balance of $1,606,663 represents the value of xenon purchased for future use by experiments. This adjustment has been made as of October but is also reflected in our fiscal year 2016 audit compilation. The xenon inventory is considered a non-current asset. The balance has not changed from October.
Total Assets—Total of $114,104,766. This balance is up from last month by $70,848; which represents the net activity as listed above.
Accounts Payable—Our Total Accounts Payable balance of $1,898,725 at the end of the month compared to last month has increased slightly by $179,611. This increase is immaterial.
Accrued Payroll Liabilities—Current balance of $943,336 has increased by $11,378 from last month. This represents the net change between earned vacation and vacation taken and other changes in other employee benefit related liabilities. This increase is immaterial.
Long Term Accrued Employee Benefit/Lease—This balance of $268,135 denotes the liability associated with the capital lease for the deep pump system from AmWest, Inc. This balance has decreased by $15,305 for the months’ reduction in the lease amount owed.
Long Term Xenon Notes Payable—This designation represents the $2M of funding received from the South Dakota Community Foundation (SDCF) for the purpose of purchasing xenon for experiment use at Sanford Lab. Three purchases of 100,000 liters each of xenon were received in November 2015, February 2016 and July 2016.
Pension Deferred Inflows—This classification reflects the requirements of GASB No. 68 and No. 71, as discussed earlier. The balance of $3,184,802 represents the net difference between projected and actual investment earnings on our pension plan with the South Dakota Retirement System.
Total Liabilities—Total Liabilities increased by $175,684 (from $8,119,314 to $8,294,998), which reflects the net activity listed above.
Total Equity—Decrease to $105,809,768 from the previous month $105,914,604.
Total Liabilities & Equity—Increase to $114,104,766 from the previous month of $114,033,918.
Statement of Income Items
On the SDSTA’s Statement of Income, the DOE Subcontracts are consolidated into one line item on the report. Included in this amount are various subcontracts from LBNL, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), RESPEC (a private company), as well as a small contract for the MAJORANA project with the University of North Carolina. Total revenue for this fiscal year through November 2016 is $11,624,603 (increase from October of $2,201,541).
National Science Foundation (NSF)/National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) Subcontracts—Total revenue for fiscal year 2017 from this particular funding is $5,038. The balance represents revenue from small subawards through the University of Minnesota and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT) for CASPAR as well as Northwestern University from NASA. The balance has increased from October by $1,692.
State Revenue—Year-to-date State Revenue equals $12,000. This amount was received from the State to fund
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Davis-Bahcall scholars work experience internships from this past summer.
Contributions & Donations—The Great Plains Education Foundation contributed $125,000 for the education efforts at the SDSTA.
Interest income recorded for the current fiscal year on State Funds is at $58,788. This represents interest accruing at 1% on the cash held by the State on behalf of the SDSTA.
Direct Costs are then listed on the Statement of Income. The classifications for Unallowable Costs and Indirect Costs are listed as well on this report to follow the federal contracting format. Direct Costs/Unallowable Costs are at $8,515,905 for the year. Indirect Costs including fringe benefits are at $4,101,984. Costs are higher than revenue by $792,360. Other Income is at $141,931 which represents miscellaneous income received from Xilinx, the commercial company, and small amounts for water treated and electric usage for Barrick.
Net income through November is at $124,701.
Comparative Balance Sheet
Significant differences include Total in Local Checking which is slightly higher by $148,669. Total Cash with State Treasurer is lower by $1,748,152 from this time last year as funds were expended over the 12-month period. Other notable differences exist for Billed A/R which has increased by $842,862 due to increased activity with various contracts and for unpaid receivables when comparing the two time frames. Inventory—Warehouse which has decreased by $334,538 for adjusting xenon to Other Assets. Total Fixed Assets have decreased by $2,758,586 primarily due to recording the gifts of the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center and the Sanford 2,818,918 represented by a decrease in activity in our CAPEX projects when comparing the two time frames. Investment Captive Insurance which was eliminated with FY2016 year-end results in another decrease of $2,500,000 to Other Assets. Xenon Purchased has increased due to adjusting the xenon purchases to Other Assets.
In summary, Total Assets have decreased by $8,504,324. Total Current Liabilities have increased by $1,108,848 from this time last year, primarily due to an increase in Accounts Payable. Total Other Liabilities have decreased by $1,407,914 primarily due to the reduction in Pension Deferred Inflows. Total Equity has decreased by $8,205,258 from this time last year.
In summary, Total Liabilities & Equity have decreased by $8,504,324. Restricted and Unrestricted Funds as well as Investment in General Fixed Assets are all lower than this same time last year.
Comparative Profit/Loss
Total Revenue for year-to-date November 2016 compared to year-to-date November 2015 has increased by $897,655. DOE subcontract revenue has increased by 34.35%. State Revenue is lower primarily because last year we had received the $2M from GOED for xenon purchases for experiment use. Direct Costs and Indirect Costs for year-to-date November 2016 compared to this time last year show a combined increase of $1,843,789 (17.1% increase), primarily due to the purchase of xenon for LBNL which was charged back on an existing contract and because Overhead has increased in FY2017. Overhead for the recent months contains costs for the Yates Complex parking lot repairs as well as costs for the Yates Administration Building roof repairs. Other Income is slightly lower for the comparative time periods primarily due to treating less of Homestake’s water. Net Income/Loss for the comparative time periods shows a decrease of $661,917 which reflects the net activity as listed above.
Available Resources
This report reflects our available cash/accounts receivable after noting the restricted cash balances in the Indemnification and Mine Closure accounts, and funds held for Experiments—xenon purchase, experiment infrastructure upgrades and interest for investors. This report has been restructured to better reflect our available cash and (short term) accounts receivable as compared to our current liabilities including Accrued Payroll Liabilities. It is important to include receivables as the majority of the items in Accounts Payable are invoiced on our current federal contracts. After noting our current obligations, $2,853,064 is available. It is also important to note that our Accrued Payroll Liabilities include accrued vacation and sick pay. Therefore, the
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current report better reflects our available resources compared to current obligations.
Operating Budget Analysis
This report is separated into three sections: SDSTA-funded activities, Federal & State funded activities and Indirect expenses that benefit various activities. Indirect Charges Other are over budget primarily due to the parking lot repairs and the Administration Building roof repairs. Indirect funds collected in fiscal year 2016 were used for these projects. Thus, these projects have been budgeted. Total operating expenses are slightly over budget for November 2016 by $11,862. Year-to-date figures are over budget by $265,892.
Capital Expenditure Budget Analysis
Our current capital expenditure projects have been condensed and are listed from CAP2014-01—CAP2017-02 with various breaks in the numbering sequence. Total project dollars have been reduced to $6,850,095, which represents the approved budget from the June 2016 Board meeting. All projects except the LZ Surface & Facility Upgrades and LZ Xenon Gas Purchase are funded by the balance of Sanford Funds as directed by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the Homestake Gift Agreement and funding from private fundraising activities. Funding for the LZ Surface & Facility Upgrades and LZ Xenon Gas Purchase was secured from the GOED granting $6,000,000 over three years. Additionally, loan documents have been executed for $2,000,000 each from the SDCF, the South Dakota State University Foundation and the University of South Dakota Foundation for xenon purchases. In November 2016, we spent $141,024 on our CAPEX projects out of the budgeted $167,954. Year-to-date we have spent $885,496 on these projects.
Human Resources
There are currently 129 full time employees and 13 temporary staff, primarily Emergency Response Team members. Infrastructure Technicians Eli Atkinson and Lance Lopez will begin in December to replace Joe Nonnast, who was terminated on November 15, 2016, and Brian Johnson, who transferred to the Facilities Technician position, vacated by Troy Shanks who recently resigned. Experiment Support Scientist Dana Byram was laid off on November 4, 2016. This position will not be backfilled.
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APPENDIX
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Top: Majorana researchers load long pieces of polyshield onto a hover-craft inside the detector assembly room.
Center left: Black Hills State University professors Dr. Dave Bergman (left) and Dr. Cynthia Anderson presented at the November Deep Talks. Bergman talked about bacteria that was found underground at Sanford Lab. Anderson spoke about her expertise in fungus which also grows in some areas underground.
Center right: From this vantage point one can see the bottom of the Open Cut. Excavated rock will be moved to the Open Cut when con-struction on LBNF/DUNE begins.
Bottom left: (Two photos) Group photos from the final friends and family tours. The tours in October and November brought in 207 guests and 40-50 volunteers helped make the event a success.
Communications Department Photo Appendix A
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630 E. Summit St., Lead, SD 57754
www.sanfordlab.org
Finance & HR Department Appendix B
DOE SDSTA FY 2016 SPA Curve November 2016
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630 E. Summit St., Lead, SD 57754
www.sanfordlab.org
Finance & HR Department Appendix C
SDSTA Staffing Plan by Funding Source November 2016
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Financial Summaries Appendix D
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