The Department of Energy has awarded a Knoxville business a $1.6-million contract to make upgrades to a pond on former uranium enrichment plant land at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, according to a recent online procurement notice.
SES Constructors LLC was awarded the contract to repair or replace the P1 Pond Weir Dam and make other environmental improvements, according to the Sept. 27 notice published by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management.
The P1 pond weir at the East Tennessee Technology Park, which was remediated from the former K-25 Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, is similar to a dam, a DOE spokesperson said Tuesday.
“It helps contain fish, and measure and hold back water,” the agency spokesperson said. The work will also include controlling various fish species at the pond as well as efforts to prevent the spread of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
“The weir has degraded over time, and we’ve implemented short-term patches until we could complete a more permanent fix,” the DOE spokesperson said. “We recently awarded that contract to implement the permanent fix, and we expect to begin construction in late 2024 or early 2025.”
