Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is planning to air his concerns today regarding the Paducah site in a meeting with Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. Last week DOE released a Request for Offers for companies interested in purchasing some of its stockpile of depleted uranium hexafluoride tails stored at the Paducah and Portsmouth sites. But Beshear has taken issue with the plan. “The RFO creates another delay – at least six months – in the process of determining the future of the facility and its 1,100 workers,” Beshear said in a statement. “The RFO also holds open the possibility that the DOE would allow a business to purchase the tails without mandating use of the facility, which is wholly unacceptable. The purchase of the tails must go hand-in-hand with continued use of the facility. Finally, the letter seems to indicate plans to place the facility under surveillance and maintenance, which runs counter to our request that the DOE begin immediate cleanup operations.”
With the shutdown of the Paducah plant ongoing, Kentucky officials have called for the material to remain in the state and for DOE to seek new uses for the site. The RFO states, “DOE will consider Offers that intend to make use of the existing facilities and/or new facilities on the Paducah, KY, site (Paducah site). Successful negotiation of a lease for the use of the existing facilities and/or land for a new enrichment facility at the Paducah site will be a condition for a UF6 inventories purchase agreement with an Offeror that intends to use the Paducah site. ”Offers are due August 14, and DOE expects to make any selections in the fall and enter into agreements by early 2014.
