Ky. Delegation Reiterates Call to DOE for Full D&D at Paducah

In the wake of the Department of Energy awarding the new Paducah deactivation contract to a team led by Fluor, members of Kentucky’s Congressional delegation are again urging the Department to move forward with full D&D of the plant. “Following the award of the IDIQ contract, we now ask that you support commencing full scale D&D of the gaseous diffusion plant, while also ensuring that ongoing environmental remediation continues at an aggressive pace. We expect the department to move quickly in executing vital cleanup work, including that which is associated with the IDIQ contract, in order to encourage the hiring of laid-off workers in community,” Sens. Mitch McConnell (R) and Rand Paul (R), along with Rep. Ed Whitfield (R), wrote in a July 22 letter to Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. They added, “Congress has appropriated funds expressly for cleanup activities and both the House and Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittees have made clear that Congress expects the department to begin full D&D work at the site in a timely fashion.”

DOE is not currently planning to move forward with full-scale D&D efforts at the Paducah plant, instead envisioning a lengthy surveillance-and-maintenance period. Work to be performed under the new contract awarded this week, according to DOE, will include Project Management (including Paducah GDP Delease Planning and Facility Transfer); Facility Modification and Infrastructure Optimization (including Stabilization and Deactivation of GDP Facilities); Decontamination and Demolition, and Environmental Services.

The three lawmakers also called on DOE to improve communications with the local community near the Paducah site. “We believe the community has been patient with the department during this difficult transition progress and that the cleanup work—which the community, the delegation and the department all agree is vital—represents an opportunity to employ workers in the community, many of whom have unique skills applicable to performing these tasks,” the letter to Moniz says.