NEW NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT FORUM
EM’s Avery Joins Energy Communities Alliance Panel, Tours Paducah Site U.S. Department of Energy | 5/30/23
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PADUCAH, Ky. – EM Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Avery recently
toured cleanup operations at the Paducah Site where he met with federal site staff, EM and contractor management, and received updates on deactivation and remediation at the site.
Avery was in Paducah as part of the 2023 Energy Communities Alliance Forum where he joined leaders in the energy industry on a panel discussion on leveraging existing infrastructure for future use of EM sites. Avery covered how EM sites are prime locations for clean-energy
development with the highly skilled workforce that has supported our missions for decades. Avery also stressed the importance of planning to make the future vision known to the EM workforce so they understand employment opportunities that are likely to be available.
Avery took advantage of the trip to tour the Paducah Site with two primary focus stops at the C-333 Process Building and the C-400 Cleaning Building.
Project personnel discussed deactivation in the C-333 Process Building, the largest building on-site, sitting at approximately 1,100 feet long by 970 feet wide and 83 feet high. The first of four process buildings scheduled to undergo future demolition, the deactivation process has benefited from recent D&D success at the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office’s Portsmouth Site by using shared site knowledge to improve implementation.
At the deactivated C-400 Cleaning Building, Avery was introduced to the biggest environmental concern at the site and the largest source of contamination to the groundwater plume. Paducah is currently undergoing a decision process that will eliminate the source of offsite groundwater contamination. He also visited the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride facility, where thousands of DUF6 cylinders are being processed for beneficial reuse or disposal.
The following day, Avery met with labor leadership at the site and from Paducah’s Citizen Advisory Board to hear input on upcoming cleanup strategy. Continue reading >>
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REGISTRATION IS OPEN! September 11-13, 2023 Arlington, VA
Join
us for the 9th annual National Cleanup Workshop at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA. Register today to hear from senior DOE leaders, local government officials, and industry leaders about the future of DOE’s Environmental Management program. *Rates increase on July 1, 2023. If you have questions or are interested in sponsorship, please contact Autumn Bogus at abogus@la-inc.com. For more information, please visit cleanupworkshop.com. |
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Hawks worry about defense caps in debt limit deal Roll Call | 5/31/23 A debt limit compromise that would cap defense spending for the next two years is aggravating congressional defense hawks who want the Pentagon to get a significant funding boost.
Many Republicans in particular have spent months arguing that the Biden administration’s proposed $842 billion for
the Defense Department in fiscal 2024 shortchanges the Pentagon at a time of widespread concern about China’s military ambitions.
Now, they’re being asked to vote for a bill that would stave off a catastrophic debt limit breach but lock in the defense spending level that Biden proposed.
“We're accepting Biden's defense budget, which is actually a cut,” said Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., in a Fox News interview,
suggesting that the 3 percent increase in the deal would amount to a cut in practice given inflation rates. Waltz, chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, vowed to vote against the bill.
“That's cutting submarines,” he added. “That's cutting ships while you have a massive military buildup from China. We can't do this on the backs of our troops.”
The 99-page debt limit compromise bill,
which was released Sunday night, would limit overall national security spending in fiscal 2024 to $886 billion. That would be a roughly 3 percent increase from current levels, aligning with President Joe Biden’s request for defense spending overall (which includes both the Defense Department and a smaller allocation for nuclear-related spending at the Energy Department and other security programs).
Continue reading >>
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Check out ECA's latest report!
DISPOSAL DRIVES CLEANUP: RE-ENERGIZING MOMENTUM FOR DISPOSAL SOLUTIONS FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE This report calls on the Department of Energy to launch the
initiative to develop the actual waste disposition approaches. The Department could potentially save hundreds of billions of dollars in cleanup costs by using its available tools and implementing the report’s recommendations.
Interactive guide for communities and governments to help navigate nuclear waste cleanup The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) recently released the Guide to Successful Environmental Cleanup, an interactive online resource that provides frequently asked questions, case studies, and recommendations regarding nuclear waste cleanup. To assist local government officials, their communities, and federal agencies in deciphering the
complexities of the environmental cleanup process, ECA developed this guide to facilitate future successful cleanups. |
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Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories,
highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments. |
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