THE SRS REUSE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF SUCCESS - CULTIVATING REMARKABLE OUTCOMES
SRSCRO | 12/06/2023 Aiken, SC – On November 30, 2023, the SRS Community Reuse Organization, LLC (SRSCRO) hosted its Annual Meeting to celebrate 30 Years of Success serving the five counties – Aiken County (SC), Allendale County (SC), Barnwell County (SC), Columbia County (GA), and Augusta-Richmond County (GA) – around the Savannah River Site. Honored guests included Kristen Ellis, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary for the Office of Regulatory and Policy Affairs and the Director of Regulatory, Intergovernmental, and Stakeholder Engagement with the US Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, and Seth Kirshenberg, Executive Director of the Energy Communities Alliance. Each gave remarks on their experiences with the SRSCRO. During the event, the SRSCRO thanked outgoing board members and recognized Will Williams for his service as Chair. The theme of the evening was Cultivating
Remarkable Outcomes.
The SRSCRO was created in 1993 to address the challenges and job loss stemming from the end of the Cold War. As a result of changing international relations, the Savannah River Site began a mission shift
from production to clean-up resulting in the loss of nearly 12,000 jobs. The SRSCRO was established to address these job losses
and identify ways to help create job opportunities for those impacted by the downsizing. Economic diversification was the primary mission. Over the course of the next 30 years, the SRSCRO leveraged its roles to support regional economic development and workforce development through collaboration and partnership. Through economic development support, the SRSCRO has invested more than $16.7 million in start-up businesses, economic development infrastructure, and community and workforce capacity building. This includes investing funds into five industrial parks across the two-state region. The use of these funds by SRSCRO
partners has enabled them to create 11,200 jobs, $5 billion in capital investment, and leverage more the $41 million in matching funds. In addition to this success, the Asset Transition Program of the SRSCRO has saved the Savannah River Site more than $12 million in cost avoidance.
While the economic development
support of the SRSCRO is significant, it represents only part of the SRSCRO success story. In 2009, the SRSCRO expanded its efforts to address the looming workforce challenge exacerbated by the retiring nuclear workforce. With a clear vision and new data, the SRSCRO established the Nuclear Workforce Initiative (NWI®). Through this program, the SRSCRO established partnerships with Department of Energy-Environmental Management and National Nuclear Security Administration that would go on to
provide more than $23.5 million in grant funding for new programs and student scholarships at local colleges and universities. The ANSR Grant and WORC Grants have provided 2,514 scholarships to more than 1,677 students. Many of these students have gone to work at SRS (>876). The SRSCRO also focuses on the advancement of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in the region. Through STEM Career Connections® it has reached more than 10,000 participants from 35 high schools in 11 counties. Since 2013, the efforts of the SRSCRO and its regional partners have led to more than 96,000 participants with
Nuclear Science Week ™ programs and activities, an average of 30 events annually. The successes of the SRSCRO are made possible
by the vision set by SRSCRO Board of Directors, key partnerships with community stakeholders, and a staff dedicated to ensuring success.
********** About SRSCRO The SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) is a non-profit regional group focused on supporting job creation in a five-county region of South Carolina and Georgia, including Aiken, Allendale
and Barnwell counties in South Carolina and Richmond (Augusta) and Columbia counties in Georgia. The group’s mission is to facilitate economic development opportunities associated with Savannah River Site technology, capabilities and missions and to serve as an informed, unified community voice for the two-state region. www.srscro.org To access full annual report click here
ECA WEBINAR: PLANNING FOR THE UPCOMING CONGRESSIONAL YEAR: HOW TO COMMUNICATE PRIORITIES
Join ECA, December 13 at 2PM EST for an engaging discussion around "Planning for the Upcoming Congressional Year: How to Communicate Priorities". This conversation will be facilitated by
David Reeploeg, Vice President for Federal Programs, TRIDEC and Head of ECA Public Policy Committee, and will include Jaime Shimek, former House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee clerk, Colin Jones, Vice President, Deputy General Manager of the Jacobs North American Nuclear Group, and Mary Louise Wagner, Governmental Affairs
Consultant.
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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. |
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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