This week, a coalition made up of the Energy Communities Alliance, Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO, and several regional organizations sent letters to Capitol Hill and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm urging support for a one-time $7.25 billion increase in funding for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) program.
As the Administration continues to roll out its infrastructure plan and Congress begins developing FY 2022 appropriations legislation, the coalition outlines how this $7.25 billion increase would create thousands of new jobs while reducing one of the federal government’s largest liabilities by accelerating environmental cleanup activities.
The letter states, “As the federal government looks to stimulate the economy from the impacts of COVID- 19, we recognize an immediate opportunity to address common needs across the country: (1) creating jobs in some of the regions impacted most by COVID-19; (2) providing meaningful, measurable economic impact beyond job creation; (3) reviving the small business community; (4) supporting our national
defense; and (4) meeting our Nation’s infrastructure and cleanup goals.”
The letter also includes a list of priority EM projects that could be completed over the next three to five years in 11 states across the country. The projects include continued design, engineering and construction of the High-Level Waste Facility at Hanford; upgrades to aging infrastructure at Oak Ridge; and accelerated F Tank Farm closure at the Savannah River Site.
In 2009, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), DOE received a similar plus-up of $6 billion, and was able to reduce the program’s future financial liabilities by $13 billion through the acceleration of cleanup work. As the letter notes, “EM contractors alone hired over 20,000 new workers, putting them back to work to reduce the overall cleanup complex footprint by 688 square
miles while strengthening local economies.”
