New
York's Senator
CHARLES E. SCHUMER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 31, 2000
SCHUMER: NEW FUNDING WILL SPEED BROOKHAVEN CLEANUP
BY TWO YEARS
Department of Energy Commits $41.3 Million Over
Next Five Years To Move Cleanup Completion from 2006 to 2004
US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Department
of Energy (DOE) has committed $41.3 million in new funding to Brookhaven
National Lab over the next five years, enabling the lab to complete
its accelerated cleanup plan. The funding, which Schumer has been
fighting for since May, will move up the cleanup's completion date
from 2006 to 2004.
"The Department of Energy's decision to give Brookhaven's
accelerated cleanup plan the green light is great news for Brookhaven
and all of Long Island," said Schumer. "It will ultimately
save millions of dollars, give Suffolk residents peace of mind,
and allow Brookhaven to put the cleanup behind it once and for all."
The Brookhaven accelerated cleanup plan involves installing groundwater
treatment systems, soil remediation and waste disposal to address
groundwater contamination caused by leakage and residual hazardous
waste from the lab. The lab will also decommission its High Flux
Beam Reactor. The accelerated plan will cost more than initial cleanup
estimate, but is expected to save at least $12 million in the long
run.
Since meeting with Brookhaven officials and BNL's Citizen Advisory
Counsel (CAC) in May, Schumer has been lobbying Energy Department
Secretary Bill Richardson and Congress for funding for the accelerated
cleanup. Schumer took Richardson on a tour of Brookhaven in August,
set up a meeting between Richardson and the CAC and successfully
fought for the inclusion of an additional $5 million for the cleanup
in the FY01 Energy and Water Appropriations bill in September.
The $41.3 million in new funding comes from several areas, including:
An additional $3 million from the Department of Energy and an
additional $5 million
from Congress on top of the $27.2 million already allocated for
the Brookhaven cleanup under the FY01 Energy/Water Appropriations
Bill. The FY01 funding marks a significant increase over the $22
million allocated for Brookhaven in FY 2000.
A new, $1.1 million technology grant to demonstrate new robotic
technology for characterizing contamination in the lab's graphite
reactor.
Increases in the amount of DOE funding for 2002, 2003, 2004 and
2005. Under the DOE's old funding plan, Brookhaven would receive
$27 million in both 2002 and 2003, $34.5 million in 2004 and $36.3
million in 2005. Under the plan announced today, BNL will receive
$34 million in both 2002 and 2003, $44 million in 2004 and $45 million
in 2005.
In addition to the money for the cleanup, the lab will also receive
an allocation of $13.5 million in FY01 to put the its High Flux
Beam Reactor in a safe shutdown condition. The lab will use most
of the $45 million allocated for FY 2005 to begin decommissioning
the reactor, a year earlier than the Department's original plan.
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