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Home arrow Working with Section 106 arrow ACHP Case Digest arrow Spring 2004 arrow South Carolina: Management of the Savannah River Nuclear Site
South Carolina: Management of the Savannah River Nuclear Site

Agency: U.S. Department of Energy

With its historic technological properties, the Department of Energy faces unique challenges when it comes to maintaining the security of a still-functioning nuclear facility constructed during the Cold War era.

In this case, DOE is proposing to enter into an agreement to manage the historic Cold War-era properties at its Savannah River Site, a nuclear plant on the Savannah River near Aiken, South Carolina. The facility once produced plutonium and tritium for atomic and thermonuclear bombs, and contains several nuclear reactors dating from the 1950s, some still in operation.

In the agreement for the Savannah River Site, DOE will address public visitation and heritage tourism issues for a site that is used by the military and has extremely high security.

The Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to enter into a Programmatic Agreement to manage its Cold War-era resources. Such historic resources include the Savannah River Site, which was built in the 1950s and produced plutonium and tritium for atomic and thermonuclear bombs.

1952 photo of construction workers at the Savannah River Nuclear Site, South Carolina

 

 

 

Constructions workers at the
Savannah River Nuclear Site, South Carolina, 1952 (photo: SRS Archives, U.S. Dept.of Energy)

 

 

 

The facility, which is located on the Savannah River near Aiken, South Carolina, contains several nuclear reactors, with some still operating. Certain properties at the Savannah River Site are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

As part of the Section 106 review process, the ACHP has worked with DOE over the past two years to develop the agreement and the Cultural Resources Management Plan for the Savannah River Site. The plan has identified and prioritized the historic properties to aid in making decisions about which ones to reuse, retain, or demolish.

Consulting parties to the agreement include the City of Augusta, Georgia; the South Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer; and a preservation organization called Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness.

This project is particularly important because it focuses on identifying and managing relatively recent historic resources that are technological in nature. It also highlights the challenges faced by DOE in providing public access and heritage tourism opportunities for high-security historic properties such as the Savannah River Site.

The agreement establishes the criteria for comprehensive cultural resource management of Cold war historic properties at the Savannah River Site. It is expected to be finalized in spring 2004.


Staff contact: Tom McCulloch

Updated June 1, 2004

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