WASHINGTON, DC -- Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced $6 billion in new funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate environmental cleanup work and create thousands of jobs across 12 states – including a major investment in Idaho.  Projects identified for funding will focus on accelerating cleanup of soil and groundwater, transportation and disposal of waste, and cleaning and demolishing former weapons complex facilities.

“These investments will put Americans to work while cleaning up contamination from the cold war era,” said Secretary Chu.  “It reflects our commitment to future generations as well as to help local economies get moving again.” 

These projects and the new funding are managed by the Department’s Office of Environmental Management, which is responsible for the risk reduction and cleanup of the environmental legacy from the nation’s nuclear weapons program, one of the largest, most diverse and technically complex environmental programs in the world.
 
Today’s announcement includes new funding for the following cleanup efforts in the state:

• Idaho National Laboratory ($468 million) - Accelerate demolition of excess nuclear and radiological facilities resulting in a footprint reduction of more than 800,000 square feet.  Retrieve targeted waste per the Agreement with the state of Idaho and accelerate the shipment of waste offsite for disposal.

Read more information on the Department’s Environmental Management activities.

For regular updates on Department of Energy’s efforts to implement the President’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, visit energy.gov/recovery.  The page includes a map with state by state summaries of recent investments by the Department of Energy through the Recovery Act -- from state weatherization funding to grants to specific cities, counties and tribal governments.

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