March 31, 2009
Energy Secretary Chu Announces $755 Million in Recovery Act Funding for Environmental Cleanup in Tennessee
New Funding Will Create Jobs and Accelerate Cleanup Efforts
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 Tennessee. 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:
- Oak Ridge ($755 million) - At the East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 sites, accelerate demolition and disposal of remaining uranium enrichment plant buildings, surplus Manhattan Project era buildings, and highly contaminated uranium processing buildings, and perform soil remediation to protect area groundwater. Accelerate cleanup of the most significant sources of off-site mercury release to East Fork Poplar Creek to prevent further contamination of the area.
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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