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Paducah Site Future Use

Paducah C-333 Process Building

Paducah C-333 Process Building

DOE has been actively pursuing the environmental cleanup goals at the Paducah site since 1988. After environmental cleanup activities are completed, the sites will be available for reuse with a range of uses up to and including heavy industry. 

Mission & End State

Today, DOE's site missions include environmental cleanup, waste disposition, depleted uranium conversion, decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of inactive facilities, and long-term stewardship. The end state is the condition of the site when remediation is complete and appropriate property can be released for community development. The PGDP end state vision is driven by the current and expected future land use of areas at and around PGDP.

The End State Vision Document:
  • Forms a basis that helps establish the cleanup levels required for remediation based on risk in future use
  • Provides a comparison between the potential end state vision and the current cleanup baseline strategy
  • Includes maps and figures that can be used to ensure that cleanup decisions are consistent with the end state vision

Site Reuse

As DOE makes progress on cleanup activities, land, facilities, and infrastructure may become available to transfer for other uses.  DOE is planning long-term for property transfers by developing an Environmental Assessment of the Paducah Site to address potential environmental impacts associated with the transfer of DOE-owned property.  The potential for environmental impact is assessed to determine the baseline (pre-transfer) environmental conditions and uses of the property (raw land, light industrial, etc.); to consider mitigation (e.g., design, access restrictions) enforced/imposed by DOE; and to assess any potentially controversial impacts, e.g., resulting from adjacent incompatible land uses.

Background
  • DOE began holding public workshops on future land use with Paducah stakeholders in 1994.
  • Additional meetings have been held with the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Neighborhood Council, the Paducah Citizens Advisory Board, city and county officials, and economic development interests
  • In 2010, the Kentucky Research Consortium for Energy and Environment developed a community-based end state vision encompassing the range of community perspectives for the site’s future after the facility closes.
  • A combination of industrial and recreational use is considered as the most likely future scenario for the site.
  • DOE continues to look for opportunities for productive use of the PGDP facilities and property.
Related Activities

November 2013 - DOE opened negotiations with two companies that offered the greatest benefit to the government among those who responded to the Request for Offers (RFO).

July 2013 - The RFO was issued for the Sale of Depleted and Off-Specification Uranium Hexafluoride Inventories from PGDP and PORTS after reviewing the Expressions of Interest.

February 2013 - Request for Expression of Interest issued to identify commercial interest in the PGDP Facilities and the DOE Depleted and Off-Specification Uranium Hexafluroide Inventories.

December 2012 - Environmental Assessment (EA) contract was issued to support land transfers under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Section 120(h).  The Paducah site began the EA in 2012 to address potential environmental impacts associated with the transfer of DOE-owned real property at a defense nuclear facility for the purpose of economic development.

July 2012 - Industry Day - A two-day workshop for industry representatives was held on PGDP assets and future use for the site on July 31 and August 1, 2012.  DOE communicated with prospective businesses that may be interested in either the operation of the PGDP as a uranium enrichment facility or that may have an interest in reindustrialization of various plant facilities.