Officials break ground on Environmental Management Disposal Facility in Oak Ridge
National, state, and local leaders joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its lead cleanup contractor, United Cleanup Oak Ridge, last Wednesday to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Environmental Management Disposal Facility.
The $550-million project will provide a new onsite disposal facility that is described as "essential" for OREM and UCOR to maintain environmental cleanup momentum at the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Cleanup projects at those sites are eliminating old, dilapidated facilities and clearing land that is being reused to support scientific research and national security missions, according to a UCOR news release.
OREM’s current onsite disposal facility is nearly full after 20 years of operations; however, hundreds of buildings at Y-12 and ORNL still need to be demolished. The Environmental Management Disposal Facility will provide the capacity needed for OREM to complete cleanup at those sites.
Dignitaries and officials at the event included U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Third District; Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge; Ike White, senior advisor for OREM; Ike White, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Acting Regional Administrator Jeaneanne Gettle, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers, OREM Manager Jay Mullis, and UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter.
“As the leader for the cleanup program for the Department of Energy, I very much feel the responsibility that we have to address the legacy of the past," White is quoted as saying in the release. “This facility is an incredibly important part of making sure we can continue to do that here, and the teams doing cleanup in Oak Ridge are some of the best in the country.”
In his remarks, Fleischmann also discussed the importance of the project.
“Because of what we are doing here today, legacy cleanup will continue in Oak Ridge for the next 30 or 40 years until it’s complete” Fleischmann stated in the release. “That means that Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be able to take down excess facilities. That means that our friends at NNSA (National Nuclear Security Administration) will be able to do the critical work on our nuclear arsenal to keep our country safe.”
DOE is complying with all federal and state requirements, and it is also incorporating numerous engineering features into the facility’s design, under the oversight of EPA and TDEC, to ensure the waste remains isolated from the environment. Additionally, DOE will continue sending all highly contaminated waste out of state for disposal, the release stated.
The event marked the start of early site preparation for the facility. The project will be conducted in three phases, and it is scheduled for completion in 2029.
Phase 1: Early site preparation includes moving utilities and rerouting portions of Bear Creek Road and the Haul Road.
Phase 2: The groundwater field demonstration study will help OREM confirm modeling of how groundwater levels will adjust when construction begins. This phase will capture data for two years and inform the facility’s final design.
Phase 3: Balance of construction includes completing the final design and constructing the first two disposal cells. There will be four total disposal cells.
“I made a commitment to you- our stakeholders, our community, our client, our labor brothers and sisters - that we would be standing here today because of how important it was in that what you saw happen at the East Tennessee Technology Park would then be eclipsed by what we will see take place at Y-12 and ORNL”, said UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Officials break ground on Environmental Management Disposal Facility
