Federal Archives - Page 12 of 72

TVA seeks public input on proposed changes to ash storage at Bull Run

Posted at 6:25 pm April 22, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority is proposing changes to plans for closure of a coal ash storage area and wastewater treatment at its Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton. TVA is asking the public to comment on those revisions in a draft supplemental environmental assessment issued on April 22. That document is available at www.tva.com/nepa.

The revised draft supplemental environmental assessment will consider the potential environmental impacts of several alternatives for closure of the main ash impoundment, a press release said. The project would include turning a portion of the impoundment into a temporary process water basin during construction of a permanent basin for wastewater and storm water at the site. The current stilling pond would be closed, with ash removed to an existing onsite landfill, and turned into the permanent process water basin, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Final notice: New class of Y-12 workers added to compensation program

Posted at 5:50 pm April 12, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new class of workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex has been added to a federal energy employees compensation program that was established about two decades ago, officials announced Thursday.

The affected employees would have worked at Y-12 between January 1, 1958, and December 31, 1976. They would have been employees of the U.S. Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, or their contractors and subcontractors. They would have had an aggregate of at least 250 work days. That could have occurred either only through this employment or in combination with work days that meet the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in what is known as the Special Exposure Cohort.

The notice that the new class of employees has been added to the Special Exposure Cohort was published in the Federal Register by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. Oak Ridge Today reported in December that the class was being evaluated, based on exposure to radiation from thorium metal parts and plutonium-241 isotopes, and reported in March that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had designated the class of employees to be added. The new designation became effective March 28.

[Read more…]

Final days for Volunteer Tax Center

Posted at 2:28 pm April 12, 2019
By DIANE EDWARDS Leave a Comment

April 15 is just around the corner, and the IRS VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Center is ready for the final rush. Volunteers at the Tax Center have submitted 1372 during February and March with a total of $1,650,441.00 refunded to citizens of Anderson, Roane, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, and surrounding counties, a press release said. The Center can process 160-180 returns each week.

The VITA program is designed to assist senior citizens and low-to-medium income individuals and families. There is no charge for this service. The VITA Tax Center is sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service and supported by the Anderson County United Way. Taxpayers need to bring photo identification, a copy of last year’s return, Social Cecurity cards for all people listed on a return, health coverage forms, all relevant income forms (W-2s, 1099s, Social Security annual statement) and documentation for daycare, education, and itemized deduction expenses, the press release said.

The Tax Center is located in the Trinity Center at 320 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge. It is open Tuesday-Friday from 3 to 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon. Taxpayers are seen on a first-come basis. Volunteers will also be available on Monday, April 15, from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

This press release was submitted by Diane Edwards.

Manhattan Project public program: Ride with a ranger on Saturday, April 27

Posted at 10:42 pm April 10, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Join a park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway in Oak Ridge to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 70 years. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present a free program at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29, 2017. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

Join a park ranger for a bike ride on Melton Lake Greenway in Oak Ridge to learn more about the city’s history. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present the free program at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 27, 2019. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

You can join a park ranger for a bike ride down Melton Lake Greenway and learn more about the city’s history later this month.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present the free program on Saturday, April 27, at 10 a.m. The program will begin at Elza Gate Park, a former entry point to the once-secret city, and continue down Melton Lake Greenway.

“Rangers will stop several times along the bike ride to point out the rich history that is found within the Oak Ridge area,” a press release said.

The ride will be approximately eight miles round-trip; it is recommended that visitors bring drinking water, the press release said. [Read more…]

(For members) NIOSH evaluating another class of Y-12 workers for compensation program

Posted at 2:58 pm April 8, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Federal health and safety officials are evaluating another class of Y-12 employees for a workers compensation program that involves certain illnesses and work at sites that are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The petition being evaluated now could include all laborers who fabricated or processed uranium between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1994, in any area at Y-12. The petition was received November 1 and qualified for evaluation on March 25.

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NRC recommends early site permit for Clinch River Nuclear Site

Posted at 8:48 am April 8, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge is pictured above. The road running from bottom to top on the right (east) side of the Clinch River connects to Bear Creek Road in southwest Oak Ridge. Highway 58 is off to the top left of the photo and the Heritage Center is to the north. (Photo courtesy TVA)

Note: This story was last updated at 11:30 a.m.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a final environmental impact statement, and the staff has recommended, based upon the environmental review, issuing an early site permit for the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge, where two or more small modular nuclear reactors could be built.

The final environmental impact statement, or EIS, was issued by the NRC on April 3. A notice of the EIS and the staff’s recommendation was published in the Federal Register on Monday, April 8.

The 935-acre Clinch River Nuclear Site is located in Roane County along the Clinch River. [Read more…]

(For members) New lithium building a priority as ceiling materials fall in old one

Posted at 1:50 pm April 6, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Building 9204-2 (Beta 2) is pictured above at center at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Part of Building 9204-2E (Beta 2E) is pictured in the top left. (Photo courtesy Consolidated Nuclear Security)

A new lithium processing facility that could be built in Oak Ridge is a priority for the National Nuclear Security Administration, which has cited worker safety and materials that have fallen from the ceiling at the old building now used at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

As a priority, the new lithium processing facility is right behind the number one priorities: the production of plutonium pits at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and uranium processing at the Uranium Processing Facility, which is now under construction at Y-12, said Charles Verdon, NNSA deputy administrator for defense programs.

NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty cited the materials that have fallen from the ceiling at the old Y-12 building used for lithium processing, 9204-2, or Beta 2, in her response to questions during a budget hearing with the U.S. House Energy and Water Development Subcommittee on Tuesday.

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Committee recommends approving early site permit for Clinch River Nuclear Site

Posted at 1:40 pm April 2, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A federal safety committee has recommended that an early site permit be approved for small modular reactors at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge.

The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards recommended the approval in a January 9 letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The letter was signed by Michael L. Corradini, committee chair. The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards reports on the parts of an early site permit application that concern safety. The committee’s recommendation does not appear to have been previously reported.

An early site permit evaluates the suitability of a site for the potential construction and operation of a nuclear power plant. The permit application for two or more small modular reactors at the 935-acre Clinch River site was submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority in May 2016. TVA said the reactors could generate up to 800 megawatts of electricity.

In a presentation to the Advisory Committee on December 6, TVA outlined what it appears to consider advantages of the Clinch River Nuclear Site: access to 500 kilovolt and 161 kilovolt transmission lines; being a neighbor to the U.S. Department of Energy, an interested customer; strong community support; and access to basic infrastructure and an abundant and skilled workforce. Also, TVA owns and controls the site, the public utility said in a presentation by Dan Stout, director of nuclear technology and innovation. [Read more…]

Community meeting to discuss Bull Run closure on Tuesday

Posted at 10:32 pm April 1, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

There will be a community meeting in Claxton on Tuesday evening to discuss the closure of the Bull Run Fossil Plant. The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors agreed in February to close the coal-burning plant by 2023.

The meeting is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, in the Claxton Community Center at 1071 Edgemoor Road. It will include Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM) and nonprofit partners, a press release said.

“The meeting’s purpose is to give concerned residents of the community around TVA’s Bull Run Fossil Plant an opportunity to connect and to share their concerns, hopes, and questions around TVA’s recent decision to retire the Bull Run coal plant by 2023 or sooner,” the press release said. “Now is the time to begin a dialog to protect our community’s common interests.”

Organizers said they are urging environmental engineers, scientists, community leaders, officials from Anderson County, the cities of Oak Ridge and Clinton, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and others to be available to share information and expertise, provide support, and address residents’ questions on coal ash, air pollution, health, worker transition, economic impacts, safe demolition and site reclamation, future site use, and property values. [Read more…]

(For members) HHS designates class of Y-12 workers to be added to compensation program

Posted at 9:05 pm March 25, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has designated a class of Y-12 employees to be added to a federal worker compensation program that involves certain illnesses and work at sites like Y-12 that are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The employees who could be added, unless Congress says otherwise, would have worked at Y-12 between January 1, 1958, and December 31, 1976, when the plant was manufacturing nuclear weapons components during the Cold War. They would have had an aggregate total of at least 250 work days. They could have been employees of DOE, its predecessor agencies, or their contractors and subcontractors.

Oak Ridge Today has previously reported that the workers could be added to the compensation program based on exposure to radiation from thorium metal parts and plutonium-241 isotopes.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

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Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

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Manhattan Project: Ranger walk in Jackson Square area on Wednesday

Posted at 8:59 am March 21, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Submitted photo

Join a National Park Service park ranger for a ranger-led walk in the Jackson Square area on Wednesday.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present this free program at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 3. The program will begin at Jackson Square just outside the Oak Ridge Playhouse. The walk will be about one half mile, so wear comfortable walking shoes, a press release said.

The stops will include the tennis courts, the Guesthouse, and the Chapel on the Hill. There will be stories about the development and significance of each site, the press release said. [Read more…]

TVA to lower level of Melton Hill Reservoir for annual shoreline maintenance

Posted at 9:07 am March 19, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Tennessee Valley Authority will temporarily lower the water level of Melton Hill Reservoir from Sunday, March 24, through Sunday, April 7, to allow property owners to repair docks, stabilize shoreline, and pick up litter, a press release said.

The reservoir’s water level will be held between 790 and 792 feet above sea level—about two to four feet below its current level—during this period, the press release said. The exact rate of the drawdown will depend on weather conditions and may vary with rainfall amounts. Melton Hill will be returned to its normal winter elevation of 794 feet by April 7.

“As in the past, the drawdown targets and dates are subject to change due to weather constraints,” the press release said. “Recent heavy rains could result in greater than usual debris and erosion in some areas.” [Read more…]

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