Citing federal law, readers ask whether DOE can close AMSE, move its missions

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:20 a.m. May 25.

Citing a section of federal law, readers have asked whether the U.S. Department of Energy can legally stop operating the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue and move its public education and outreach missions over to renovated space at Main Street Oak Ridge.

On Wednesday, federal officials said the law does not affect the current plan. That plan includes transferring the AMSE property to the City of Oak Ridge and then to a private developer, and moving DOE’s public outreach and education missions from the museum property to Main Street Oak Ridge.

At issue is an appendix in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001, which is also known as Public Law 106-554 and approved on December 21, 2000.

In that law, there are sections related to AMSE in Appendix D, Title IV, Sections 401-404 (a bit before the halfway point of the document if you’re looking for them in the PDF).

Among other things, the sections say that AMSE—The Museum—is designated as the “American Museum of Science of Energy,” and it “shall be the official museum of science and energy of the United States.”

Also, the sections say the term “Museum” means the museum operated by the Secretary of Energy and located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. That’s where AMSE is now.

Under an agreement approved in late December, DOE is supposed to move its public education and outreach missions out of AMSE by the end of the year and over to the renovated two-story building that once housed a former Sears Roebuck store at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project that is redeveloping the former Oak Ridge Mall.

“By all accounts, it seems that DOE’s intent is to not operate ‘the official museum of science and energy of the United States,'” a reader said, asking if DOE was violating federal law.

Oak Ridge Today has requested comment from several officials and agencies, including the the U.S. Department of Energy and City of Oak Ridge. The city referred the inquiry to DOE.

Claire A. Sinclair, ORNL Site Office public affairs/audit coordinator, said DOE is aware of the provision in the appropriations bill approved in December 2000.

“However, it does not affect the transfer of the property from DOE to the City of Oak Ridge,” Sinclair said. “The legislative history of Public Law 106-554 shows that this legislation was intended to preserve the name American Museum of Science and Energy for government use and to provide for the museum to be able to generate revenues (from accepting gifts, operating retail space, collecting fees, etc.) in order to alleviate the financial burden to the Department of Energy and its contractors. The language in Public Law 106-554 does not obligate DOE to operate a museum. Public Law 106-554 also provides that it will not be construed to conflict or interfere with established or vested rights. Those established rights would include the authority of the Secretary of Energy to transfer property such as the transfer recently made to the City of Oak Ridge.”

The law also does not affect the plan to move DOE’s public outreach and education missions from AMSE to Main Street Oak Ridge, Sinclair said.

“Public Law 106-554 does not address DOE’s public education and outreach mission and, therefore, has no effect on moving that function to another location,” she said.

The law is still in effect, but no congressional action is required for DOE to move its public outreach and education mission to another location, Sinclair said.

In other words, the law doesn’t have any effect on the AMSE property transfer, and it doesn’t need to be changed for current plans to proceed, officials said.

There has been some concern and opposition to closing AMSE and moving some of the missions now housed there into a smaller space at Main Street Oak Ridge. A grassroots group has launched an effort to support the museum, which has been a top regional tourist attraction and located on South Tulane Avenue for more than 40 years.

Officials have said the current space is oversized and “operationally challenged.” During the December property transfer ceremony, they said the agreement allows for additional, much-needed economic development after about 16 years of various discussions and proposals focused on how to sustain AMSE. After its transfer from DOE to the city, the AMSE property will eventually be owned and could be developed by an affiliate of RealtyLink, the company redeveloping the former Oak Ridge Mall as Main Street Oak Ridge. RealtyLink told the Oak Ridge City Council in June 2016 that any redevelopment of the AMSE property that competes with Main Street Oak Ridge would be harmful to its efforts to build the mixed-use town center, which will include retailers and could also include restaurants, residential units, and a hotel.

Officials have said DOE will continue to work with the National Park Service, the City of Oak Ridge, and the local community to determine the best way to implement DOE’s education mission and make the Oak Ridge exhibits and artifacts available to the public.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

---

Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2017 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.