John Huotari - Author at Oak Ridge Today

Crews start project to reduce maintenance, operations costs at Molten Salt Reactor

Posted at 8:38 pm January 22, 2019
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The Molten Salt Reactor Experiment building at Oak Ridge National Laboratory housed the reactor and offices for operating personnel. The facility was constructed in the 1950s for a nuclear aircraft project and was later expanded significantly and retrofitted to accommodate the MSRE. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

Cleanup crews started a $4.7 million project this month to reduce maintenance and operations costs at the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, which was shut down 50 years ago at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The project is expected to save nearly $25 million in costs, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management said in an “EM Update” published Tuesday.

The cost-reduction project will relocate employees stationed at the decades-old facility. Personnel currently housed in the building will move to other site locations to help with other projects, the “EM Update” said.

The project is expected to enhance the facility’s electrical distribution, sump pump, fire suppression, and monitoring systems.

“Although it was shut down 50 years ago, certain systems within the reactor building have continued to operate to keep the facility safe and stable until it can be demolished,” said the “EM Update,” with the Oak Ridge story contributed by Mike Butler. [Read more…]

ORPD asks for help finding missing teen

Posted at 5:13 pm January 22, 2019
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Image via Oak Ridge Police Department

The Oak Ridge Police Department is asking for the public’s help to find a missing teenager.

The teen, Devin Davis, 17, of Oak Ridge, was last seen on January 8, the ORPD said. He was reported missing by his legal guardian.

If you have seen Devin or have information about where he might be, you are asked to call the Oak Ridge Police Department at (865) 425-4399.

Police say Devin may be in the Campbell County/LaFollette area.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Y-12: Work complete on W76-1 warhead program

Posted at 11:23 pm January 21, 2019
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Photo from National Nuclear Security Administration fact sheet on the W76-1 Life Extension Program.

Work was completed in December on a program to extend the life of the W76 nuclear warhead, the Y-12 National Security Complex said on Monday.

That ended a decade of work to extend the service life of the original warhead design by 40 years, Y-12 said.

“This warhead plays a vital role in maintaining the nation’s credible nuclear deterrent,” said Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, which manages and operates Y-12 for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The Life Extension Program, or LEP, is for the W76-1 warhead. The W76-1 is a refurbished W76-0 warhead. The W76-0 warhead is a submarine-launched ballistic missile system that was first introduced into the stockpile for the U.S. Navy in 1978. The warhead is deployed with Trident II D5 missiles on Ohio-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines. [Read more…]

Y-12 finishes first production unit for B61-12 bomb

Posted at 5:43 pm January 21, 2019
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Employees at Y-12 National Security Complex recently completed the first production unit of the B61-12. This refurbishment will extend the life of this strategic weapon for 20 years. (Submitted photo)

Note: This story was last updated at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 22.

Canned subassembly certified four months ahead of schedule

The Y-12 National Security Complex on Monday said it has completed a major milestone in efforts to refurbish components for a strategic nuclear weapons system that is vital to the U.S. nuclear deterrent.

The first production unit for a bomb called the B61-12 was certified at Y-12 on December 6, 2018.

The work is part of the B61 Life Extension Program, or LEP. The B61 is a nuclear bomb that can be carried on several types of military aircraft. The B61 LEP will extend the life of this strategic weapon for 20 years, said Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, which manages and operates Y-12 for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

B61 bombs are the oldest nuclear weapons in the nation’s active stockpile. They have been in service almost 50 years, and critical components of the bombs are reaching the end of their operational lives. The B61 was first “fielded” in 1968, and current modifications were fielded between 1979 and 1991, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. [Read more…]

City celebrates two major projects—Preschool, Senior Center—with groundbreakings

Posted at 12:53 pm January 21, 2019
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The City of Oak Ridge held ceremonial groundbreakings on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, to celebrate the start of two major projects: the new Oak Ridge Preschool, pictured above, with Scarboro Park improvements and the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. Construction activity is already under way at both sites, and the buildings are slated for completion later this year. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge held ceremonial groundbreakings on Monday, January 14, to celebrate the start of two major projects: the new Oak Ridge Preschool with Scarboro Park improvements and the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. Construction activity is already under way at both sites, and the buildings are slated for completion later this year.

“These projects have been in the planning stages for decades and we are making good on promises to deliver them,” Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch said in a press release. “The Preschool and the Senior Center will have a positive impact on our citizens and their families for generations to come. We are excited to see construction begin.”

Studio Four Design Inc. was chosen to design the Preschool and the Senior Center. At a special meeting in October 2018, Oak Ridge City Council unanimously approved resolutions awarding construction contracts to Jenkins and Stiles LLC totaling just more than $11 million ($8.4 million for the new Preschool and Scarboro Park improvements and $2.68 million for the new Senior Center). General obligation bonds were sold in late November to completely fund the projects.

“After years of discussion, plans for these important facilities are coming to fruition,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said in the press release. “The Preschool and Senior Center are welcome additions to our community. We are appreciative of all the hard work that has gone into making these amenities a reality for Oak Ridge.” [Read more…]

Government shutdown not affecting DOE cleanup work

Posted at 2:59 pm January 18, 2019
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The partial shutdown of the federal government is not affecting the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup program in Oak Ridge, a spokesperson said Friday.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides federal oversight of the work, and EPA is one of the federal departments and agencies affected by the partial government shutdown.

But on Friday, Ben Williams, spokesperson for the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, said the shutdown is not affecting the office’s cleanup work at this time. [Read more…]

Council to discuss next steps for Main Street Oak Ridge on Tuesday

Posted at 2:19 pm January 18, 2019
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Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

After they rejected a revised plan for the project on Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council will discuss next steps for Main Street Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

It wasn’t clear this week what might happen next.

The revised plan that City Council rejected in a 4-3 vote on Monday would have allowed four national retailers to build stores at Main Street Oak Ridge. It would have required the closure of the access road from Rutgers Avenue to the roundabout at Main Street, allowing the four stores to be built along a sidewalk between JCPenney and PetSmart. It would have removed the 230 or so multi-family residential units that had been proposed by Crosland Southeast, the original developer, in the area between JCPenney and Walmart. And it would have moved the proposed mixed-use development to a future phase along Wilson Street.

This past Tuesday, after Council rejected the revised plan, three people involved in the project, including RealtyLink, the current developer, said there is no other design, no “plan B.” [Read more…]

Council approves plan for apartments at former AMSE site

Posted at 12:16 pm January 18, 2019
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The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will consider a rezoning and planned unit development on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, that would allow apartments to be built on the former American Museum of Science and Energy property on South Tulane Avenue.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved a rezoning and planned unit development on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, that would allow apartments to be built on the former American Museum of Science and Energy property on South Tulane Avenue.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday approved a plan that would allow apartments at the former American Museum of Science and Energy site on South Tulane Avenue.

The apartment proposal requires a rezoning and the approval of a plan for a planned unit development, or PUD.

They were approved in a 5-1-1 vote in the first of two readings on Monday. The second and final reading will presumably be in February.

Voting for the plan were Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch and City Council members Kelly Callison, Jim Dodson, Derrick Hammond, and Ellen Smith. [Read more…]

A dozen IIA employees affected by government shutdown

Posted at 11:39 am January 18, 2019
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Pictured above in a file photo from February 2014 is the headquarters of Information International Associates on Union Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

About a dozen employees of Information International Associates Inc. have been affected by the partial shutdown of the federal government, an executive said in response to questions on Wednesday.

IIA staff members who support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C., and Cincinnati, Ohio, have been affected by the shutdown, said Kelly Callison, senior vice president of operations.

“All the rest of the agencies we support have funding,” Callison said.

He said about 12 IIA staff members are affected to some extent. Two of those employees are part-time, and three have shifted work to another project but that will end soon. [Read more…]

Federal shutdown does not affect state oversight of Oak Ridge cleanup program

Posted at 11:16 am January 18, 2019
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The partial shutdown of the federal government does not affect state oversight of the federal cleanup program in Oak Ridge, a state official said Thursday.

At this time, the federal shutdown has no impact on the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, said Kim Schofinski, TDEC deputy communications director. That means state oversight of the Oak Ridge cleanup program is not currently affected. The Oak Ridge sites include East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex. [Read more…]

Council rejects revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge

Posted at 6:40 pm January 16, 2019
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Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed revised plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

Note: This story was last updated at 1 a.m.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday narrowly rejected a revised plan that would have allowed four national retailers to build stores at Main Street Oak Ridge.

The Council had unanimously approved a revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, subject to certain conditions, in December. That was the first of two readings.

But Council rejected the plan in a 4-3 vote in the second and final reading on Monday.

The rejection hinged on concerns that included the closure of an access road to the 58-acre site, the movement of mixed-use areas to a future phase along Wilson Street, and questions about whether there are other site plan options and whether the development would or should establish a “city center.” People who rejected the revised plan or asked Council to reject it said they support the development and want continued negotiations with RealtyLink, the developer. But it wasn’t immediately clear this week if that will happen.

Those who had supported the revised plan, on the other hand, warned that rejecting it could affect funding for Oak Ridge and Anderson County governments and school systems by diminishing expected sales and property tax revenues, possibly in the range of several hundred thousand dollars. They worried about the impact on the city’s retail community, property tax values, and new housing developments. They called the project a “once in a generation” opportunity and said it could be a few decades before another similar proposal emerges.

It’s not clear what will happen next or if there is any solution that will be acceptable to both RealtyLink and the planning commissioners and City Council members who opposed the revised plan. On Tuesday, three people involved in the project, including RealtyLink, said there is no other design, no “plan B.”

“We’ve worked for six months to get to where we are,” said Neil Wilson, principal of RealtyLink in Greenville, South Carolina. “We didn’t get what we wanted, and they didn’t get what they wanted.”

He said the four national tenants were notified Tuesday that Council rejected the proposed changes to the planned unit development for Main Street Oak Ridge. The potential tenants will be notified if something changes. [Read more…]

Council to consider Main Street, apartment plans

Posted at 1:11 pm January 14, 2019
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The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider changes to the plan for Main Street Oak Ridge and a plan that would allow apartments at the former American Museum of Science and Energy site on South Tulane Avenue.

The meeting will start at 7 p.m. Monday, January 14, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. You can see the agenda here.

The changes to the Main Street Oak Ridge plan are being considered as RealtyLink, the developer, prepares to welcome a second wave of tenants to the 58-acre site. Council approved changes on first reading in December and will consider them on second and final reading tonight (Monday, January 14).

The apartment proposal requires a rezoning and the approval of a planned unit development plan.

More information will be added as it becomes available.