Oak Ridge Today

No injuries reported after shots fired at Clinton home Wednesday

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No one was injured when shots were reportedly fired at a home on West Broad Street in Clinton on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The Clinton Police Department responded to the shooting call at about 4:16 p.m. Wednesday. An anonymous 911 caller told dispatchers that a male subject, in a black or gray-colored vehicle, was shooting a rifle in the direction of a residence, the Clinton Police Department said in a press release.

When they arrived, police found three adults and two minor children in the house, the press release said. None of the residents sustained any injuries. [Read more…]

ORNL pursuing two major upgrades at SNS

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An aerial view of the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

An aerial view of the Spallation Neutron Source on Chestnut Ridge at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m. Aug. 1.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is pursuing two major upgrades to its Spallation Neutron Source that would allow new scientific research and could cost more than $1 billion.

The two proposed upgrades are a proton power upgrade and a second target station. The two projects are in different stages of review at the U.S. Department of Energy, ORNL spokesperson Morgan McCorkle said.

The proton power upgrade, or PPU, is being pursued first, and its current cost estimate is a little more than $200 million, McCorkle said. If approved, it would double the power of SNS’s proton beam from 1.4 megawatts to 2.8 megawatts.

The upgrade would allow new types of research at SNS, and it would increase the number of scientists who can use the facility each year, McCorkle said.

“The PPU will enable experiments that are not currently feasible, such as experiments on smaller or less concentrated samples, and experiments under more extreme environmental conditions,” McCorkle said. “The new scientific capabilities will support research in areas such as soft matter, quantum materials, chemistry, functional materials, and biology. Some examples of everyday products that may be improved by these discoveries include cell phones, batteries, computers, building materials, and drugs.”

The proton power upgrade would also eventually provide the extra power necessary for the proposed second target station, or STS. The design of the second target station is less mature, but the project could cost in the range of $1 billion and include about 300,000 square feet of new buildings, McCorkle said. The second target station would be on the east end of the SNS campus on Chestnut Ridge at ORNL.

[Read more…]

House, Senate committees recommend funding to reduce Y-12’s Protected Area

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Y-12 Aerial Photo June 2012

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above in June 2012. (Photo courtesy NNSA)

 

Appropriations committees in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have recommended funding for a project that could reduce the Protected Area at the Y-12 National Security Complex by about 50 percent.

The House Appropriations Committee approved an energy and water appropriations bill on Wednesday, July 12, that recommended $23.4 million for the project, the West End Protected Area Reduction project, in fiscal year 2018, which starts October 1. That would be up from $2.5 million in fiscal year 2017. (See page 135 here.) If approved, the House bill would direct the National Nuclear Security Administration to give quarterly project updates to the appropriations committees in both houses of Congress “until such time as the NNSA can demonstrate a commitment to move the project forward.” (See page 105 here.)

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved an energy and water appropriations bill on Thursday, July 20, that recommended $5 million in fiscal year 2018. (See page 119 here.) That money is recommended to continue the design work for the project, according to a report on the Senate bill. (See page 98 here.)

The Trump administration did not request any funding for the project, and it’s not clear what level of funding might eventually be approved. [Read more…]

Rack Room Shoes opens Thursday

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The new Rack Room Shoes store is pictured above at Main Street Oak Ridge on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The new Rack Room Shoes store is pictured above at Main Street Oak Ridge on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Rack Room Shoes will open at Main Street Oak Ridge on Thursday.

The new store will be 5,000 square feet. It will be near Belk and between two other new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge: rue21 and Ulta.

Rack Room Shoes is a family footwear retailer, the company said.

It’s the fifth new store to open at Main Street Oak Ridge since mid-June. Main Street Oak Ridge is the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The other four stores that have already opened are rue21, maurices, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and PetSmart. The other three stores expected to open soon are Electronic Express, T.J. Maxx, and Ulta. [Read more…]

Federal funding of $28 million recommended for Y-12 fire station

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A fire engine is parked in front of the existing fire station at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo courtesy Y-12)

A fire engine is parked in front of the existing fire station at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo courtesy Y-12)

 

The Trump administration and congressional appropriations committees have agreed that $28 million in federal funding should be provided for a new fire station at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The current fire station at Y-12 was built in the 1940s, and it is located within the most highly protected area of the nuclear weapons plant and close to the most hazardous operations, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration. Y-12 is an NNSA site.

“Seismic, tornado, hazardous material release, and security events could render the fire station inaccessible,” the NNSA said in a budget request submitted to Congress for fiscal year 2018, which starts October 1. (See page 271 here.)

Emergency planning assessments show that many hazardous materials releases would “have a very short travel time” before affecting the fire station, the NNSA said. Also, it’s critical to allow off-duty personnel to access the fire station since they augment the on-duty staff, the NNSA said.

The new fire station would be a single-story building of about 35,000 square feet. It would be located on the east end of Y-12, said Steven Wyatt, spokesperson for the NNSA Production Office in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC honored for small business achievement

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From left to right, Ryan Johnston and Lisa Copeland, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC Small Business program managers, and Cindy Morgan, senior supply chain manager, receive an award for Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year from Christy Jackiewicz, Acting Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. (Photo by CNS)

From left to right, Ryan Johnston and Lisa Copeland, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC Small Business program managers, and Cindy Morgan, senior supply chain manager, receive an award for Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year from Christy Jackiewicz, acting director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. (Photo by CNS)

 

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC was recently honored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. The company received an award for Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year at the 16th Annual Small Business Forum and Expo.

The Facility Management Contractor Small Business Achievement of the Year award recognizes the tangible, annual, organizational results of a DOE facilities management contractor, Y-12 said in a story posted on its website in June.

“These results are measured in terms of dollars and percentage increases in small business procurement activity, as well as policies, programs, and procedures that promote small business use,” Y-12 said. [Read more…]

Federal lawsuit asks for environmental review of new UPF design

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OREPA-Ralph-Hutchison-Aug-6-2016-2

Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, is pictured above during a rally at Alvin K. Bissell Park on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that the U.S. Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration have violated a federal environmental law, and the civil complaint asks for an environmental review of the new design for the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, the largest federal construction project in Tennessee since World War II.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia by several public interest organizations—Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Nuclear Watch of New Mexico, and Natural Resources Defense Council of Washington, D.C.— and four people: Ed Sullivan of Oak Ridge, and Ralph Hutchison, Jack Carl Hoefer, and Linda Ewald, all of Knoxville.

The defendants are Energy Secretary James Richard “Rick” Perry and NNSA Administrator Frank G. Klotz.

The complaint alleges that the NNSA is taking, but failing to consider, grave risks with safety and the potential environmental impacts of the nation’s nuclear weapons program, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.

It says the NNSA has refused to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement, or SEIS, to consider important new information about the serious vulnerability of the new design for UPF, which is supposed to be completed by 2025 for no more than $6.5 billion. [Read more…]

EPA picks Oak Ridge to apply for new loan program for new water plant

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Oak-Ridge-Water-Treatment-Plant-2009-1

The Oak Ridge Water Treatment Plant is pictured on Pine Ridge above the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has invited the City of Oak Ridge to apply for a new federal loan program for the city’s proposed new water plant, a press release said.

The City of Oak Ridge water plant is one of 12 projects in nine states to apply for more than $2 billion in Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Loans, the EPA said in a press release Wednesday. The projects were selected from a group of 43 projects that submitted letters of interest to EPA in April 2017.

“Rebuilding America’s infrastructure is a critical pillar of the president’s agenda,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “These large-scale projects will improve water quality for 20 million Americans, especially those communities that need it the most—such as rural and urban communities.”

The press release said the City of Oak Ridge will design and construct a new 16 million-gallons-per-day membrane treatment plant and associated equipment to replace the existing decades-old conventional treatment plant, which is currently at capacity and beyond its useful life.

Among the city’s water plant customers are Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex.

“This project will provide sufficient capacity to meet the city’s water needs by continuing the production and delivery of safe potable drinking water to its customers,” the EPA press release said. [Read more…]

Y-12‘s Biology Complex would be top priority if excess cleanup funding available

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Y-12 Biology Complex aerial

An aerial view of the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Plans call for eventually demolishing the complex. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

 

If excess funding is available, the federal cleanup program in Oak Ridge has a top priority: the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The budget request submitted to Congress by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, May 23, included $225 million for high-risk excess contaminated facilities at Y-12 and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

It’s not clear how much of that money might be used in Oak Ridge, if the president’s budget request were approved. Officials said the allocations would be determined by U.S. Department of Energy headquarters.

But the Oak Ridge cleanup program, known as environmental management, has taken steps to ensure that some projects here, such as the planned demolition of Y-12’s Biology Complex, are “in a good position” if money becomes available.

On Friday, Jay Mullis, acting manager for the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or EM, said the Biology Complex would be a primary priority if Y-12 gets some portion of the $225 million proposed by the Trump administration.

“Provided there is excess funding, that would be the building we would go after,” the Oak Ridge EM program said. [Read more…]

Senate bill recommends $8 million for K-25 historic preservation work

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K-25 Historic Preservation Footprint at ETTP

An image showing the footprint of the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park or Heritage Center. Built during World War II to enrich uranium, the K-25 Building has been demolished but its “footprint” has been preserved. This image shows the footprint at center, the K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned fire station, front right, and the Equipment Building and Viewing Tower at front left. (Graphic by David Brown/U.S. Department of Energy)

 

A bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday recommends $8 million for K-25 historic preservation work.

If approved, the funding would help preserve the historic contributions that the K-25 Site made to the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

The historic preservation work is required under a 2012 agreement that allowed the complete demolition of the K-25 Building, which was once the world’s largest building under one roof.

The 2012 agreement allowed workers to demolish the North Tower at the mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge. Historic preservationists had lobbied for years to save the North Tower.

In exchange for the complete demolition of K-25, the agreement, announced in August 2012, called for a replica equipment building, a viewing tower, and a history center at a city-owned fire station. It also included an online virtual museum and a $500,000 grant to buy and stabilize the historic Alexander Inn in central Oak Ridge, which has since been converted into an assisted living center. [Read more…]

State asks for 10-year sentence in church theft by former commission chair

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James Michael Cox

James Michael Cox

Prosecutors have asked for a 10-year prison sentence for a former Anderson County Commission chair and retired school teacher who has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $60,000 over more than three years from a church in Rocky Top—and allegedly lost more than $37,000 of the stolen money at a casino in North Carolina.

James Michael “Mike” Cox is scheduled to be sentenced in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Monday.

Through defense attorney Rhonda F. Lee of Powell, Cox has asked for probation.

Cox was indicted on the Class B felony charge of theft of more than $60,000 on February 2, 2016. The thefts were alleged to have occurred from Longfield Baptist Church, where Cox was church treasurer, between June 1, 2011, and December 1, 2014.

Cox entered a guilty plea on June 1, 2017. The minimum sentence is eight years probation, and the maximum is 12 years in prison, according to court documents.

In a notice filed this past Monday, the state outlined enhancing factors that should be considered by Anderson County Criminal Court Judge Donald R. Elledge when he sentences Cox on Monday, July 24. [Read more…]

Buchanan named deputy for science, technology at ORNL

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Michelle Buchanan

Michelle Buchanan

 

Michelle Buchanan, an accomplished scientific leader and researcher, has been appointed deputy for science and technology at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory by new Lab Director Thomas Zacharia, a press release said. Her appointment is effective October 1.

“Dr. Buchanan’s research accomplishments, programmatic expertise, and reputation for achievement support ORNL’s role as a premier research institution that provides scientific expertise and breakthroughs that are critical to national priorities in energy, industry, and national security,” said Zacharia, who served in the deputy’s position until becoming lab director on July 1.

Buchanan has been associate laboratory director for physical sciences since 2004, with responsibilities including the lab’s Chemical Sciences, Physics, and Materials Science and Technology divisions, as well as its Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a DOE Office of Science user facility. The lab will conduct an international search for her replacement, the press release said.

As deputy for science and technology, Buchanan’s responsibilities will cover the range of ORNL research—computing and computational sciences, neutron science, nuclear science and engineering, the physical sciences, energy and environmental science, and national security—as well as the lab’s leadership role in U.S. ITER, the Exascale Computing Project, and ORNL research centers and institutes, the press release said. [Read more…]