Oak Ridge Today

TVA ash spill cleanup continues despite government shutdown

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Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Cleanup

Cleanup work at the Kingston Fossil Plant, pictured above, continues despite the federal government shutdown. Workers are cleaning up the largest ash spill in U.S. history. Roughly 5.4 million cubic yards of ash spilled in December 2008 when a storage cell failed.

Work to clean up the ash spill at the Kingston Fossil Plant continues despite the federal government shutdown, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The partial government shutdown shouldn’t affect the Tennessee Valley Authority, which owns and operates the plant, because the public utility doesn’t receive federal funding, spokesman Duncan Mansfield said Wednesday.

Agencies involved in the cleanup project, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Corps of Engineers, have furloughed some workers. But there are still many workers at the Kingston ash spill site, Mansfield said.

“The majority of the work is being performed by contractors,” he said. [Read more…]

Great Smoky Mountains National Park to reopen tonight

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Cades Cove

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the nation’s most visited national park, will reopen for five days starting tonight and continuing through Sunday.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the nation’s most visited national park, will reopen for five days starting tonight (Tuesday night/Wednesday morning) and continuing through Sunday, Gov. Bill Haslam said.

The park has been closed because Congress has failed to pass a spending bill in the fiscal year that started Oct. 1. The closure came during the peak fall tourist season.

“The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America’s most visited national park, and for the Smokies and the people around it, the month of October is the most important time of the year,” Haslam said. “I remain hopeful that an end to the federal government shutdown will come this week.”

The park will reopen at 12 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, Oct. 16, and stay open until until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 20, if the shutdown has not ended by then. [Read more…]

Alexander introduces bill to reimburse Tennessee for reopening Smokies

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Cades Cove in the Fall

Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is pictured above in the fall of 2010.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Tuesday introduced legislation in the Senate to reimburse states within 90 days for all state funds used to reopen national parks while the federal government is shut down.

“I voted against shutting down the government, and I’m doing all I can to reopen it—and assuring states that the federal government will reimburse them for funds used to reopen our national treasures is a good step in the right direction,” said the senator, a Tennessee Republican. “For the surrounding communities, the Smokies closing is like a BP oil spill for the Gulf. This is the prime tourist season for the Smokies, when many of the small businesses around the park make most of their money, and I urge Congress to pass this legislation quickly.”

Alexander said the shutdown of the federal government has affected Tennessee’s other national park facilities in addition to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, including Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park. [Read more…]

With thousands of Oak Ridge jobs at stake, union leader, nonprofit urge Congress to reopen government

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Organizing for Action and Steve Jones

About 3,600 workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex could be furloughed starting Monday if Congress doesn’t reach a budget deal, and Steve Jones, center, president of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council, urges legislators to reopen the government during a Tuesday press conference at the ATLC union hall.

With the clock ticking on negotiations and thousands of Oak Ridge jobs at stake, a union leader and nonprofit volunteers on Tuesday urged Congress to reopen the federal government, now shut down for more than two weeks.

If Congress can’t settle its budget disputes by Monday, roughly 3,600 workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex could be furloughed, said Steve Jones, president of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council. Thursday would be their last day at work.

The high-stakes negotiations between Democrats and Republicans continued Tuesday, with the U.S. Senate moving toward a deal, just two days ahead of a possible default on the nation’s debt. But it remained unclear whether the House of Representatives, particularly its conservative Republican members, would support the deal by the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.

Jones said Y-12 will go into a “safe and secure” shutdown mode starting Thursday if Congress hasn’t passed a budget for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1. [Read more…]

With Y-12 furloughs pending, union leader, activists to urge Congress to resolve fiscal disputes

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

Thousands of furloughs are expected at the Y-12 National Security Complex later this week, and on Tuesday, a union leader and political activists will urge Congress to reopen the federal government, pays the nation’s bills, and “get back to work.” An aerial view of Y-12 is pictured above. (Photo courtesy B&W Y-12)

Thousands of furloughs are expected at the Y-12 National Security Complex later this week, and on Tuesday, a union leader and political activists will urge Congress to reopen the federal government, pay the nation’s bills, and “get back to work,” a press release said.

Steve Jones, president of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council, will be the featured speaker at a 10:30 a.m. Tuesday press conference organized by Organizing for Action. The press conference is at the ATLC union hall at 109 Viking Road in Oak Ridge.

Y-12 started an “orderly shutdown” on Monday, Oct. 7, because Congress has not passed a budget in the fiscal year that started Oct. 1. The press release said Y-12 will go into a safe and secure shutdown mode on Thursday, and only essential personnel—about 900 people, with half of them being security forces—will remain. [Read more…]

Alexander, Corker vote against 14-month debt limit increase

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

Tennessee’s two U.S. senators both voted on Saturday against raising the nation’s debt limit for 14 months, and Congress remained at an impasse over reopening the government and preventing the nation’s first default on its debt.

“The bill we considered today would have raised the debt ceiling for more than a year without implementing the spending restraints Congress needs to force us to deal with our fiscal issues, so I couldn’t support it,” Sen. Bob Corker said in a statement Saturday. “I’m optimistic that bipartisan discussions in the Senate will eventually produce a solution that reopens the government and strengthens our country fiscally.”

“I voted against a 14-month increase of the debt limit that took no steps to reduce out-of-control mandatory spending,” Sen. Lamar Alexander said.

Alexander and Corker are both Tennessee Republicans. [Read more…]

Congressman: House votes to fully fund Y-12 during government shutdown

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

Note: This story was last updated at 5:22 p.m.

The federal government remains shut down over a funding dispute, but the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Friday morning that would fully fund the Y-12 National Security Complex and other security functions, Congressman Chuck Fleischmann said.

Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge, called it a matter of national security. Y-12 is one of the nation’s nuclear weapons plants, but it started an “orderly shutdown” on Monday because Congress has failed to pass a spending bill in the fiscal year that started Oct. 1.

Fleischmann expressed concern about the shutdown in a speech on the House floor. [Read more…]

Federal contractors, agencies consider shutdowns, furloughs as funding dispute drags on

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Joe L. Evins Federal Building

The U.S. Department of Energy will soon start shutting down nonessential operations, resulting in employee and contractor furloughs, unless Congress passes a spending bill. Pictured above is DOE’s Oak Ridge Office at the Joe L. Evins Federal Building.

Furloughs possible at DOE, UCOR, other federal contractors; some SAIC employees on leave

The government shutdown is now in its second week, and the U.S. Department of Energy could start shutting down nonessential operations soon—resulting in employee and contractor furloughs—unless Congress quickly approves a spending bill, officials said Tuesday.

Federal contractors with operations in Oak Ridge are also considering possible shutdowns and furloughs because congressional Democrats and Republicans have failed to reach an agreement on a spending bill to keep the government operating in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

In a Tuesday message to employees, UCOR President Leo Sain said the company, the government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, has not been told to shut down yet. [Read more…]

ORNL prepares for possible temporary shutdown, unpaid furloughs

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Central Campus

Officials at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, pictured above, are preparing for a possible temporary shutdown and unpaid furloughs in case Congress is unable to pass a federal spending bill. (Courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has enough funding to continue operating through this month and into November, but officials are preparing for a possible temporary shutdown and unpaid furloughs, Director Thom Mason told employees Monday.

The potential shutdown of ORNL would be triggered by Congress’ failure to pass a spending bill in the fiscal year that began Tuesday, Oct. 1. The federal government has already partially shut down, and the Y-12 National Security Complex started an “orderly shutdown” Monday.

Before the Sept. 30 end of the last fiscal year, the U.S. Department of Energy had told federal employees to continue reporting for work in the new fiscal year unless there is a lapse in appropriations and all available money is spent. And Mason told employees of UT-Battelle, which manages the lab, to report to work starting Oct. 1, even if the government shut down, because ORNL had enough funding to continue operating. [Read more…]

Y-12 starts shutdown as Congress fails to approve federal spending

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

With Congress unable to agree on a federal spending bill, the contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex, pictured above, has been told to start an “orderly shutdown.” (Photo courtesy B&W Y-12)

With Congress unable to agree on a spending bill and the federal government shut down for a week, the Y-12 National Security Complex has been told to start its own “orderly shutdown.”

Chuck Spencer, general manager of B&W Y-12, which manages and operates the plant, said officials hope that furloughs can be avoided, or that they won’t last long.

The shutdown activities are supposed to put the nuclear weapons plant into a safe and secure status.

A spokesman at the National Nuclear Security Administration in Washington, D.C., wasn’t immediately available to answer such questions as how long the shutdown might take or whether some nuclear-related activities might continue at Y-12. In addition to its weapons work, Y-12 retrieves and stores nuclear materials, fuels the nation’s naval reactors, and performs complementary work for other government and private-sector entities. [Read more…]

TVA breaks all-time record for power generation from its dams

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Norris Dam

The Norris Dam in Anderson County can produce electricity for the Tennessee Valley Authority. (Photo courtesy TVA)

KNOXVILLE—More electricity was generated from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s 29 hydroelectric dams in fiscal year 2013, which ended Sept. 30, than in any other year in the agency’s 80-year history.

The dams provided 18.5 million megawatt-hours of clean, renewable energy, breaking the previous record set in 1973 by 122,000 MWh. That is enough electricity to serve more than 1.2 million homes in the TVA service area for an entire year.

Above-average rain and runoff fueled the increase in hydro generation. The Tennessee Valley received almost 62 inches of rainfall and almost 30 inches of runoff in fiscal 2013, which were 121 percent and 136 percent of normal, respectively. Runoff is the amount of rainfall that actually reaches streams and creeks, and eventually the Tennessee River, its tributaries, and TVA’s dams. [Read more…]

Great Smoky Mountains National Park closed until shutdown ends

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Cades Cove in the Fall

Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is pictured above in the fall of 2010.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park in East Tennessee is one of 401 national parks closed because of the federal government shutdown that started Tuesday.

The National Park Service announced that it has closed all visitor facilities at the park, including visitor centers, picnic areas, campgrounds, and trails. Roads are closed except for Newfound Gap Road (Highway 441), including the Spur and the Gatlinburg Bypass. The park will remain closed until the government reopens, the NPS said.

The closure comes during the busy fall season, when many people visit the park for the changing of the leaves. [Read more…]