Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge receives $3 million state wastewater loan

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City of Oak Ridge Seal

Tennessee awards more than $8.2 million in low-interest water, wastewater construction loans

NASHVILLE—Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau on Tuesday announced that one community and one utility district have been approved to receive more than $8.2 million in low-interest loans for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements.

Oak Ridge received a $3 million state wastewater loan.

“It’s great to see local governments using this important program to help address critical drinking water and wastewater needs,” Haslam said in a press release. “Making these infrastructure improvements will benefit the health of these communities and economic growth.” [Read more…]

Guest column: Emergency management director responds to question about drinking water safety

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Note: Anderson County Emergency Management Director Steve Payne recently responded to a citizens’ question about safety measures the county has in place to protect drinking water in the event of a hazardous situation like that which recently occurred in West Virginia. Here’s Payne’s response, which was forwarded by the County Mayor’s Office, which had initially received the question.

Dear Mayor Frank,

Please forward to the citizen who asked:

What safety measures does Anderson County have in place to protect citizens’ drinking water in the event of a hazardous situation like that which occurred recently in West Virginia?

Anderson County is home to some 50 facilities that manufacture, process, store, or utilize quantities of hazardous radiological or chemical materials. The majority of these facilities are located in industrial parks in the county and cities of Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Lake City.

Facilities with quantities of hazardous materials that meet or exceed threshold levels established by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are required by federal law to file each year a Tier 2 Report stating the material(s) and quantity on site. In addition to the name and quantity of each material, the report includes Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), a site map showing location of material, type of storage container, type of storage conditions, and description of dikes, holding basins, and other safeguard measures. Tier 2 reports received in 2013 from private, non-DOE facilities identify 42 separate hazardous materials. [Read more…]

DOE commits to three-year, $4.5 million groundwater study in Oak Ridge

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Daniel Goode and SSAB Groundwater Strategy Presentation

Daniel J. Goode, a research hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, briefs members of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board on a new groundwater strategy for the Oak Ridge Reservation.

The U.S. Department of Energy has agreed to spend $4.5 million during the next three years to study groundwater contamination on the Oak Ridge Reservation.

The reservation includes three federal sites—East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex—that have been involved in missions ranging from scientific research to uranium enrichment to nuclear weapons work. That work has sometimes included the use of hazardous substances such as mercury and technetium-99, a slow-decaying radioactive metal.

The $4.5 million in funding will help implement a new groundwater strategy developed by DOE with help from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The strategy, which was presented to the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board in November, will help guide future cleanup decisions, said Sue Cange, deputy manager for environmental management in DOE’s Oak Ridge Office. [Read more…]