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Updated: K-25 Viewing Platform will be built

Posted at 4:12 pm February 2, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Artist rendering of the new Viewing Platform, which will be located next to the recently constructed K-25 History Center overlooking the footprint of the K-25 Building. (Artist renderings by David Brown)

Note: This story was updated at 9 a.m. Feb. 4.

Two federal agencies have agreed to build a K-25 Viewing Platform at the historic site in west Oak Ridge that was used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants during World War II and the Cold War. The design is expected to be complete in March and the building completed by the end of 2023.

The construction agreement for the viewing building at the former K-25 site was signed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The viewing platform will give visitors a view of the large 44-acre footprint of the former K-25 Building. K-25, which was the world’s largest building, was erected during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. The K-25 Building was demolished in 2013, and many other structures at the site have been removed as the federal government turns over property for private development.

The K-25 Building site itself is now part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. That project commemorates the workers, equipment, and processes used during the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

The K-25 Viewing Platform and associated exhibits are the final components of a multi-project agreement that the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management signed in 2012, clearing the way for demolition of the North Tower of the mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building. The projects commemorate the history of the K-25 site, which has also been known as the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, K-25, K-25, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Ben Williams, Cold War, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, equipment building, Joseph Sahl, K-25 Building, K-25 History Center, K-25 Viewing Platform, Laura Wilkerson, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, OREM, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, uranium enrichment, USACE

Mullis, who led Oak Ridge cleanup, now working at DOE HQ

Posted at 3:42 pm December 30, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Jay Mullis

Jay Mullis, who has led Oak Ridge’s federal cleanup program for more than five years, is now working in U.S. Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Mullis became the acting associate principal deputy assistant secretary for regulatory and policy affairs on November 1. He will serve in that position until it is filled. He replaces Mark Gilbertson, who retired from federal service at the end of October.

With Mullis going to Washington, D.C., Laura Wilkerson has been named acting manager for the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM).

As manager of cleanup work in Oak Ridge, Mullis has been responsible for an annual budget of more than $650 million that supports environmental cleanup and stewardship, decontamination and decommissioning, waste processing and management, surveillance and maintenance programs, historic preservation, and procurement and contract functions, according to DOE.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: DOE, environmental cleanup, federal cleanup, Jay Mullis, Laura Wilkerson, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Reservation, OREM, U.S. Department of Energy

DOE, state pave way to transfer 3,500 acres

Posted at 3:05 pm December 30, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment


From left, TWRA Executive Director Bobby Wilson, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Acting Manager Laura Wilkerson, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office Manager Johnny Moore sign an agreement that lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land from the U.S. Department of Energy to the state of Tennessee. (Submitted photo)

 

More than 3,500 acres of federal land could be transferred to the state of Tennessee, including Clark Center Park and Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement.

The land could be transferred under an agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The two organizations signed an Agreement in Principle on Wednesday, December 15, that “lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land to the state,” a press release said.

“Transferring this federally owned land will increase natural resource management and designate areas for greenspace and mixed-use recreational opportunities for the public,” the press release said.

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From left, TWRA Executive Director Bobby Wilson, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Acting Manager Laura Wilkerson, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office Manager Johnny Moore sign an agreement that lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land from the U.S. Department of Energy to the state of Tennessee. (Submitted photo)

 

More than 3,500 acres of federal land could be transferred to the state of Tennessee, including Clark Center Park and Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement.

The land could be transferred under an agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The two organizations signed an Agreement in Principle on Wednesday, December 15, that “lays the groundwork to transfer more than 3,500 acres of scenic East Tennessee land to the state,” a press release said.

“Transferring this federally owned land will increase natural resource management and designate areas for greenspace and mixed-use recreational opportunities for the public,” the press release said.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Filed Under: DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Premium Content, Slider, State, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Black Oak Ridge Conservation Easement, Bobby Wilson, Clark Center Park, DOE, DOE Office of Science, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, federal land, Johnny Moore, Laura Wilkerson, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Randy McNally, state of Tennessee, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, TWRA, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR

DOE names deputy cleanup manager in Oak Ridge

Posted at 7:29 pm December 20, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Laura Wilkerson

Laura Wilkerson

  The U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday named a deputy cleanup manager in Oak Ridge. The new deputy manager, Laura Wilkerson, has been selected as the deputy manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. That’s the program responsible for cleanup projects at federal sites in Oak Ridge, including the East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex. Wilkerson previously served as the director of OREM’s Planning and Execution Division, a press release said. She has more than 25 years of federal service. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: cleanup, deputy cleanup manager, deputy manager, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, federal sites, Laura Wilkerson, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Reservation, OREM, ORNL, transuranic waste, U.S. Department of Energy, Uranium-233 Disposition, Waste Management, Y-12 National Security Complex

Brian Henry named portfolio federal project director for Y-12 cleanup

Posted at 11:51 am October 4, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

brian-henry-doe-photo-by-lynn-freeny

Brian Henry (DOE photo by Lynn Freeny)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM, has named Brian Henry as its new portfolio federal project director for cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Henry will replace Laura Wilkerson, who is now director of the Planning and Execution Division, where she oversees the portfolio cleanup directors at Y-12, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and East Tennessee Technology Park. Henry will report to Wilkerson.

As the portfolio federal project director, Henry oversees all of the planning and execution for Y-12’s current and upcoming cleanup projects, including all decontamination, demolition, and disposal operations, a press release said. In this role, he is also leading preparations for the Mercury Treatment Facility and the Environmental Management Disposal Facility, two of OREM’s largest and most vital near-term capital projects. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge Office, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Brian Henry, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, Environmental Management Disposal Facility, federal project director for cleanup, Laura Wilkerson, mercury migration, Mercury Treatment Facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, OREM, Sue Cange, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex

DOE director’s presentation to include discussion of proposed landfill near Y-12

Posted at 12:27 pm November 16, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Laura Wilkerson

Laura Wilkerson

A Tuesday presentation by federal official Laura Wilkerson will include information on the proposed new Environmental Management Disposal Facility, a landfill that would be on the west side of the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Laura Wilkerson is a portfolio federal project director for the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. She will be the guest speaker at Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday, November 17, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Her presentation will focus on environmental management and waste management in Oak Ridge.

Lunch with the League is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. In a press release, the League said it has a position on waste disposal that addresses full disclosure of intent and public participation in the decision-making process.

“The League position is to protect the health of the community and environment,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, Meetings and Events, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: DOE landfill, environmental management, Environmental Management Disposal Facility, landfill, Laura Wilkerson, League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, Lunch with the League, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, U.S. Department of Energy, waste disposal, Waste Management, Y-12 National Security Complex

Council to discuss impact of proposed DOE landfill during Friday meeting

Posted at 12:29 am May 5, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Reservation with Bear Creek Valley

The proposed Environmental Management Disposal Facility would be built between the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, or EMWMF.

 

Oak Ridge officials will discuss the community impact of a proposed landfill that would hold waste from cleanup work at federal sites during a work session on Friday.

The Oak Ridge City Council work session is scheduled from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 8, in the Municipal Building Training Room.

Council will be briefed on the Draft Community Impact Assessment of the proposed Environmental Management Disposal Facility by Karl Kalbacher, project manager for The Ferguson Group, a company that helps the city with its federal legislative agenda in Washington, D.C.

The Environmental Management Disposal Facility would be built on Bear Creek Road west of the Y-12 National Security Complex near another landfill that is already in use and has been operating since 2002. It could cost $1 billion, including construction and 23 years of operations. [Read more…]

Filed Under: DOE, Government, Meetings and Events, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Office, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Bear Creek Road, cleanup work, community impact assessment, DOE landfill, Draft Community Impact Assessment, East Tennessee Technology Park, EMDF, EMWMF, Environmental Management Disposal Facility, Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, K-25 site, Karl Kalbacher, landfill, Laura Wilkerson, Municipal Building Training Room, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, The Ferguson Group, Y-12 National Security Complex

New DOE landfill could cost $1 billion, including construction, operations

Posted at 2:03 am February 13, 2015
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Oak Ridge Reservation with Bear Creek Valley

But it could also save $1 billion through on-site disposal, officials say

A new landfill that would hold waste from cleanup work at federal sites in Oak Ridge could cost $1 billion, a project manager said Wednesday. That start-to-finish estimate includes construction and 23 years of operations.

But federal officials said the new landfill could save $1 billion in on-site versus off-site costs. That’s because the waste would be disposed on site and wouldn’t have to be shipped out of town, possibly to other states such as Nevada and Utah.

Saving money through on-site disposal could, in turn, accelerate the cleanup work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, said Laura Wilkerson, federal project director for the Y-12 National Security Complex in the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management.

The new landfill, the Environmental Management Disposal Facility, would be built on Bear Creek Road west of the Y-12 National Security Complex near another landfill that is already in use and has been operating since 2002. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Bear Creek Road, Bear Creek Valley, cleanup, cleanup work, Dave Adler, disposal cells, DOE landfill, East Tennessee Technology Park, EMDF, EMWMF, environmental cleanup, Environmental Management Disposal Facility, Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, K-25, landfill, Laura Wilkerson, low-level radioactive waste, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board, SSAB, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex

DOE works with transuranic waste while NM facility shut down

Posted at 2:13 pm December 27, 2014
By Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board Leave a Comment

TRU Waste Processing Center

The TRU Waste Processing Center southwest of Oak Ridge National Laboratory off State Route 95 is pictured above. (Photo courtesy TWPC/WAI)

 

Worker Handles Remote TRU Waste

A worker manipulates RH waste at the TRU Waste Processing Center. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board)

In February 2014, two incidents at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, in New Mexico caused the shutdown of the only facility in the U.S. that permanently disposes of transuranic waste, or TRU waste. That waste is disposed in shafts, or drifts, about a half-mile below ground in an ancient salt bed. Some of that waste has come from Oak Ridge.

After months of investigations into the cause of a truck fire and a radiological release two weeks later, the U.S. Department of Energy released a recovery plan at the end of September that outlines the steps necessary to resume limited waste operations in the first quarter of 2016.

“Key elements of the recovery plan include strengthening safety programs, regulatory compliance, decontamination of the underground, increasing ventilation, mine stability and underground habitability, and additional workforce retraining,” according to a statement on WIPP’s website. [Read more…]

Filed Under: DOE EM, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: CH waste, contact-handled, DOE, environmental management, Laura Wilkerson, Nevada National Security Site, New Mexico, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, recovery plan, remote-handled, RH waste, transuranic, transuranic waste, TRU, TRU waste, TRU Waste Processing Center, TWPC, U.S. Department of Energy, waste, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, WIPP, WIPP shutdown

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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