The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM, has cut costs by $5.4 million, federal officials said.
OREM is one of several U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management, or EM, sites that reduced costs by more than $100Â million in fiscal year 2016, which ended September 30.
The costs were reduced in response to a challenge from EM leaders to free more funding for cleanup, DOE said in a December 29 EM Update electronic newsletter.
The Savannah River Operations Office realized more than $34.1 million in cost reductions, officials said. It was followed by the Richland Operations Office with more than $31.6 million; Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office with more than $16.8 million; Office of River Protection with more than $12.7 million; Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management with $5.4 million; and Idaho Site with more than $4 million.
“Reducing our costs by more than $100 million is a tremendous accomplishment, and we are going to continue to look for ways to work smarter and identify further savings in fiscal year 2017,†EM Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Sue Cange said. [Read more…]