Oak Ridge Today

Eight new members join DOE’s environmental advisory board

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The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board (ORSSAB) welcomed eight new members during the board’s February monthly meeting in Oak Ridge. From left (front), Bonnie Shoemaker, Leon Shields, Michelle Lohmann, and Harriett McCurdy; from left (back), Tom Tuck, Mary Butler, Atilio Anzellotti, Christine Michaels, Noah Keebler, Mike Mark, Harold Conner, Jr., Rosario Gonzalez, Roger Petrie, Paul Dill, Melyssa Noe and Kristof Czartoryski. (Submitted photo)

The U.S. Department of Energy recently welcomed eight new members to its Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management citizen advisory board.

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board is a federally chartered citizens’ panel that provides independent recommendations to OREM, which is responsible for the cleanup of the Oak Ridge Reservation.

“ORSSAB is a core element of our outreach and engagement with the community,” said OREM Manager Jay Mullis. “We’re very grateful to have area residents who are willing to invest their time and energy to learn more about our work, share their perspectives, and provide recommendations. Their insight and feedback greatly benefit our cleanup program.”

All board members are volunteers from the region and have a variety of backgrounds.

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SSAB to hear about reuse, historic preservation at ETTP

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K-25 History Center (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board will hear about reuse and historic preservation at the East Tennessee Technology Park, including the new K-25 History Center, during a presentation next week.

The presentation will be given to the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board by Steve Cooke of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. It is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, in the U.S. Department of Energy Information Center at 1 Science.gov Way off Oak Ridge Turnpike in east Oak Ridge.

Some of the last remaining Manhattan Project and Cold War buildings are being demolished at ETTP, and most major cleanup work is expected to be completed this year.

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Environmental advisory board seeks new members

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Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board members recently toured Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Aquatics Lab, where researchers explained how their sampling and study efforts are helping understand and track biodiversity in the East Fork Poplar Creek. (Photo courtesy SSAB)

Members are being sought for an advisory board that learns about U.S. Department of Energy cleanup projects in Oak Ridge and, when appropriate, provides recommendations.

The citizens advisory board is the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board. It provides recommendations to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. No technical expertise is required to serve on the board. Terms are for two years, and members may serve up to three terms, for a total of six years on the board.

The board and its Environmental Management and Stewardship Committee meet monthly to hear directly from OREM personnel on cleanup projects and related decisions. Topics include, but are not limited to, the removal of excess facilities, annual budget requests to Congress, groundwater remediation, hazardous waste management, and long-term stewardship.

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DOE seeks candidates for advisory board vacancies, applications due Sept. 30

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management is seeking volunteers to fill vacancies on the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board, or ORSSAB. The board is a federally chartered citizens’ panel that provides recommendations to the agency regarding cleanup activities across the Oak Ridge Reservation.

Chartered in 1995 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the board is comprised of up to 22 members that are chosen to reflect the diversity of gender, race, occupation, and interests of people living near the Oak Ridge Reservation.

The board and its EM/Stewardship Committee meet monthly to discuss and develop recommendations on cleanup decisions and topics such as cleanup strategies, hazardous waste management, and long-term stewardship. The board also reviews the Environmental Management program’s planning decisions and cleanup-related documents. All ORSSAB meetings and its committees are open to the public. [Read more…]

Construction on Y-12 mercury treatment plant could start in 2018, cost $146 million

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Y-12 Process Buildings and Mercury Use Area

Note: This story was last updated at 3:30 p.m.

Construction on a mercury treatment plant at the Y-12 National Security Complex could start in 2018 and cost $146 million, a federal official said Wednesday.

The plant would treat mercury contamination that originates in the West End Mercury Area at Y-12, flows through storm drains, and enters Upper East Fork Poplar Creek at a point known as Outfall 200. East Fork Poplar Creek flows through Oak Ridge.

The U.S. Department of Energy has evaluated several alternatives for treating the mercury, including doing nothing. But DOE prefers an option that would treat 3,000 gallons of contaminated water per minute and store two million gallons of stormwater. It could reduce the flow of mercury, a toxic metal, by an estimated 84 percent. [Read more…]

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

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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…]

Site Specific Advisory Board elects officers for FY 2015

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Dave Hemelright

Dave Hemelright

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board elected its Fiscal Year 2015 officers during its September board meeting. Re-elected for second terms are Dave Hemelright, chair, and Lisa Hagy, secretary. Jan Lyons was elected vice-chair. Their terms of service are October 2014 through September 2015.

Hemelright was the vice chair for FY 2013 and served as acting chair for a time when the previous chair’s term of service ended in July 2013. He also has served on the Finance and Process, Environmental Management and Stewardship, Public Outreach, and Executive committees.

Hemelright, who lives in Lenoir City, is the K-12 facilities specialist for Kaatz, Binkley, Jones, and Morris Architects Inc., specializing in Tennessee public school planning, design, and construction. He has 20 years of construction management experience in commercial, retail, and food service construction, and 10 years in maintenance management for retail and K–12 public schools. He currently serves on the board of the Tennessee School Plant Management Association and has served on the Loudon County Planning Commission. [Read more…]

DOE responds to SSAB’s waste disposal recommendation

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Submitted

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has responded to a recommendation made earlier this year by the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board.

In May, the federally appointed citizens’ panel recommended that DOE continue to plan for additional on-site waste disposal capacity on the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation, or ORR, for low-level radioactive and chemically hazardous waste.

DOE currently operates the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, or EMWMF, a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Bear Creek Valley near the Y-12 National Security Complex. When the facility began accepting waste in 2002, it was expected to handle all projected low-level waste from cleanup operations on the ORR. However, with the amount of demolition and work left to complete, EM requires additional disposal capacity onsite.

DOE has conducted a study to develop, screen, and evaluate alternatives for an additional waste disposal facility, with a working name of EM Disposal Facility, or EMDF. ORSSAB’s recommendation encouraged the agency to continue working toward adding disposal capacity and proposed recommendations for a new facility.

The ORSSAB encouraged DOE to minimize the need for additional on-site capacity when possible. In its response, DOE said it was examining the final cover design of the EMWMF to allow for extended capacity. The waste acceptance criteria for other so-called “sanitary landfills” on Chestnut Ridge are being evaluated for possible modifications to allow a wider variety of waste. [Read more…]

DOE advisory board welcomes new student representatives

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Aditya Chourey and Claire Rowcliffe

Aditya Chourey of Oak Ridge High School and Claire Rowcliffe of Hardin Valley Academy, are the new student representatives to the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board for Fiscal Year 2014-15. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board welcomed two new student representatives, Aditya Chourey and Claire Rowcliffe, at its May meeting. They will serve on the board through April 2015.

ORSSAB is a federally chartered citizens’ panel that provides recommendations to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management.

“We’re very happy to welcome two new student representatives to the board,” said Dave Adler, the board’s DOE alternate deputy designated federal officer, as he introduced the students to the board. “Thank you for coming to work with us for a year. It’s great you’ll be taking the time from your high school schedules to be part of the board.” [Read more…]

Spotlight: DOE, advisory board recognize service of student representatives

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Gracie Hall, Susan Cange, and Julia Riley

Susan Cange from the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge presents plaques of appreciation to Julia Riley, Hardin Valley Academy, left, and Gracie Hall, Oak Ridge High School, right, for their service as student representatives to the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office recognized outgoing student representatives Gracie Hall and Julia Riley at the April board meeting.

ORSSAB is a federally chartered citizens’ panel that provides recommendations to the DOE Oak Ridge Environmental Management Program, which is responsible for the cleanup of the Oak Ridge Reservation. Each year it provides seats for two non-voting student representatives from area high schools. In addition to participating at board meetings, students can be members of the board’s working committees.

“We appreciate the insight the student representatives provide during their tenure on the ORSSAB, so it’s always sad to see them leave when they complete their terms,” said Susan Cange, deputy assistant manager for the DOE Oak Ridge Environmental Management Program and the board’s deputy designated federal officer. “We are thankful to them for dedicating time during their busy senior year of high school to help provide valuable input in support of environmental cleanup in Oak Ridge.”

Gracie will graduate from Oak Ridge High School in May. For the last couple of years, she has been training in martial arts and has a blue-purple belt in Filkenjutsu. She plans to continue training and teaching various forms of martial arts.

Gracie also likes to sing and will be singing in her last Sound Company show in May. Sound Company is a local group of young singers and dancers.

She will be attending the University of Tennessee Knoxville this fall in the honors program with an undeclared major. She is considering environmental science or criminal justice. She does plan to minor in Spanish.

Julia will graduate from Hardin Valley Academy in May. During her senior year, she has been active as president of Hardin Valley’s Venture Crew. She has been involved in blood drives at Hardin Valley as assistant to one of her teachers who coordinates the drives.

Julia will attend Clemson University this fall in the honors program studying environmental science with a wildlife biology minor.

Two new students from Oak Ridge High School and Hardin Valley Academy will be seated in May.

For more information about ORSSAB, visit the board’s website at www.energy.gov/orssab or call (865) 241-4583 or (865) 241-4584.

Strategy to manage contaminated groundwater on DOE reservation to be discussed tonight

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A citizens’ panel will discuss a strategy document tonight that outlines possible solutions for managing contaminated groundwater on the federal reservation in Oak Ridge.

It’s the focus of a 6 p.m. meeting of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board. The strategy document was developed to address problems with contaminated groundwater on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation.

The meeting is in the DOE Information Center in the Office of Science and Technical Information on Oak Ridge Turnpike. The public is welcome to attend. OSTI is between Science.gov Way and Melton Lake Drive. [Read more…]

Site Specific Advisory Board elects new officers

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Dave Hemelright

Dave Hemelright

Bruce Hicks

Bruce Hicks

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board elected new officers during its September board meeting. The officers will serve in Fiscal Year 2014.

Dave Hemelright, Bruce Hicks, and Lisa Hagy will serve as chair, vice chair, and secretary respectively. The new officers presided over their first meeting Oct. 9 at the U.S. Department of Energy Information Center at 1 Science.gov Way in Oak Ridge.

Hemelright was the vice chair for FY 2013 and had been acting chair since his predecessor, David Martin, completed his term of service in July. He also served on the Finance and Process, Environmental Management, Public Outreach, and Stewardship committees. [Read more…]