Senate funds D&D at $40 million more than last year

The decontamination and decommissioning work at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant has again been funded to the tune of $40 million more than last year, in appropriations found in Thursday’s Energy and Water Appropriations legislation.

U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) said the Senate has passed new funding for the cleanup project. The funding will help maintain current employment levels for the decontamination and decommissioning work at the Portsmouth Plant.

The funding for the project had originally been set up for revenue to come from uranium sales and appropriations, but when the bottom seemingly fell out of the uranium market and appropriations were cut, officials were sent scrambling to try to get the Department of Energy to completely fund the entire project.

“I’m committed to ensuring there are adequate resources for the cleanup work at Portsmouth, and I’m pleased the Senate passed this funding today,” Portman said. “The cleanup project in Portsmouth is an important component of economic development in southern Ohio. I will continue to monitor the administration’s barter of uranium to ensure full funding is delivered for cleanup at Portsmouth, but the Senate’s action today is a positive step forward. I will continue to urge the Obama Administration and Secretary Moniz to keep their promises to the Piketon community.”

Portman secured funding needed to maintain current employment levels for the decontamination and decommissioning work at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in last year’s Omnibus bill, and has repeatedly called on the Obama administration to uphold their promises to the Piketon community and to provide adequate funding to avoid layoffs.

Funding will keep D&D workers employed

By Frank Lewis

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Reach Frank Lewis at 740-353-3101, ext. 1928, or on Twitter @franklewis.

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