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| Letter has Oak Ridge impact; N.M. Sen. Domenici in favor of retaining community rules |
April 12, 2000 |
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OAK RIDGE -- The U.S. Department of Energy earlier this year opted not to include requirements for economic development or community
investment in the new management contract at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, a move that bucked recent trends and upset city leaders.
Oak Ridge, however, now has a powerful ally on the issue: U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., wrote a letter to Energy Secretary Bill Richardson to complain about a policy change that affects new
contracts for the Oak Ridge plant as well as a waste facility in his home state.
"This is a very serious and highly inappropriate change," Domenici wrote in the March 30 letter co-signed by U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M.
Domenici holds key Senate positions, including chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on energy and water development, that influence DOE`s funding.
A strong regional economy is vital to each of the DOE facilities, which rely on support from other companies and the pool of skilled workers, Domenici wrote to Richardson. Existing contracts at DOE facilities in New Mexico have "shown the wisdom" of including economic-development requirements for the federal contractors, he said.
Eliminating those requirements "will impact the ability of these locations to accomplish their national missions," the senator wrote. He asked DOE to reinstate the requirements during contract
negotiations.
DOE currently is seeking bids on the Y-12 contract, currently held by Lockheed Martin Energy Systems. The proposals are due May 1, and
DOE expects to award a new Oak Ridge contract in late summer.
Oak Ridge City Council passed a resolution Feb. 7 urging support for economic development and "other community programs" from DOE and its contractors. After DOE failed to include requirements in the request for proposals at Y-12, Oak Ridge City Manager Paul Boyer wrote a letter to DOE expressing his "extreme" disappointment and asking DOE to reconsider its position.
Oak Ridge was among the first locations within DOE`s nuclear complex to have community-support requirements in the management contracts, beginning in 1984 when Martin Marietta took over as chief contractor.
More recently, Bechtel Jacobs promised to create 3,000 new jobs in the region as part of its proposal that won DOE`s environmental-management contract in Oak Ridge.
Frank Munger can be reached at 865-482-9213 or
twig1@knoxnews.infi.net. |
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