A $50 million project intended to reduce the cost and time of nuclear cleanup at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site is at a standstill due to funding disagreements between the federal government and local stakeholders in South Carolina.
The Aiken Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, a group spearheaded by a local economic development group, is heading up the effort in the city of Aiken, near Savannah River. But the team disagrees with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on how best to fund the project.
Still, the Energy Department and its partners remain supportive of the advanced manufacturing center (AMC), said Will Williams, a member of the Aiken group. The stakeholder organization is working with DOE and its Savannah River National Laboratory to build the 70,000-square-foot facility near the local campus of the University of South Carolina.
The facility would employ about 110 workers and house chemistry labs, engineering fabrication labs, and high bay and industrial work space. Construction will be funded through DOE, which serves as a public partner, and the facility would be leased by the SRS management and operations contractor, which also runs the lab. Current contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) is on the job through July 31, 2019.
Williams said last week there has been little movement on the project in the past year or so. He said the Office of Management and Budget believes the facility would require a capital lease, meaning DOE would provide the entire $45 million to $50 million up front. However, the partnership is pushing for an operating lease, which would only require an annual expenditure of $2.5 million.
“While we have continued to advocate for the project both from our office and our lobbying efforts, the project remains mired in DC administrivia,” Williams said via email. “That is where we remain.”
The Energy Department has largely remained silent on the project for the last two years, and has not responded to Weapons Complex Morning Briefing’s inquiries.
