Y-12 EMERGENCY OPS CENTER PROPOSED IN BUDGET
NS&D Monitor
3/21/2014
According to detailed budget documents released this week, the National Nuclear Security Administration plans to begin design of a new Emergency Operations Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex, as well as new facilities at Sandia and Lawrence Livermore National Labs. There appears to be some question regarding the actual use of the facilities, at least the one proposed for Y-12. The 600-page budget document includes multiple references to the new Emergency Operations Center at Y-12 and said $2 million is being requested in Fiscal Year 2015 for the start of design work on the project, which has a total estimated cost of $22.5 million. The cost range for the facilities at all three sites is somewhere between $45 million and $75 million.
However, the NNSA, in a response to questions about the Y-12 project, said the facility identified in the budget document as the Emergency Operations Center would actually be a replacement for the Oak Ridge plant’s Plant Shift Superintendent’s Office—which also has emergency responsibilities. Federal spokesman Steven Wyatt said Y-12 will continue to use the existing EOC, which is physically located off-site at the East Tennessee Technology Park a few miles away. Wyatt said the cost, location and design of the new facility at Y-12 have not yet been determined. The budget document for Fiscal Year 2015 describes the newly proposed facility as a “survivable, habitable facility from which to monitor site conditions, respond to abnormal events, and provide command and control during the integrated response to an operational emergency.”
The document noted that the existing facility at Y-12 (presumably the PSS office, which is still located in a World War II-era building, 9706-2), doesn’t meet the criteria of DOE Order 151.1C, “Comprehensive Emergency Management Systems,” which the request said “requires that emergency operations/response centers be capable of supporting continuous emergency operations for an extended period of time and survive various severe events, such as earthquakes and tornadoes.” It appears that the NNSA has changed its approach to modernizing the emergency response capabilities by breaking the projects into small, more manageable and easier-to-fund projects.
Previous Plan for EOC Scuttled
Until the proposal was dropped in late 2011, Y-12’s was moving forward with an agreement that would have allowed a private development to building a privately financed Complex Command Center. That $50 million facility would have included a new EOC, as well as the Plant Shift Superintendent’s Office, a new Fire Station and other amenities. The plan fell apart after decision-makers in Washington turned against the alternative-financing concept because of concerns that it bypassed some of Congress’ authority to control project spending.
Lawler-Wood, the developer out of Knoxville, had previously developed two other major facilities at Y-12—the Jack Case Center and the New Hope Center—by using alternative financing. Under the lease arrangement, Y-12 pays an annual rent of $21.32 per square foot. The two buildings combined are 549,856 square feet, which means the NNSA pays about $11.7 million annually in rent via its Y-12 managing contract.
Existing Facility Praised by DNFSB
Y-12 had drawn scrutiny and criticism for the condition of its emergency response capabilities, with concerns raised about the habitability of the facilities in the event of hazardous releases. However, the off-site EOP has actually gotten praised from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. In an October 2011 memo, the board staff noted, “Due to its location and construction, the emergency operations center is generally impervious to the vulnerabilities associated with the on-site facilities and is one of the more capable command centers in the DOE complex.” It’s not clear what the NNSA plans to do about Y-12’s outdated Fire Station. Wyatt acknowledged that it is under review. “Plans for replacing the existing fire hall at Y-12 are still on the drawing board at this time, with no decisions made,” he said.
WEST END PROTECTED AREA REDUCTION ON HOLD AT Y-12?
NS&D Monitor
3/21/2014
The West End Protected Area Reduction (WEPAR) project, once a sub-component of the Uranium Processing Facility project, has apparently been put on hold at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The purpose of WEPAR was to shrink the size of the plant’s high-security Protected Area by relocating the PIDAS fences on the west end and reducing the security requirements around some of the plant’s old production facilities that are now inactive and need cleanup.
The project was supposed to give a jump-start to some environmental projects, particularly efforts to characterize the extent of mercury contamination in the plant’s interior and make plans for eventual cleanup or projects that will keep the toxic mercury from recharging in the groundwater. WEPAR was supposed to greatly reduce the cost of cleanup activities at Y-12 by eliminating the need for workers with security clearances in certain areas of the plant.
Funding Stripped Out for FY 2015?
According to newly released budget documents, however, funding for WEPAR has been removed from the administration’s Fiscal Year 2015 request. The request notes, “Scope of work is being reevaluated.” Those documents show the FY2014 funding for WEPAR at $24 million, but it was not immediately clear if those funds are still being used for the security rearrangement or if they’ve been rotated to other projects. Future funding is now listed as TBD (to be determined). The NNSA did not immediately respond to requests for information.
