North Augusta, S.C., a city near the Savannah River Site, recently opened its $2 million waste transfer station, a facility paid for with money from a $600 million settlement in South Carolina’s case against the Department of Energy.
The settlement stemmed from DOE cancelling of the SRS Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication (MOX) Facility, one that was expected to convert 34 metric tons of weapons-usable plutonium into reusable nuclear fuel.
The structure that was to house the MOX facility is being repurposed by DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration into the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility, which will make plutonium pits.
After spending $75 million in legal fees, South Carolina doled out $139 million of the remaining $525 million total to Aiken County, which houses DOE’s Savannah River Site. North Augusta received $37 million and used $2 million of the sum to build a regional solid waste transfer station, one that will accept trash from the city and surrounding municipalities before the waste is taken to a landfill.
A grand opening ceremony was held recently, the North August Post & Courier reported.
S.C. Sen.Tom Young (R-Aiken) who represents North Augusta and other cities in the county, said the waste station and the overall receipt of the money culminates a 22-month period spent advocating for those who have housed SRS in their backyard and who were also most affected by the dismissal of MOX.
“We were coming up with different proposals and speaking with members of the General Assembly to get support for different investment projects and to figure out how to best divide the funds,” he said. “At the end of the day, we were able to get funds to the counties that have invested in the Savannah River Site.”
In addition to the nine-figure payout, the federal government is required under the settlement to remove 9.5 of the 34 metric tons of plutonium from South Carolina by 2037.
That mission is on pace for a timely completion, according to Jim Dawkins, the chief operations officer for management contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). In an April update to the South Carolina Nuclear Advisory Council, Dawkins said the plutonium is being downblended, meaning it is being mixed with inhibitor materials to remove the threat, and is being temporarily stored on site before being sent to a permanent repository.
Dawkins said at the time that SRNS had exceeded 1 metric ton of downblended material in December, and completed 61 of the 120 downblends scheduled for fiscal 2025. In addition, three more plutonium processing lines are under construction to add to the single line currently operating. Once complete, processing will increase significantly, making it easier to meet the 2037 deadline.
