UCOR: Oak Ridge Demo Work Would Continue On Track Under a CR

D&D work at Oak Ridge will continue on track in the likely event of a continuing resolution at the start of the new fiscal year in October, URS-CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC, President Ken Rueter told WC Monitor this week. The contractor completed D&D of the enormous K-25 gaseous diffusion plant earlier this year and is now focusing efforts on the K-31 and K-27 buildings, with a goal to finish D&D of those facilities in late 2016. “With the efficiencies that we have experienced through 2014 we believe that we can continue to comfortably deliver our work plan for 2015 comfortably through the early February time frame in a CR,” Rueter said.

DOE’s FY’15 budget request includes $138 million for D&D efforts at Oak Ridge, 22 percent below current funding levels—a number that “challenges” UCOR’s 2016 goal to complete K-31 and K-27 demo. Both House and Senate appropriators have proposed a boost in funds, which would still allow UCOR to meet its goal. But talks on a FY’15 spending bill are stalled in Congress, leading to a likely CR in October.