Today, the Office of Environmental Management is renewing a $2.5 million grant to Ohio University (OU) to support community redevelopment. Since 2016, DOE has provided a total of $8.2 million to OU for work with the communities surrounding the Portsmouth site.
The grant will provide public outreach support to continue stakeholder interactions, focusing on site reuse of PORTS. In addition, OU will continue development of recommended solutions to energy and environmental challenges found in the southeastern Ohio area affected by cleanup of the Portsmouth site.
“Ohio University is an outstanding asset for DOE and the communities surrounding the Portsmouth site," stated Joel Bradburne, Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Manager. “After developing an independent community driven roadmap for the site, they remain committed to providing expertise and continuity that is preparing the site for a future use."
This financial assistance grant will be administered over five years beginning Oct. 1, 2022 through Sept. 30, 2027, as the current grant expires on Sept. 30, 2022.
The DOE Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office oversees environmental cleanup at the Portsmouth Site, which produced enriched uranium for national security and later commercial energy purposes until operations ceased in 2001. The comprehensive ongoing cleanup commenced in 1989.
Additional information regarding the project is available at: /em/portsmouth
Yvette Cantrell, 865-405-3199
yvette.cantrell@pppo.gov
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
