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Whitfield Questions Energy Secretary About PGDP Cleanup Contract, Budget Request

Whitfield's office

In a House Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing Wednesday, Congressman Ed Whitfield questioned U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on when a new cleanup contract will be approved for the site of the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

The current $420 million contract with Fluor Federal Services, awarded in July 2014, expires in less than a year and a half.

Whitfield says it’s important for the area’s economic stability that the DOE move quickly in approving the next contract for cleanup at the former uranium enrichment plant.

Whitfield asked Moniz if a new contract would be approved by next summer.

“ I would certainly expect that, but why don’t I nail that down and get back to you promptly?” Moniz replied. “Our expectation is we are moving toward having a contract in place. We certainly need continuity.”

Whitfield also told Moniz that the DOE’s $32.5 billion budget request for the next fiscal year is too focused on addressing climate change, arguing that will increase energy costs and hurt household spending power.

“I might add that the administration has chosen to make climate an agency priority without any statutory authority from Congress directing DOE to focus on global warming,” Whitfield said during the hearing.

To view the DOE's budget request for fiscal year 2017, click here. It includes more than $270 million requested for cleanup at the PGDP site.

John Null is the host and creator of Left of the Dial. From 2013-2016, he also served as a reporter in the WKMS newsroom.
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