DOE has been actively pursuing the environmental cleanup goals at the Paducah site since 1988. After environmental cleanup activities are completed, the sites will be available for reuse with a range of uses up to and including heavy industry.
Mission & End State
Today, DOE's site missions include environmental cleanup, waste disposition, depleted uranium conversion, decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of inactive facilities, and long-term stewardship. The end state is the condition of the site when remediation is complete and appropriate property can be released for community development. The PGDP end state vision is driven by the current and expected future land use of areas at and around PGDP.
The End State Vision Document:
- Forms a basis that helps establish the cleanup levels required for remediation based on risk in future use
- Provides a comparison between the potential end state vision and the current cleanup baseline strategy
- Includes maps and figures that can be used to ensure that cleanup decisions are consistent with the end state vision
Site Reuse
As DOE makes progress on cleanup activities, land, facilities, and infrastructure may become available to transfer for other uses. In planning long-term for property transfers, DOE developed an Environmental Assessment of the Paducah Site to address potential environmental impacts associated with the transfer of DOE-owned property. The potential for environmental impact is assessed to determine the baseline (pre-transfer) environmental conditions and uses of the property (raw land, light industrial, etc.); to consider mitigation (e.g., design, access restrictions) enforced/imposed by DOE; and to assess any potentially controversial impacts, e.g., resulting from adjacent incompatible land uses. The assessment resulted in a Finding of No Significant Impact to the environment.
Background
- DOE began holding public workshops on future land use with Paducah stakeholders in 1994.
- Additional meetings have been held with the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Neighborhood Council, the Paducah Citizens Advisory Board, city and county officials, and economic development interests
- In 2010, the Kentucky Research Consortium for Energy and Environment developed a community-based end state vision encompassing the range of community perspectives for the site’s future after the facility closes.
- A combination of industrial and recreational use is considered as the most likely future scenario for the site.DOE continues to look for opportunities for productive use of the PGDP facilities and property.
Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization (PACRO)
The Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization, PACRO, is one of seven active Community Reuse Organizations that exist in areas where nuclear weapons complex plants once thrived. PACRO is tasked to mitigate the impact of the closure of the U.S. Department of Energy-owned Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in western McCracken County, Ky.
Paducah Industry Day
DOE held a workshop with prospective businesses that had interest in either the operation of the PGDP as a uranium enrichment facility or an interest in reindustrialization of various plant facilities.