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Sen. Brown, federal energy official visit Piketon plant to discuss cleanup efforts, new jobs

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In the past year, more than $268 million in new federal funds - expected to create more than 1,000 jobs and accelerate cleanup efforts by more than 20 years - have been awarded to the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Dr. Inés Triay, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management, visited the Piketon plant to give an update on how new federal funds are creating jobs and expediting the cleanup process. Brown also discussed possibilities for community reuse of the site following the completion of the cleanup effort, and presented a Cold War Patriot award to Bobby Graff, President of USW Local 689. 
"These funds represent a new federal commitment to partnering with Southern Ohio to promote long-term economic growth," Brown said. "This investment will create more than 1,000 jobs while accelerating the cleanup completion date by more than 20 years. The Piketon community was overlooked by previous administrations in Washington. Accelerated cleanup will ensure the Piketon community has the right infrastructure to promote long-term economic development." 
"President Obama¹s Recovery Act gave us the opportunity to create new jobs and drastically speed up the work at the Portsmouth site," said DOE Assistant Secretary Ines Triay.  "These investments reflect the Administration¹s commitment to this region and this nation." 
Senator Brown and Dr. Triay were joined at the event today by a number of new employees who were hired under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and local business leaders who have benefitted from the economic recovery in the community.  Also joining Brown and Triay were Pike County Commissioners Harry Rider, Teddy West, and Blaine Beekman; Randy Runyon, Chairman of the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI); Val Francis, Co-Chair of the Portsmouth (PORTS) Site Specific Advisory Board (SSAB); Shirley Bandy, President of Pike County Chamber of Commerce; and Jamie Thorpe, President of SPFPA Local 66. 
Brown has been a long-time champion of accelerating the cleanup process at Piketon. He successfully fought to shorten the timeframe for cleanup, moving the due date up by more than 20 years. In March, he announced that the plant will receive $118 million in cleanup funds through the economic recovery package, after leading a bipartisan group of eight U.S. senators in calling for the economic recovery legislation to include a significant investment in DOE nuclear cleanup sites. Piketon's allocation of $118 million is expected to create more than 275 jobs in the region. 
On Jan. 15, 2009, Brown led a bipartisan group of eight U.S. Senators in calling for $6 billion in the economic recovery package to be dedicated to the cleanup of existing DOE nuclear sites. In October 2007, he first introduced legislation to continue the cleanup of Piketon by extending the authority of the Uranium Enrichment Decommissioning and Decontamination (D & D) Fund at the DOE. 
The final version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) included the $6 billion in new funding for which Brown successfully advocated, providing funding for projects in 12 states.  In Portsmouth, the $118 million in economic recovery funds will be used to demolish unused facilities and cleanup 19 acres of contaminated soils. The funds will also prevent further groundwater contamination by removing the source of the highest contaminant concentration. 
In July, the Obama administration announced that it would invest around $150-200 million per year over the next four years to accelerate the cleanup process and create 800-1000 new jobs in addition to the jobs created by the recovery package and the official cleanup process. 
In 1989, DOE created the Environmental Management program to reduce the threats to health, safety, and the environment posed by legacy contamination and waste at Manhattan Project and Cold War nuclear weapons facilities across the country. DOE weapons complex facilities across the country. The DOE has characterized the cleanup of its sites as one of the largest, most diverse and technically complex environmental cleanup programs in the world. 
Attending today's event were employees who have gone back to work due to Recovery Act funds and local business leaders who discussed the indirect effects of federal funds on the local economy. Brown also presented a Cold War Patriot award to Bobby Graff, President of USW Local 689. 
Also joining Brown and Triay today were Pike County Commissioners Harry Rider, Teddy West, and Blaine Beekman; Randy Runyon, Chairman of the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI); Val Francis; Co-Chair of the Portsmouth (PORTS) Site Specific Advisory Board (SSAB); Shirley Bandy, President of Pike County Chamber of Commerce; Jamie Thorpe, President of SPFPA Local 66. 
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