The Rundown

Federal funding for Portsmouth plant clean-up

By: Susan Tebben - September 29, 2021 12:10 am

The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which is receiving more federal grant funding to help with cleanup. (Photo: U.S. Department of Energy.)

The clean-up and diffusion efforts happening at a former Piketon uranium plant will get a boost of federal money to continue the work.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will receive $3.5 million in grant money from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. That money is tagged for “oversight and monitoring of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Contamination and Decommissioning Project,” according to a release by the U.S. DOE.

Funding has been coming from the federal agency since 2016, and the newest grant will bring total DOE investment to $7.5 million. The newest grant funding targets new air monitoring for the plan, along with current monitoring and demolition oversight.

The grant money will be awarded over five years, from October 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2026.

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Susan Tebben

Susan Tebben is an award-winning journalist with a decade of experience covering Ohio news, including courts and crime, Appalachian social issues, government, education, diversity and culture. She has worked for The Newark Advocate, The Glasgow (KY) Daily Times, The Athens Messenger, and WOUB Public Media. She has also had work featured on National Public Radio.