ECA CALLS ON DOE TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON ECONOMIC & ENERGY DEVELOPMENT BENEFITS FROM CLEANUP
In ECA’s transition paper, “Ensuring Long-Term Success: Recommendations for the Next Administration on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Mission”, ECA provides multiple recommendations to tackle challenges the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) faces.
Some of DOE’s biggest success in cleanup have come where former sites are reused for economic development. ECA appreciates the increased focus in recent years on using the assets at EM sites to permit economic development opportunities integrated with cleanup. This has included an increased focus on clean energy development, workforce development, increased considerations of economic development and reuse in cleanup planning and increased interest in commercial reuse of materials that may have been handled and disposed of as “waste.” DOE has also worked more directly to encourage reuse of remediated portions of Departmental sites through the “Cleanup to Clean Energy” initiative. This effort has so far resulted in clean energy projects being announced at some EM sites.
Going forward, the next Administration should continue this increased focus on economic development and opportunities integrating these opportunities with cleanup. There needs to be continued widespread recognition that working with local governments and stakeholders, including the Community Reuse Organizations at EM sites, to ensure the long-term economic health of communities is a core tenant of the EM mission. The communities near DOE and EM sites that support the national defense mission and have supported it for over 75 years including during World War II and the Cold War, deserve a bright future.
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All ECA publications, including the new Transition Paper are available at www.energyca.org/publications.
If you have any questions about the paper please reach out to ajr@energyca.org.