Washington,
D.C. – New York
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $74 million in stimulus funds for
the West Valley Demonstration project. Overall, $6 billion in new funding under
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be disbursed to accelerate
environmental cleanup work and create thousands of jobs across 12 states. The
West Valley Demonstration project will use the federal dollars to design and
construct a storage system for high-level waste canisters and move them from
the former waste treatment facility to the new system, allowing the former
treatment facility to be decontaminated and demolished earlier than
planned. They will also demolish the former process buildings, install a
system to prevent migration of groundwater contamination, and accelerate
radioactive waste treatment and disposal activities to shrink the area of site
contamination. These federal dollars will come from the U.S. Department of
Energy.
“This is great news for the West
Valley Demonstration project,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Creating jobs in New
York is my number one priority. This funding will accelerate cleanup of
these areas that will benefit not only West Valley, but it will help create
jobs and protect the environment. I will continue to work hard in the Senate to
ensure New York gets its fair share of federal dollars.”
Senator
Gillibrand is a proud supporter of President Obama’s economic recovery plan,
which will save or create more than 215,000 jobs in New York State
alone. The economic recovery plan will lay the foundation for future
economic growth by building new transportation infrastructure, improving health
care technology, investing in development of renewable energy and supporting
investments in public education.
For more
information on the Department’s Environmental Management activities, visit www.em.doe.gov/pages/emhome.aspx.