The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia
Friday, 25 October 2024 11:17

Nukes hit Oak Ridge airport: Plans on hold in favor of private science enterprise

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oak ridge airport Illustrated photo from a presentation on the Oak Ridge Airport project to Roane County officials at the Roane County Courthouse in Kingston on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017 soon after the state appropriated $15 million for use toward the now-paused airport project.  Roane County via Oak Ridge Today

City: Airport ‘paused’ because of nearby planned uranium-enrichment facility

OAK RIDGE — The city paused its long-simmering and controversial project to build a general aviation airport in the western part of Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge government announced it paused the plan to build the airport in part of East Tennessee Technology Park because another nearby project is going forward: Orano USA’s Project Ike. Orano announced its plans for that project, a large uranium enrichment facility, Wednesday, Sept. 4; the city of Oak Ridge announced its pause the following week, Wednesday Sept. 11.

The city stated it wanted to “re-evaluate the proposed location” for the airport due to the Orano plan. City communications specialist Lauren Gray declined to name any other locations the city might be considering, saying plans weren’t that definite yet.

(Hellbender Press won a first-place award from the East Tennessee Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for its previous coverage of the proposed Oak Ridge airport).

Even after the announcement, Oak Ridge government officials spoke favorably about the airport and stressed they’re still working for it to go forward.

“The state and the city have pledged to work together on the possible relocation of the airport to accommodate one of the largest, single economic investments in the history of the state of Tennessee,” said Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch in a news release. “We are committed to evaluate available options to determine the optimal path forward.”

Oak Ridge City Manager Randy Hemann even stressed the Orano project might benefit from a nearby airport even if not one at that site.

“Given the influx of Orano, Kairos Power, and many other nuclear companies locating to Oak Ridge, the city believes an airport is crucial to support the new nuclear industry,” he said. “These companies have chosen to locate in Oak Ridge due to the support of the state of Tennessee as well as the existing nuclear ecosystem of research provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the current and growing talent pipeline, and the many existing industries that provide for needs ranging from manufacturing to specialized transportation.”

However, the airport has drawn its share of critics regarding its cost to the city, effect on a nearby pond and bat populations, and concerns about sound levels.

Mark Bevelhimer, board president of the Environmental Group Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning said his organization was “pleased” at the announcement.

“This seems to be a good decision as a uranium enrichment facility and low flying airplanes doesn’t seem to be a good mix,” he said. He said TCWP opposed it for “environmental reasons, an unproven need, and the financial burden of maintenance and operation to the city of Oak Ridge in the future.”

“Although we have not conducted a thorough analysis on the likely future use of an airport in Oak Ridge, we don’t believe that the increase in traffic of local flying hobbyists or the convenience of saving 30 minutes in additional ground travel by wealthy business owners is worth the environmental damage of construction nor the future cost to the city of Oak Ridge to maintain and operate the airport,” he said, adding that that TCWP would prefer an expansion of the existing Rockwood Airport.

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Last modified on Saturday, 26 October 2024 01:45