Below are articles and other news published since the last West Valley Citizen Task Force Meeting. They relate to the West Valley Demonstration Project, nuclear waste cleanup or are otherwise relevant or of potential interest to stakeholders interested in the Project. After each Citizen Task Force Meeting, these articles are compiled into a single document and may be found with the meeting materials for that month.
October 24, 2019 – NYSDEC, EPA ID No. NYD980779540 PUBLIC NOTICE OF CLOSURE PLAN The United States Department of Energy (DOE) as operator of the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) has notified the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Department) of its intention to commence final closure of the LAG Storage Addition #2 (LSA #2) Hardstand at the WVDP facility in West Valley, NY 14171-9799. Link to Notice
October 22, 2019 – Workers helped safeguard the environment at EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) Site by safely installing interlocking concrete blocks to prevent soil erosion at an inactive disposal area closed years ago.
Known as protective armoring, the blocks were placed on a slope along the north side of the disposal area as well as a drainage channel.
“This work will continue to protect the integrity of the disposal area, and prevent any potential harm to the environment from weather-related damage,” EM WVDP Director Bryan Bower said. Link to Update
October 17 – Two articles Link to full articles
First Article: The Ashford Town Board heard a presentation at its Oct. 9 meeting about investment opportunities for the town. Regional Marketing Director for NYCLASS Kathy Saville made a presentation to the board about NYCLASS and what it can offer to the town.
NYCLASS is a New York state cooperative investment program that “provides the opportunity to invest funds on a cooperative basis in short‐term investments that are carefully chosen to yield favorable returns while striving to provide maximum safety and liquidity,” according to the NYCLASS website.
Second article: The Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management and its prime contractor CH2M HILL BWXT the site’s infrastructure. Work was performed by the Site Operations Department, which is responsible for site utilities and maintenance activities.
“The completion of this work evolution will not only bring many benefits to the future cleanup of our EM site but also to the West Valley community,” WVDP Deputy Director Craig Rieman said. “This infrastructure upgrade will greatly increase the site’s electrical power reliability during future decommissioning and remediation activities now and will provide a reliable source of power for future cleanup activities. This investment will also increase the reliability of electrical power for the surrounding West Valley area. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, National Grid and DOE worked collaboratively to relocate transmission lines, eliminate a 1960’s era electrical substation and install modern equipment that is easily accessible to the utility company and allows switching transmission paths during upset conditions.”
October 14, 2019 – Officials are looking for feedback on the proposed Cattaraugus County Shared Services Plan.
A public hearing will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the legislative chamber on the third floor of the County Center. The hearing is seeking comments on shared services plans for 2020 involving the county and more than 30 municipalities. Link to article
October 10, 2019 – The Springville Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Detective Corey Higgins, the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office assigned to the Drug Enforcement Agency Buffalo Office; and David Schumm, CHBWV Security and Safeguards Manager at the West Valley Demonstration Project, to provide Active Shooter training for local businesses and their employees.
The training will take place at the Springville Country Club, 14445 S. Cascade Drive, Springville, on Wednesday, Oct. 23, from 8‐9 a.m. Link to article
