Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) sent a letter urging U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm to provide the Piketon community with the money it is owed by the federal government. Specifically, the letter asks that DOE renegotiate its current Payment in Lieu of Taxes (“PILT”) agreement with the Scioto Valley-Piketon Area Council of Governments (SV-PA COG). PILT payments ensure local communities are compensated due to lost tax revenues when the federal government owns land in a state.
“Our nation owes a special thanks to the nuclear energy workers who worked at the site throughout the Cold War and its aftermath. Yet as these plants ceased operation, the toxic legacy and environmental challenges faced by these communities only intensified. As decontamination work continues at PORTS, it is imperative that DOE recognize the ongoing challenges faced by the community,” wrote the lawmakers.
“We believe that DOE has clear authority to enter into a renegotiation of the PILT agreement with the SV-PA COG. The loss of tax revenue and special burdens, including the need to replace Zahn’s Corner Middle School, requires immediate action by the Department. DOE must continue to rebuild trust in the region and ensuring the PILT agreement fairly compensates communities is one step that must be taken,” the lawmakers continued.
Sen. Brown penned a letter last year to then- DOE Secretary Dan Brouillette urging him to respond to concerns expressed by the Piketon, Ohio community regarding the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant and radioactive material previously discovered at the Zahn’s Corner Middle School, just miles from the facility. DOE has denied that the neptunium discovered at the school and other private residences in the community is related to activities at the site. An independent third-party collection and assessment is currently ongoing.
Congressman Ryan is a member of the House Appropriations Committee’s Energy and Water Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the Department of Energy and its Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS). On May 6th of this year, Congressman Ryan pressed Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm during a Subcommittee over concerns about radioactive contamination in Pike County originating from PORTS.
Full text of the letter can be found below and here.
December 13, 2021
The Honorable Jennifer Granholm
Secretary
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20585
Dear Secretary Granholm:
We believe that it is time for the Department of Energy (“Department” or “DOE”) to renegotiate its current Payment in Lieu of Taxes (“PILT”) agreement with the Scioto Valley-Piketon Area Council of Governments (SV-PA COG). For decades, the local community, home to the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site (PORTS), played an integral role in our nation’s efforts to win the Cold War. Today, you have the ability to acknowledge this role by increasing the amount of the PILT agreement – which we believe does not adequately address the costs borne by the people of Pike County and the surrounding area.
Our nation owes a special thanks to the nuclear energy workers who worked at the site throughout the Cold War and its aftermath. Yet as these plants ceased operation, the toxic legacy and environmental challenges faced by these communities only intensified. As decontamination work continues at PORTS, it is imperative that DOE recognize the ongoing challenges faced by the community.
It is our understanding that that the current PILT agreement is based on an outdated and flawed appraisal of 3,000 plus acres occupied by PORTS and owned by the federal government. The result has been the loss of significant tax revenue for the affected communities without the commensurate provision of federal funds. Additionally, a further burden arises from the fact that the current PILT payments fail to appreciate the special burden placed on the region and the local school district due to its school’s proximity to PORTS.
There is potential for future economic growth at the site. However, there are significant obstacles to achieving robust reindustrialization in this community that modification of the existing PILT agreement could help remedy. Local and regional stakeholders are partnering on developing strategies that will target the industries and companies that understand the value of a strong workforce, access to the electrical grid, and the multimodal potential of the site. Yet, without a fair site valuation, local elected officials and economic development professionals know that the site will never reach its full potential for a reindustrialized, modern site.
Importantly, the local community must overcome the special burden associated with the on-site disposal facility where most of the waste, much of which is contaminated with radiological and chemical agents, will be buried. This landfill lies extraordinarily close to Pike County population centers. Its presence will require years of aggressive monitoring; community leaders will forever be plagued with the task of reassuring outside investors that their capital is safe in Pike County; and the community has deep reservations and concerns about the long-term impact of low-dosage exposure to the contaminants that are known to be on-, and off-site. In fact, the discovery of transuranic materials at the Zahn’s Corner Middle School and its subsequent closure are a clear example of the challenges faced by fence line communities.
We believe that DOE has clear authority to enter into a renegotiation of the PILT agreement with the SV-PA COG. The loss of tax revenue and special burdens, including the need to replace Zahn’s Corner Middle School, requires immediate action by the Department. DOE must continue to rebuild trust in the region and ensuring the PILT agreement fairly compensates communities is one step that must be taken.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter and we stand ready to work with the Administration on behalf of the people of Southern Ohio.
Sincerely,
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