Kentucky legislators “disappointed” in closure of uranium-enrichment facility

A group of Kentucky Congressional lawmakers recently released a joint statement expressing disappointment in the impending closure of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

Kentucky Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, along with Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Kent.) released a joint statement on Monday in response to the decision made by the Department of Energy not to approve USEC’s plan to extend operations at the plant.

The plant, which opened in 1952, currently employs approximately 1,200 people and produces low-enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants in the United States and around the world. It is the only U.S. owned uranium enrichment facility in the United States.

The USEC issued WARN Act notices to certain plant workers on Friday.

“We are disappointed the Obama Administration and DOE were unable to come to an agreement to extend operations at the plant,” the legislators said. “We will work to ensure that DOE fulfills its responsibility to sufficiently cleanup the site and determine a long-term solution to utilize the facility and its assets. We believe there are proposals that were submitted to DOE that offer promising economic development and job creation potential for the community and we expect DOE to move quickly on its decision.”

McConnell, Paul and Whitfield, in addition to the letter, recently requested a meeting with Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz to continue discussions on the matter.