Governor Wants More Funds For Oak Ridge
Gov. Bill Haslam says he is concerned that Oak Ridge has not been getting its fair share of environmental cleanup money from the federal government.
The Republican governor said having the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee provides a huge competitive advantage.
But he said he was concerned it was getting fewer cleanup dollars than other federal nuclear sites. He spoke to The Oak Ridger newspaper during a visit to the area on Wednesday.
A chart from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation shows Oak Ridge has received less environmental management funding in the last half-dozen years than sites in Hanford, Wash., and near Aiken, S.C.
Federal funding in general is expected to fall as Congress and President Barack Obama battle over how to rein in the nation’s debt.
