WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) met with Dr. Monica Regalbuto, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management. If confirmed, Regalbuto will lead the Department of Energy (DOE) cleanup and redevelopment efforts at more than 100 previous nuclear sites– including the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon. Brown has fought to secure more than one billion in federal funding to help cleanup and redevelop the site for future economic development use. Nearly 2,200 jobs are related to cleanup efforts.

“The cleanup and redevelopment of the Piketon plant are crucial to bringing new jobs and new investment to southern Ohio,” Brown said. “The Energy Department has been a committed partner in the cleanup but more must be done to ensure this site is primed for redevelopment and to mitigate environmental impact we can recruit new businesses. I look forward to working with the Energy Department as we continue to achieve these important goals.”

During the meeting in Brown’s Washington office, Brown stressed the importance of DOE working with local stakeholders and community leaders to create a long-term reuse plan to help steer redevelopment of the site. In 2008, Brown worked closely with DOE to establish a local Site Specific Advisory Board to help local residents better engage in cleanup efforts at the plant. Establishing a reuse plan would build on ongoing efforts to revitalize the area.

Brown has been a champion for the cleanup and continued development of the plant. In January, Brown announced more than more than $137 million in direct funding to continue cleanup efforts as part of the FY14 omnibus appropriations bill.

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