Putting Land Back Into the Hands of Citizens

EM partners near the Hanford, Los Alamos, Portsmouth and Oak Ridge sites highlighted reuse opportunities in the cleanup program during a panel session at the National Cleanup Workshop.

The discussion featured presentations by the panelists on their respective organizations’ roles in EM site reuse and economic development in their communities.

Moderated by Rick McLeod, president and CEO of the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization, the panel emphasized how EM and the many different organizations are involved in reuse and economic development.

Reuse may include everything from airports, ports, multiuse commercial space, residential development, recreational and open space, and infrastructure projects that create jobs, produce local assets, and generate revenue to put back into the community that would otherwise dissipate at the conclusion of the EM cleanup mission.

“The cleanup was not the end at East Tennessee Technology Park, but actually the beginning of a bright economic development and future,” said Ken Rueter, president and CEO of UCOR, EM’s cleanup contractor at Oak Ridge. “Ultimately, with the recognition of environmental cleanup… what is critical to all is that it is integrated with the end in mind.”

Although the panelists are at varying phases of reuse in their communities, they shared challenges and lessons learned of the land-use transfer process. That process is most successful when the community’s needs and wishes for the desired end state are heard, and strong partnerships and collaboration occur at all levels.

“I have all the battle scars related to the land transfer process,” said Jennifer Chandler, administrator of the Village of Piketon, Ohio near the Portsmouth Site. The village is building the infrastructure and workforce development pipeline to support whatever type of end users come to Piketon.

“We are trying to do our part as best as we can to support redevelopment,” Chandler said.

Randall Ryti, chair of the Los Alamos County Council, showed the audiences photos.

“Here’s one of the projects that’s been recently completed, so starting back with an open space that was once a former fuel farm that got developed into an affordable housing project,” Ryti said. “That was a successful land transfer that was a cleanup project.”

Diahann Howard, executive director of the Port of Benton, Washington state, near the Hanford Site, provided the “bottom line” from her perspective.

“It’s about the hard stuff next, not just on the cleanup side, but on the communications and connections side — understanding where our community wants to go, working together and collaborating together,” Howard said. “I think it’s important to remember at the end of the day, it’s about service to our people, and that’s why we do what we do as local governments, for service of our people, our greatest asset.”