Construction of the permanent cap is projected to wrap up in November 2016
HILLSBORO, Ky. (June 1, 2015) — Kentucky is taking the final steps toward capping the Maxey Flats Disposal site (MFDS), Gov. Steve Beshear said today.
Beshear joined state and local officials and representatives from Walker Construction and other team members involved with the final cap construction to shovel the first load of dirt onto the synthetic liner that will serve as part of the nuclear waste site’s permanent protective cap.
The $35.2 million in funding to complete the final phase of the closure of this nuclear disposal site in Fleming County came at the request of Beshear. The General Assembly approved the funding in 2012.
Beshear said the state took a bold but necessary step 35 years ago to ensure the health and safety of Kentuckians and to protect the environment around the Maxey Flats area. When private ownership of the site was no longer feasible, the state stepped in to take control.
The Superfund Branch of the Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Division of Waste Management has had primary oversight of the previous remediation measures that have allowed the site to be safely brought to the point of final closure.
For more than three decades, Kentucky state government agencies have worked to contain any groundwater releases from the site, making sure residents experience no harm from the nuclear waste dumped in the area beginning some 50 years ago.
The final phase of closure has included the purchase of property that will allow for the increased distance between the restricted areas of the site and the public, and reduce potential for public exposure.
It also included the submission of a preliminary remedial design to the federal government, as well as the soliciting of bids and the awarding of contracts for construction.
Construction of the permanent cap is projected to wrap up in November 2016. Once the final closure period is completed, the Energy and Environment Cabinet and its agencies will enter into an Institutional Control Period of 100 years that will include continued monitoring, maintenance and facility control.
The final cap construction at MFDS is the largest state-funded environmental cleanup project ever completed in the Commonwealth. The funding includes $17 million in General Fund-supported bonds that will pay roughly half of the $35.2 million cost of the cap. The remainder is from the Capital and Emergency trust accounts.
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