Federal contractors have received the go-ahead to continue cleanup projects at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, thanks to a $324m appropriation from the Department of Energy. Federal lawmakers approved the funding in an omnibus spending bill earlier this year.
Congressman Ed Whitfield (KY-01) had initially reported the project would receive $265m. The actual dollar amount hadn't been made public until today.
The Department of Energy is boosting funding by $30m over 2013 levels for contractor LATA Environmental Services.
The contractor added 47 jobs in the last week and will add close to that amount in the coming months. LATA will use their $102m for the remaining 2014 fiscal year to continue groundwater treatment and begin demolishing an inactive facility that had manufactured uranium hexafluoride from 1957 to -77.
LATA reduced its workforce by more than 90 employees on December 26th.
LATA Kentucky Project Manager Mark Duff says the company is excited to see increased funding to safely clean-up the site.