Miller and Lampson Challenge Proposal to End Funding for Savannah River Ecology Lab
(Washington, DC) The Investigations and Oversight (I&O) Subcommittee and the Energy and Environment (E&E) Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology today called on Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to continue funding for the Savannah River Ecology Lab.
The mission of the lab is to study effects of the Savannah River Nuclear Weapons facility on the surrounding environment. It has been recognized internationally as a leader in radiation ecology and a training ground for future scientists and engineers in the field.
“We are currently unsure why and how the decision was made to terminate the Department’s support for the facility,” wrote I&O Subcommittee Chairman Brad Miller (D-NC). “We ask that you continue to provide support to the lab until the Committee can thoroughly review the Department’s actions in this case.”
“The Subcommittees deserve a chance to review the logic that led DOE to terminate support for a lab that has been doing world-class research since 1951,” added E&E Subcommittee Chairman Nick Lampson (D-TX). “On the face of it, this is a difficult action to understand.”
Miller and Lampson called the lab indispensable in tracking the environmental conditions around the Savannah River site and providing unbiased information to the public and the government about those conditions.
The Chairmen have asked for continued support for the lab from DOE pending further review by the Subcommittee. They have also asked that the Department provide all records since August 1, 2006 regarding the lab and the decision to terminate support.
A major benefit of the Savannah River Ecology Lab has been its long-term research and steady accumulation of detailed field records than can provide insights into, among other things, the possible consequences of climate change on the complex ecology of the region.
Read the letter from the Chairmen to Secretary Bodman by clicking here.
###
110.088
Related Subcommittees
Next Article Previous Article