Case Study 13: Privatization of The Mound Site Background DOE’s Mound Plant, in Miamisburg, Ohio, supported the nuclear weapons program since 1948. The historic mission of the Mound site was to be an integrated research, development, and production facility focusing on nonnuclear and tritium-containing components for nuclear weapons. In May 1993, the Department determined that the plant was no longer needed to meet the defense mission. Continuing efforts at the plant include the completion of defense work over the next 2 years, transfer of special nuclear materials to other sites, and continuation of the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) program of the Department. An accelerated program—“Mound 2000”—focuses on completing the cleanup no later than 2005. The current management and operating contractor for the site is EG&G Mound Applied Technologies, Inc. The Effort The Mound site comprises about 300 acres of land. Two-thirds is developed with more than 150 buildings and a self-contained utility infrastructure. The remaining one-third of the site is vacant, unimproved land. The site is also designated as a CERCLA Superfund site. The surrounding region is a heavy industrial area of Southwestern Ohio. The local community is promoting the economic development of the site, trying to attract private business to the site to use the buildings, equipment, and technology for commercial business. The Department’s plan is to restore and convey for value the entire Mound site to the City of Miamisburg to reduce Federal custodial and maintenance costs. Approximately 100 acres of vacant land will be included in the conveyance to the City.
An agreement in principle regarding the sale of the site to the Miamisburg Mound Community Improvement Corporation, as agent for the City of Miamisburg, Ohio, was signed in October 1996. This document is not a contract for sale, but rather an agreement to negotiate terms for any future sale, if a sale of the property is determined to be in the best interests of both parties. Lessons Learned Two lessons were learned in this effort. The first was that disposing of a Superfund site before the completion of environmental cleanup is difficult. The ability to market the site to potential owners is limited by the perception of environmental contamination and the associated potential liability. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is legally required to provide its approval before title to such property can transfer. Although parcels can be sold or transferred as cleanup proceeds, demands from the local community and commercial business for key parts of the site, coupled with DOE’s continuing operations at the site, complicate the overall cleanup schedule. The second lesson learned was the recognition that an integrated site utility system can be an impediment to site development. The community’s vision for the future of the Mound site, consistent with the size and scope of other industrial companies in the region, is one of multiple owners of buildings and land, and the layout of the Mound site supports that vision. However, small businesses or business that are less dependent on a variety of utility services may require separate links to those services, and incur associated higher costs as a result. |
The Mound Plant stopped making parts for nuclear weapons in 1995 and is now a cleanup site