7/18/99
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate has approved legislation earmarking $385 million for nuclear waste cleanups at uranium enrichment plants in Kentucky and Ohio.

On a voice vote just before midnight Thursday, senators sent the House a bill that would construct new facilities in Paducah, Ky., and Piketon, Ohio, to process tons of depleted uranium shavings stored underground in barrels at the two sites.

The plants, now run by the quasi-public U.S. Enrichment Corp., are being privatized. The cleanup money comes from an internal fund that will revert to government hands once the private stock sale is complete, sponsors said.

"The Senate is saying in no uncertain terms that Congress should appropriate the funds when they become available from the privatization," said Sen. Wendell Ford, D-Ky. "This will certainly help smooth the transition at Paducah by providing employment opportunities in the cleanup effort.""

Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Ohio, intends to bring the bill to a House vote as early as next week, a spokesman said.

"Not only will this money allow us to build a new processing plant and bring in hundreds of new jobs, but it will also allow us to make our communities healthier and safer," Strickland said.