[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 156 (Friday, October 31, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        SALUTING JESSIE ROBERSON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 30, 2003

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute and congratulate 
Jessie Roberson, Department of Energy's (DOE) Assistant Secretary for 
Environmental Management, and Gerald Boyd, DOE's Oak Ridge Operations 
Manager, his team and their many partners, for recently winning the 
prestigious Phoenix Award from the Environmental Protection Agency--for 
their outstanding local reindustrialization program and for excellence 
in brownfield redevelopment.
  This Phoenix Award, which is comparable to winning a Hollywood Oscar 
in the brownfield development world, was recently presented at the 
International Brownfields 2003 Conference in Portland, Oregon.
  The Department of Energy's office in Oak Ridge, along with the 
Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee and the Bechtel Jacobs 
reindustrialization team, has worked on remediating and redeveloping 
the former K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Oak Ridge, now called the 
East Tennessee Technology Park, into a thriving new economic 
development model celebrated by brownfield redevelopers around the 
world.
  Sixty years ago, the K-25 facility was constructed to help America 
win a war. From 1943 through most of the Cold War, this facility served 
as an example to the world of our Nation's technological capabilities. 
This technology played an essential role in our Nation's security. I 
believe it is a great testament to the men and women who made this work 
possible that today, the East Tennessee Technology Park is once again 
an example of American ingenuity. From preserving our Nation's freedoms 
to helping restore our Nation's environment, those working at the East 
Tennessee Technology Park are recognized as leaders.
  They have taken dirty, abandoned government facilities and cleaned 
them up and turned them into available commercial properties to help 
create new jobs in our region. To date, more than 1,200 jobs have been 
created, with over $40 million in new annual payroll.
  As chairman of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of 
the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am proud that 
EPA's region 4 office has recognized this outstanding example right in 
the heart of the Tennessee Valley Science and Technology Corridor of 
how we can work to transform abandoned industrial properties into 
productive new economic development projects that help create new jobs 
and new opportunities for more Americans.
  I ask the entire House to join me in thanking and congratulating DOE 
and their partners for their innovation and this outstanding 
achievement.

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