Wamp Touts Research Park
April 24, 2007

By: John Huotari | john.huotari@oakridger.com

A new science and technology park will help make Oak Ridge National Laboratory the “address of choice,” a White House-like center for research and technology, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp said at a grant announcement ceremony Monday.

“What better place to call your new home?” asked Wamp, a Republican whose 3rd District includes Oak Ridge.

The $1.2 million competitive federal grant celebrated Monday will be used for site and utility improvements at the new park, the first of its kind in the nation, officials said.

“The development of this resource is a win-win for everyone,” Oak Ridge City Councilwoman Lou Dunlap said.

The grant had previously been announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

The park’s first tenant, Pro2Serve, plans to move its headquarters there from a building on Oak Ridge Turnpike. Pro2Serve executives hope to start construction on their 115,000-square foot facility, worth $17 million or more, in July of this year, said Paul Martin, the company’s chief financial officer.

Construction could take 12 to 18 months, and executives expect to employ 400 people there, he said.

Starting off with about 12 acres, officials said the new “innovative” ORNL science and technology park could eventually expand to about 40 acres, and will help develop public-private partnerships and create local economic opportunities.

“The potential to grow businesses out of the lab is greatly enhanced,” Wamp said.

Earlier this year, officials announced Tennessee had awarded a $750,000 state grant for stormwater drainage and other improvements at the park, which will be managed by the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee.

Prior to attending the grant announcement ceremony at ORNL, Wamp spoke at a luncheon at the East Tennessee Economic Council on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

In an hour-long speech there, he discussed a variety of issues, including federal appropriations for DOE facilities, climate change and expanded nuclear programs, including the Bush Administration’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.

Oak Ridge is being studied as a possible site for fuel reprocessing and research facilities under that program, which seeks to expand the use of nuclear power while reducing the proliferation threat.

Wamp said he supports locating the research and development facilities here but prefers locating the reprocessing facilities at more remote sites in Idaho and South Carolina.

Though some community members want the reprocessing facilities in Oak Ridge, Wamp said he is “not disconnected” from ORNL leadership on the issue.

“The priority for the lab is research and development,” said Wamp, who says he has been “encouraged” to run for governor in 2010.

On climate change, Wamp said it is important to pay attention to environmental responsibilities, but he also believes science should “drive the outcome” of the global warming debate — not “hysteria” or movies. Wamp said he was referring in part to Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

The congressman said he does not want to reduce the nation’s productivity, or endorse severe environmental regulations without increasing the capacity of some types of power generation — like nuclear power.

“We will lose our way of life,” he said.