The Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce has awarded a fixed-price subcontract to Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering & Testing, Inc. (BFW) to prepare an analysis and future plans for reindustrialization of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site. The work will be completed over the next two years and provide the local community with a comprehensive road map for the future of the Department of Energy (DOE) site.

The contract will be funded through a $2 million grant awarded to the Paducah Chamber from the DOE Office of Environmental Management. The Chamber was awarded the grant in June after Sen. Mitch McConnell and Cong. James Comer secured the funding.

“It is exciting to award this work to a firm headquartered in Paducah,” said Sandra Wilson, Paducah Chamber President/CEO. “We believe this team will work diligently with community stakeholders to develop a plan that is well suited for the future. This is a critical planning effort for the community and the region. The work completed with this study will address the future of the site including land availability, economic development prospects and future workforce.”

BFW is partnering with Geosyntec Consultants, a consulting firm of engineers, scientists, and innovators out of Knoxville, Tennessee. Both BFW and Geosyntec are currently performing work at the site and bring in-depth, site-specific knowledge to the reindustrialization project. Geosyntec has experience developing similar plans for other DOE sites and communities, most recently the reindustrialization of the Oak Ridge, Tennessee site.

Wilson said that BFW brings the knowledge of the local community and expertise in developing master plans for several communities.

“The BFW/Geosyntec team is excited to be chosen,” said Mark Workman, Executive Vice President of Bacon Farmer Workman. “Thanks to the Chamber’s efforts in obtaining the $2 million grant for a reindustrialization plan, the Paducah community will now have a “Road Map” for outlining the economic and infrastructure future of the site. Our team exhibits key personnel who led the reindustrialization planning efforts in Oak Ridge, TN, coupled with local engineers and community leaders. Our goal is to deliver a tried and true, actionable plan that incorporates the attributes that make Paducah who we are and foster an even brighter industrial future. Over 90 of BFW employees call the Paducah region home, so for us, this study is personal, and we are honored to be a part of the progress.”  

The study will be conducted in multiple phases. During all phases, BFW and Geosyntec will collaborate with DOE to fully understand their vision/plan for the Paducah site and collaborate with the contractors on site, including Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, Swift and Staley Inc., and Mid America Conversion Services to understand the comprehensive work they perform and priorities that have been identified in their DOE contracts.

Phase 1 begins in mid-September and will include meetings with community stakeholders as well as with key federal, state and local officials; gathering of information of reindustrialization work previously completed at other DOE sites; developing property transfer strategies; review of infrastructure inventory on the site including buildings, roads and utilities; and establishment of other community and educational partners.

Phase 2 will be in 2024 and include the development of the master plan.  BFW plans to use the Denton Law Firm to assist in development of legal documents such as land transfers, lease documentation and road and utility easements that may be warranted in identifying transfer requirements.  A master plan will be developed while identifying projected new needs and opportunities for other economic development projects.

Phase 3 will be in early 2025 and finalize the completed road map. 

Throughout the process, there will be regular updates communicated with the local community and other stakeholders.