SC-31.2 Facilities and Infrastructure Division

The mission of the Science Laboratories Infrastructure (SLI) program is to support the conduct of Departmental research missions at Office of Science (SC) laboratories by funding line item construction for revitalization and repair of the general-purpose infrastructure, and by cleaning up and removing excess facilities that are not transferable to the Office of Environmental Management. This mission is executed in support of fundamental research programs in basic energy sciences, biological and environmental sciences, high energy and nuclear physics, fusion, and computational science. The program also supports SC stewardship responsibilities for over 24,000 acres of the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) and the Federal facilities in the town of Oak Ridge, and provides Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) to local communities around ANL, BNL, and ORNL.

The infrastructure of our national laboratories is aging, with nearly half of active facility space 40 years old or older. This infrastructure includes multiprogram research laboratories, administrative and support buildings as well as cafeterias, power plants, fire stations, utilities, roads, and other structures. Together, the SC laboratories have over 1,500 operational buildings and real property trailers, with nearly 20 million gross square feet of space. Over 8,500 employees and users of SC research facilities are housed in wooden buildings, trailers or buildings more than 50 years old.

Despite past investments, many laboratory facilities and utility systems are not adequate to support the scientific mission in the future because they do not meet the requirements of a modern research facility. Significant work is needed to revitalize our laboratory infrastructure. To more fully address the needs of our laboratories and ensure their continued vitality, the Office of Science is taking an integrated approach to improving the mission readiness of our facilities. This approach includes a significant capital investment program coupled with elimination of excess facilities and a sound maintenance program.

The Infrastructure Modernization Initiative encompasses the first two elements of that approach. Under the Initiative, SC will provide capital investment through the SLI budget to make needed improvements to general infrastructure. These investments will revitalize our ten laboratories over the next ten years. The goals of the Initiative are to –

The Infrastructure Modernization Initiative currently includes a portfolio of projects that will renovate or replace space that does not meet research needs, replace facilities that are no longer cost effective to renovate or operate, modernize utility systems to prevent failures and ensure efficiency, and/or remove excess facilities to allow safe and efficient operations. These projects were evaluated collaboratively by SC Site Office Managers, laboratory Chief Operating Officers, and the SC Deputy Director for Field Operations against established criteria, and their completion is critical to ensuring the continued mission readiness of SC laboratories. The mission readiness of a laboratory’s facilities and infrastructure is the capability of those assets to enable delivery of the scientific mission assigned to the laboratory. The current and future mission readiness of each SC laboratory is evaluated using a peer-reviewed process that focuses on the ability of each element of laboratory infrastructure to meet the needs of scientific research.

To manage and execute the Infrastructure Modernization Initiative effectively, the SLI program uses the SC Annual Laboratory Plans. The Annual Laboratory Plans integrate scientific planning with infrastructure/operational planning by directly tying proposed investments to identified mission capability gaps identified by the mission readiness assessments described above. The plans provide a clear picture of the mission readiness of each laboratory, the capability gaps, and the action plan to fill those gaps. These action plans, specifically the investments proposed for line item SLI funding, form the basis for projects included in the Initiative.

Infrastructure Modernization Initiative investments are included in the Construction subprogram of the SLI budget. A second subprogram, Infrastructure Support, provides operating funds for the cleanup and removal of excess facilities at SC laboratories, and for SC stewardship and Payment in Lieu of Taxes responsibilities.

Excess Facilities Disposition (EFD)

Funding for Excess Facilities Disposition supports removal of excess facilities at SC sites to reduce long-term costs and liabilities. EFD funding also supports cleanup of facilities for reuse when such reuse is economical and provides needed functionality. SC is responsible for disposal, by demolition or cleanup for reuse, of facilities at its sites that are not specifically assigned to another DOE Program Office, regardless of which Office in DOE, or its predecessor agencies, may have been responsible for their construction and operation. This includes both those facilities currently awaiting disposal, as well as those which will need to be disposed of in the future, but are still in use. The most recent estimate of the projected cost for disposal of these facilities is in excess of $1 billion.

In FY 2009, $14,844,000 of EFD funding was provided to continue demolition of Building 51 and the Bevatron at LBNL.

Oak Ridge Landlord

This funding supports landlord responsibilities, including infrastructure for the 24,000 acres of the Oak Ridge Reservation outside of the Y-12 plant, ORNL and the East Tennessee Technology Park, and DOE facilities in the town of Oak Ridge. The supported activities include maintenance of roads, grounds and other infrastructure, support and improvement of environmental protection, safety and health, payment of PILT to Oak Ridge communities, and other needs related to landlord responsibilities. These activities maintain continuity of operations at the Oak Ridge Reservation and the DOE facilities in Oak Ridge, and minimize interruptions due to infrastructure or other systems failures.

Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT)

Provides PILT to support assistance requirements for communities around Argonne National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory. PILT payments are negotiated between the Department and local governments based on land values and tax rates.

	FY 2008	FY 2009 Request
Construction
Seismic Life-Safety, Modernization, and Replacement of General Purpose Buildings, Phase II (LBNL)	—	12,495
Interdisciplinary Science Building, Phase I (BNL)	—	8,240
Technology and Engineering Development Facility (TJNAF)	—	3,700
Modernization of Laboratory Facilities (ORNL)	9,329	14,103
Physical Sciences Facility (PNNL)	24,773	41,155
Science Laboratories Infrastructure Project (Various)	17,472	9,259
Total, Construction	51,574	88,952