Volkswagen

Volkswagen started construction on the first structure of its Chattanooga assembly plant, a $30 million, 400,000-square-foot paint shop. Work on the assembly and body shops and training center will soon follow. The completed facility is expected to bring an economic boom of up to 14,000 jobs to our area and will place the Scenic City at the forefront of automotive development. A major manufacturing plant for advanced transportation systems will have tremendous generational benefits in Tennessee and once again help establish Chattanooga as the manufacturing center of the South.

The process began more than a dozen years ago when Congressman Wamp worked with city and county officials to have the vacant Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant (VAAP) declared excess by the U.S. Army so the land could be purchased and developed into a first-rate industrial park. After the release of the VAAP land, nearly $24 million in federal funding was secured to develop Enterprise South, including infrastructure improvements to connect the site to Interstate 75 and workforce development programs.

Wacker Chemie AG

Wacker Chemie AG, a German-based company purchased land in Bradley County to build a new manufacturing plant to produce polycrystalline silicon, the primary component in solar wafers, solar panels and semi-conductors. Wacker is the world’s second largest producer of hyperpure polycrystalline silicon and the completed chemical facility is expected to create more than 500 new jobs in the region.

Silicon is a raw material for thousands of different products and Wacker is a leader in the silicon, semiconductor and photovoltaic industries. When completed, this new complex will be the company’s first polysilicon production facility outside of Germany. The plant will be located at Charleston River Park in northern Bradley County, which was selected for its excellent infrastructure, sufficient energy and competitive costs.

Tennessee Valley Corridor Summits

The clear vision of the Tennessee Valley Corridor (TVC), strong partnerships and hard work of many dedicated leaders have paid off big and helped make our region more resilient in troubling economic times with two new billion dollar investments in the heart of the Corridor. Wacker Chemie AG announced plans to build a new silicon plant in Bradley County and Volkswagen is currently constructing its new U.S. auto assembly plant in Chattanooga, both of which are expected to create thousands of new next-generation manufacturing and supply jobs.

Building on our shared science, technology, business and education assets in the Tennessee Valley, Congressman Wamp was instrumental in forming the Tennessee Valley Technology Corridor in 1995 to create the jobs of the future. Three of the focus areas identified at the first Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit were transportation, energy and next-generation manufacturing. What started as a regional economic summit has grown into a national, award-winning economic development organization focused on high-tech research, development, manufacturing and investment in the TVC. The Summits would not have succeeded without the vision of Congressman Wamp and his ability to work with other Members of Congress, and state and local leaders to promote these ideas.

Expanding the Trail of Tears

While the Cherokee removal is only one tribe’s story of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, it is the most visible in American history. After rewriting the National Trail of Tears legislation to accurately tell the story of one of the seminal injustices in history, Congressman Wamp was proud to shepherd this bill through Congress because of his own Cherokee heritage. The Trail of Tears Documentation Act, which was signed into law, doubles the current Trail of Tears with the inclusion of two primary westward trails – the Benge and Bell routes and other associated components. These routes were not included in the original Trail due to lack of documentation, but historians now have been able to document these routes with further research and study of military journals, newspaper accounts and vouchers.

The Cherokee led by John Benge traveled 734 miles starting at Fort Payne, Alabama, continuing through Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. The Treaty Party Group led by John Bell traveled 765 miles starting at Charleston, Tennessee, crossing west over Moccasin Bend and traveling through Arkansas. It was the only one of the 17 detachments that did not disband in Oklahoma. There are 29 forts and emigration depots concentrated around Fort Payne, Alabama; Ross’s Landing – present day Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Fort Cass – present day Charleston, Tennessee, where the Cherokee initially were rounded up from their homes and forced on the long journey west by foot, horseback, boat and wagon. The designation and interpretation of the additional sites and trails associated with the Cherokee Removal in the Trail of Tears Documentation Act will enhance public understanding of American history and more fully reflect this tragic saga of a proud people’s forced removal.

Honoring Green McAdoo and the Clinton 12

Telling the story of Green McAdoo is important to the community of Clinton, Tennessee, and also to the cause of justice and equality in America for its vital role in school desegregation. The Clinton 12 successfully integrated in 1956 without federal intervention one year before Little Rock Central. The Green McAdoo National Historic Site Study Act that Congressman Wamp authored was signed into law, allowing the Secretary of the Interior to study and determine whether this site should be recognized, protected under the National Park System and receive federal funding for operational costs.

The formerly segregated all-black Green McAdoo School and all-white Clinton High School played a vital role in the school desegregation crisis that preceded and followed the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. On August 25, 1956, 12 students from the Green McAdoo School, later dubbed the “Clinton 12” met at the school before walking together to the all-white Clinton High School to become the first African-American students to effect the integration of a southern, state-operated school. On September 1, 1956, Clinton became the first southern town to be occupied by National Guard troops in an effort to quell violence sparked by protestors opposed to school integration. The Green McAdoo National Historic Site Study Act is the first step to giving national status to the brave people of Green McAdoo in Clinton.

Chickamauga Lock Repairs and Replacement

Pre-construction work is now underway on the new Chickamauga Lock involving the formation of a coffer dam. Used to divert river water, the coffer dam will create a dry riverbed upon which the new lock will be built and will remain in place as the outer portion of the lock wall. The coffer dam is scheduled to be completed in 2009, allowing construction to begin on the expanded lock.

Keeping the Chickamauga Lock open and operational has been a top priority for Congressman Wamp since he took office. As a major thoroughfare for commerce in the South, Chickamauga Lock was completed in 1940 and remains one of the oldest locks on the Tennessee River, and is vital to the economy of the region and national security interests. A process known as "concrete growth" has caused extensive deterioration and threatens the life of the lock.

Annual maintenance and repair work is critical to keeping the lock functioning until it can ultimately be replaced, which is expected in 2013. Congressman Wamp has fought to include necessary funding for repairs on the current lock while also providing funding for planning and construction of the replacement lock. In the expanded 110-foot by 600-foot lock, up to nine barges will be processed in a single lockage compared to only one barge in the current lock.

Moccasin Bend

With evidence of human occupation dating back to the earliest human cultures in North America, Moccasin Bend has a rich and varied cultural history. The National Park Service is developing plans for a Visitors Center where guests can interpret the Tennessee River Valley’s best preserved artifacts. This educational facility will allow visitors to interactively learn the way earlier civilizations lived and create a living memorial to the area’s rich heritage. Zach has secured funding for interpretive center planning and continues to work to acquire additional funding for design of the facility.

Congressman Wamp's interest in history, preservation and his own Cherokee heritage led him to work with the Friends of Moccasin Bend and the National Park Service to include Moccasin Bend in the National Park System. This designation will protect Moccasin Bend for future generations. Zach has worked to provide significant funding for bank stabilization protecting the area’s valuable artifacts and sacred burial sites from eroding into the Tennessee River.

Methamphetamine Task Force

A massive methamphetamine ring was busted following a two-year investigation involving federal, state and local law enforcement officers arrested 45 individuals. Stretching across Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, this is one of the largest busts in a nationwide attempt to stop the proliferation of methamphetamine and clean up this scourge on our communities.

What began as the East Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force has become a statewide effort, thanks in large part to Congressman Wamp and more than $10 million dollars of federal funding. Now the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force is working across the state to coordinate agencies on all levels of government to cooperatively curb this growing problem.

Use of methamphetamine, one of the most dangerous yet easily produced drugs, has proliferated across the southeast United States. The main ingredient in methamphetamine is pseudoephedrine, commonly found in many over the counter medicinal drugs. In recent years, laws have been passed to regulate and track the sale of all medications that contain pseudoephedrine. Over the past several years, East Tennessee has led the way in combating the use, production and distribution of this highly-addictive drug.

Clean Drinking Water

In a passionate plea, Congressman Zach Wamp asked the House Appropriations Committee to approve Environmental Protection Agency grants providing funding to further extend access to safe, clean drinking water in rural areas of East Tennessee. Even with the modern household amenities, there are more than 6,500 residents in the Third District without public water service.

Congressman Wamp has made it a priority to help bring clean drinking water to all citizens of East Tennessee. He secured funding to extend water lines into outlying areas of Meigs County to clean up residential wells with various levels of bacteria, and provide a year-round supply to residents whose wells dry up during the summer. The town of Decatur received federal funding to update and extend their water system, allowing them to serve approximately 100 additional homes, and Copperhill and southeast Polk County received funding for a new reliable wastewater treatment system for families and businesses. In the northern part of the Third District, Congressman Wamp helped secure funds to provide clean drinking water to area residents and strengthen infrastructure and economic growth, including wastewater service improvements in the city of Harrogate and waterline extensions to bring potable water to more residents in Claiborne County.

Spallation Neutron Source (SNS)

Some 2,000 scientists from around the world are expected to visit the Oak Ridge National Laboratory each year to conduct research on the world's most advanced pulsed neutron source. As the Spallation Neutron Source reaches full operational level and more neutron are produced, scientists will continue researching using state-of-the-art instruments.

Since the beginning of the project, Congressman Wamp has helped secure funding for this cutting-edge, world-renowned research facility that was completed on time and within the approved budget. Its completion solidifies Oak Ridge as the world’s premier neutron science lab and will help explore and better understand the structure of materials. As the needs of our high-technology society have advanced, so have demands for new materials that are stronger, lighter and cheaper, yet perform well under severe conditions.

Neutron scattering allows scientists to better understand the nature of materials ranging from liquid crystals and proteins to plastics and metals. Neutron science has led to advances like the magnetic strips on your credit cards and can help lead to breakthroughs that will improve our medicine, food, electronics, and cars and airplanes.

Y-12 National Security Complex

As part of a plan to strengthen its mission as the Uranium Center of Excellence, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) decided to locate a Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at Y-12 for uranium manufacturing and research and development. The UPF will be a smaller, more secure and less expensive nuclear weapons complex that will eliminate redundancies in NNSA’s mission, capabilities and facilities. The largest construction project that Oak Ridge has undertaken in more than 40 years was completed in September 2008. The Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility replaces several aging facilities with a single state-of-the-art repository for receiving, shipping and storing special nuclear material. These streamlining steps and modernizations move Y-12 into the 21st Century as a world leader in safe handling of nuclear material.

Y-12 is a world leader in safe handling of nuclear material and is part of the NNSA nuclear weapons complex, under the U.S. Department of Energy’s umbrella. Our nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile has been in place for many years and Y-12 is responsible for checking the safety and reliability of weapon components. This original Manhattan Project site continues to perform work on research, design, development and testing of nuclear weapons and is critical to our country’s security. Since the end of the Cold War, this site has been instrumental in helping other countries safely dismantle and dispose of nuclear material through non-proliferation work. Y-12 is known as the “Fort Knox” of highly-enriched uranium and is the leader in uranium and lithium materials research, development and processing for nuclear weapon secondary components.

Environmental Management

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved major planning for the complete cleanup of more than 400 structures at ORNL and Y-12. This preliminary plan determines the resources needed and lays the foundation for the project to proceed with the design and funding. This essential step on one of the most important missions on the Oak Ridge Reservation means that the Integrated Facility Disposition Program must go forward to clean up the legacy assets within the fences of ORNL and Y-12, finish modernizing these world-class institutions and ensure the long-term funding for this necessary cleanup mission in Oak Ridge.

Remarkable progress has been made to cap tainted land, tear down outdated buildings and revitalize the Oak Ridge Reservation. For more than 50 years DOE led the world in advanced research in Oak Ridge. Like most industrial and manufacturing operations, nuclear research generated waste and pollution. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Congressional Nuclear Cleanup Caucus, Congressman Wamp has worked with the DOE Environmental Management (EM) program to expedite the cleanup of the environmental legacy of the Cold War. DOE has taken another step in the cleanup process by capturing additional work that remains to be done at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Y-12 and projecting the cost to complete that work. In early 2002, DOE proposed an accelerated cleanup reform initiative and Oak Ridge submitted a cleanup proposal to hasten the closure of its EM program by six years (2021 to 2015) and reduce the cost by more than $2 billion.

The Environmental Management program operated through DOE has effectively completed the following projects:

·       Completed cleanup of the Melton Valley area of the Oak Ridge Reservation, which capped over 145 acres burial grounds containing waste from more than 50 years of research and production activities.

·        Nearly 6,800 Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride cylinders were removed from the East Tennessee Technology Park three years ahead of schedule, and transported to the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio.

·        In a major change to the landscape at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), the former K-29 gaseous diffusion building, the size of six and a half football fields, was torn down as part of efforts to convert the former K-25 site for use by private industry. The largest remaining project at ETTP includes demolition of the K-25 Building, a large gaseous diffusion plant. A restructured cleanup contract enables this be removed by 2011.