Bid to clean up, then buy uranium (enrichment) plants raises eyebrows in Congress

[jpak]

http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_6532908

The chairman of Congress' powerful Energy and Commerce Committee is asking questions about efforts by Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions to get an exclusive cleanup contract for two government-owned uranium enrichment plants.

If EnergySolutions gets the $9.5 billion contract at the Ohio and Kentucky plants, the Utah nuclear service company also plans to buy the Maryland-based company that now leases and operates those sites, according to Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.

For EnergySolutions, the deal could be a boon, guaranteeing $700 million a year in business from the U.S. Energy Department and giving the company leverage for still more expansion. The company, which has been growing exponentially since 2005, would also further the stated goal of its chief executive officer, Steve Creamer, to dominate the U.S. nuclear services industry.

But the deal might not be in the best interests of taxpayers, says Dingell and fellow Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak, who leads the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

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[acmavm]

1. Get paid for the cleanup and then buy it? Is this like having you cake and

eating it too? Or am I missing something?