Aiken Standard's top 10 local stories of 2021 -- No. 4: Pits, and a pivotal year for SRS

Dec. 28—Editor's note: The Aiken Standard is counting down its top 10 local news stories of 2021. This is No. 4 in the 10-part series, beginning Dec. 22 and ending Dec. 31.

From massive projects and shiny new contracts to pandemic protocols and vaccine lawsuits, 2021 was a pivotal year for the Savannah River Site.

The Department of Energy reservation employs thousands, and its influence is hard to ignore across both South Carolina and Georgia. In 2020 alone, the site had a $2.2 billion economic impact in five nearby counties, Aiken County among them.

SRPPF

Perhaps the single most consequential decision this year was related to plutonium pit production, the forging of nuclear weapon cores sought by the military.

The National Nuclear Security Administration in June announced its pit hub at the Savannah River Site — the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility — had been greenlighted, teeing up South Carolina for a continued long-term role in the modernization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

At the time, the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility was roughly estimated to cost between $6.9 billion and $11.1 billion. Officials said it would likely be finished between 2032 and 2035, years later than initially hoped. The date has since been the source of much debate, if not vexation.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions remains the leader on the local project. In July, SRNS President and CEO Stuart MacVean told the Aiken Rotary Club he would push as hard as he could to ensure dozens of pits would be produced at the site by 2030.

Contracts

The Savannah River Site would not be what it is without its weighty contracts, which often run into the billions of dollars and foreshadow the future of the installation.

And this year has been one of great change.

In 2021, a new liquid-waste team, Savannah River Mission Completion, was named; the Savannah River National Lab was taken over by Battelle Savannah River Alliance, a grouping of Battelle and universities on both sides of the river; North Wind Construction Services of Idaho was selected to design and build the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative at USC Aiken; and the search for the next Savannah River Site management team was axed, keeping Savannah River Nuclear Solutions in place for the foreseeable future.

COVID-19

As the pandemic persisted — and persists into 2022 — Savannah River Site contractors continued to react, adapt and make tough calls.

Likely the most controversial move tied to the coronavirus was the implementation of COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Lawsuits across the Energy Department complex have been filed over them; the Savannah River Site is no exception.

In October, dozens of workers sued Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. Four longtime Centerra workers also sued their employer. And overarching it all have been decisions and fiats made by the federal government, also being litigated.

The Aiken Citizens for Freedom, a grassroots group, has protested vaccine mandates at the Savannah River Site. In September, a demonstration was organized near New Ellenton, north of an SRS barricade. Another was organized along bustling Whiskey Road in Aiken. Members even protested an unrelated event S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster attended in Trenton.

One sign there read: "The Gates of Hell are at SRS. Where are you, Governor?"