A local non-profit has worked quietly to promote economic interests, joining the Savannah River Site (SRS) with the five South Carolina and Georgia Counties it touches. Those are Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell in South Carolina, plus Richmond and Columbia Counties in Georgia.
The Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) was started in 1993. It was one of nearly 30 such organizations created nationwide when Department of Energy (DOE) sites began closing as the Cold War ended. In the early years, it coordinated revolving loan funds and equity investments, but by 2005, the focus shifted.
“We reinvented ourselves and started doing a little bit more in the asset programs at the site, using those funds to put more money back into the community and economic development,” Robbie Bennett, SRSCRO President and CEO, told ABD. “About 2009 was when we got into the workforce game. And really used results from a nuclear workforce study that we did through Booz Allen Hamilton. Took that and created our nuclear workforce initiative and understood what the workforce needs were.”
The study explained to the DOE where the problem was, but was also able to offer a solution. That helped transform the SRSCRO from a regional diversification organization to an economic development support organization.
For Bennett, the work is baked into his DNA. Prior to joining SRSCRO, he was Executive Director of the Development Authority of Columbia County. He grew up in Jackson, and his mother is a retiree from the site.
While SRSCRO looks at economic opportunities across the five counties, Bennett is careful to make clear it is not an economic development organization.
“We are an economic development support organization,” he clarified. “Can we support strategic economic development opportunities at the site? Absolutely. We see some of the opportunities that are getting announced. We want to be a part and help educate the community partners on those, but the day-to-day recruitment, we’ll leave that to Cal (Wray, Augusta Economic Development Authority), Will (Williams, Western SC Development), Cheney (Eldridge, Development Authority of Columbia County), and everybody else.”
Bennett said the CRO model is finding ways to put land, people, and assets back into the community from the site. He pointed to the Mound site near Dayton, Ohio, as an example. It operated from 1948 to 2003 as part of the DOE. The city of Miamisburg chartered the Mound Development Corporation to transition the site for reuse as the Mound Business Park.
“Savannah River’s a little bit more unique, because we’re such a large site,” explained Bennett, “We’ve had land given to us for the purpose of going to Southern Carolina Regional Development Alliance and Barnwell for their SCAT (SC Advanced Technology) Park. We’re always looking for other assets that we can repurpose, reuse, sell, to put back in.”
Bennett said there is also a focus on people. How to get them, how to put them in the proper place, and how to take them to the next level, tapping into the intellectual capital at the site.
The trick has been how to get the message out for everyone to hear.
“People don’t realize that we have put over $16.7 million back into the economic development, community development world. Since we were founded, we have received more than $23.5 million in federal grants for workforce development, that equates to close to 1,100 plus, 900 scholarships awarded for the nuclear workforce. We’ve touched over 22,000 K-through-12 students for STEM outreach,” he details.
Another thing that makes SRS unique is that the site is continuing to grow. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) said it is one of the largest construction projects in the U.S., including converting the failed mixed oxide (MOX) facility into the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility (SRPPF), clearing the way to begin pit production.
An estimated 9,000 more workers will be needed on site in the next five years. SRSCRO has launched a website to help people seeking opportunities at SRS. Individuals can review open positions from the participating employers, including DOE. SRNS, Centerra, and the U.S. Forestry Service.
However, the site is more than a vehicle for people to easily search for career opportunities.
“Not only the jobs, but answers to the questions you’re going to have about where’s childcare? Childcare is a huge issue for everyone, including the site,” said Bennett. “What’s there to do? If you’re new to the area, you don’t know where to begin to look, so we have those attractions. We have temporary housing because we have a slew of Centerra or construction workers coming in to finish SRPPF. We have links to be able to go look at housing in general. We also have information just about the communities.”
Learn more about SRSCRO at https://www.srscro.org/
To search job openings, visit https://workatsrs.com/
