NSF
TO
AWARD
UP
TO
$4
MILLION
TO
DUSEL
Feb. 16, 2011
A statement from Principal Investigator Kevin Lesko:
The
National
Science
Foundation
has
indicated
its
intention
to
award
up
to
$4
million
in
additional
funding
for
the
Deep
Underground
Science
and
Engineering
Laboratory.
These
funds
would
cover
four
months
of
dewatering
and
associated
costs
between
June
and
September
of
2011,
as
the
DUSEL
project
considers
stewardship
options
with
the
National
Science
Foundation
and
the
Department
of
Energy.
The
funds
would
be
awarded
to
UC
Berkeley,
which
would
work
with
the
South
Dakota
Science
and
Technology
Authority
to
manage
the
dewatering
activities.
The
President's
budget
released
this
week
requests
$15
million
for
the
Department
of
Energy
in
fiscal
year
2012
to
maintain
the
DUSEL
site,
including
dewatering
and
other
facility
maintenance
that
would
begin
in
October.
At
a
budget-related
briefing
this
week,
William
Brinkman,
the
Director
of
DOE's
Office
of
Science,
said
the
Department
will
seek
input
from
the
Sanford
Laboratory
and
the
DUSEL
stakeholder
communities
as
it
assesses
options
for
its
underground
research
program.
This
announcement
comes
at
a
time
when the
DUSEL
project
is
finalizing
its
Preliminary
Design
Report.
The
DUSEL
team
looks
forward
to
working
with
the
agencies
to
promote
joint
participation
in
DUSEL's
exciting
multidisciplinary
science
opportunities.