Noem: Lab funding a top priority

By Wendy Pitlick
Black Hills Pioneer

LEAD — Securing the future of the Sanford Lab is a top priority, Rep. Kristi Noem said Monday.

Noem, who toured the lab’s underground and surface facilities Monday morning in order to understand the project better, said she plans to work hard to make sure the lab receives the necessary funds to continue operating until a formal decision can be made about DUSEL construction.

“It is extremely important as far as the progress that has been made. It has been very encouraging and we are hoping that we can continue down that path and make sure that we’re working toward securing the needed funding to keep it on track,” Noem said.

Just a few weeks into her first Congressional session, Noem’s lab visit was part of an overall South Dakota tour, during which she learned about the state’s top issues, and visited with key players. Other visits included a roundtable discussion regarding the mountain pine beetle infestation with Black Hills National Forest officials, loggers, and local government officials and a meeting with Ellsworth Task Force officials.

But the lab visit was first and foremost on her mind Monday morning. A state legislator for four years prior to winning the national election, Noem said she was familiar with the project, especially since she voted last year for the $5.4 million in state dollars to operate the lab until this spring. But now, as a Congresswoman, her work with the lab will be much more “hands-on.” Noem said she wants to hit the ground running, and do everything she can to secure the science future of South Dakota and the country.

“I have never been here, and I like to see things hands on so I can really understand and be much more educated when I am speaking about things,” Noem said. “I think people are much more passionate about things that they have actually seen with their eyes. For me it was very beneficial and gave me a lot more information that I can utilize when we’re working toward making sure this lab has a future.”

Prior to her visit, Noem said Sens. John Thune and Tim Johnson had been very helpful in providing information and updates about the lab and, in fact, representatives from the senators’ offices accompanied Noem on her tour Monday. Following the tour, Noem said she plans to return to Washington and use the delegation’s collective influence to work with the National Science Foundation, National Science Board, and the Department of Energy to work out a stewardship model for the DUSEL that would address immediate and future funding concerns.  Late last year the National Science Board denied $29 million in funds that were intended to carry operations at the Sanford Lab until a formal decision can be made about constructing a federal deep underground science and engineering laboratory. The decision came as a surprise to many, as the National Science Foundation had previously pledged the funds that would pick up when state dollars run out in spring 2011.

National Science Board members said they denied the funds because they found a partnership model between the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, as it relates to lab funding, was unacceptable. Since then members of the Congressional delegation, former and current Govs. Mike Rounds and Dennis Daugaard, members of the DUSEL team and federal agency officials have been working together to resolve the issue and refine the NSF and DOE roles for DUSEL.

“I think the most unfortunate part of this right now is that everybody seems in limbo, with nobody making a vision as to how we go forward,” Noem said. “We definitely need to secure the  funding, but we also need to make sure that the resolution of who is going to have stewardship over this project is also finalized so that we know we have security into the future. This is something that came as quite a surprise to most of the stakeholders and the people who are working on the project, and I don’t think they’re interested in seeing it happen ever again. We could look at this as an opportunity to get some of those issues resolved andn put thiis project on firmer footing and then continue to work toward making sure we have some opportunities to get the resources we need.”

While visiting Monday, Noem said she was very impressed with the progress that has been made in converting the former gold mine into a world-class underground laboratory. Currently crews are working to shotcrete the walls, and temporary clean room space has been established for the Majorana experiment. More than 20 other science experiments are currently operating underground for biology, geology and engineering projects.

“It’s always amazing to me what people can accomplish,” Noem said. “The logistics of what is going on down there is amazing. It’s a very well planned out project.”

Read more at Kristi Noem for Congress