BWXT receives site plan approval. Here's what to know.

JONESBOROUGH — After receiving Washington County approval Tuesday evening, BWX Technologies can now begin its planned expansion as part of a $1.6 billion federal contract to produce high-purity depleted uranium, a substance considered to be leftovers in the nuclear industry. The site plan marked the last county consideration BWXT needed before the local facility could begin expanding. It includes a three-story HPDU processing building, a smaller support building, two outdoor tank farms, more than 15,000 square feet of heavy-duty pavement, an elevated pipe bridge to transport materials and new installations of electrical and natural gas lines. The county commission approved the company's rezoning request in March to rezone more than 50 acres of agricultural and residential land to industrial, despite nearly a year of backlash from community members. A look into the plan The county recognized that approximately 43 acres of the property is located within a flood hazard zone, noting this restricts development. As a result, the flood zone will separate the existing facility and the planned expansion. The flood hazard zone associated with Little Limestone Creek is one of the environmental concerns community members have been raising, especially after the flood of the Nolichuckey River as a result of Hurricane Helene. The site plan indicates no development will occur within the 100-year Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood zone, but it will come close to the edges. Impacts identified by DOE An agency within the U.S. Department of Energy released a supplemental assessment in August noting that the expansion would have no significant environmental impacts. Impacts identified include the disturbance of approximately 3.1 acres of land described as "previously disturbed industrial land," short-term air quality impacts due to construction emissions, up to a 6% increase in vehicle counts on nearby collector roads due to construction. The assessment concludes that impacts to biological resources — threatened or endangered species — is not anticipated, given the construction will take place on existing industrial land. It also states electricity and natural gas lines will be installed on already "disturbed land" by local utility companies. Residents have voiced concerns that the facility will affect the local environment and health. That includes worries over an accidental 900-gallon wastewater spill at the Jonesborough facility less than a month ago, which is under state investigation. Who is the contractor? BWXT awarded a five-year contract to Edgewater Technical Associates, LLC in October of 2025 to oversee the expansion, according to a press release. The release states that under the contract, Edgewater will also oversee testing of the HPDU production lines, facilities and support equipment, along with the engineering, procurement and construction of the expansion. Edgewater currently has 13 job postings at its Johnson City location, including engineers, procedure writers and managers. Headquartered in New Mexico, Edgewater has six offices across the nation, including in Johnson City and Oak Ridge. The company provides engineering, construction and technical services to the U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Canadian commercial nuclear industry, as well as private sector clients that operate in nuclear environments. Jeff Messaros, general manager at BWXT Ordnance Tennessee said in an email statement that BWXT has also hired safety management and professionals to oversee the safety and execution of the construction activities. "BWXT will continue to staff the professional staff to support the project," he said. "The next focus will be on hiring additional oversight and operations personnel to support upcoming production." What's next? Messaros said the site plan approval also allowed for the approval of BWXT's compliance commercial application allowing structural construction activities to begin. "Structural construction activities will begin this month on the initial production line," he said. "The initial production line will be constructed on the original industrial zoned portion of the BWXT property." He said the initial production line is scheduled to be completed in late 2027 and operations will follow the completion. Structural construction for the remaining expansion located across Little Limestone Creek is scheduled to be complete by 2030 and production operations will follow, Messaros said. "The project is fully funded by the $1.6B federal contract," he said. "This value covers all construction and operational activities for the project." Messaros also said the wastewater spill on Aug. 24 did not impact any construction activities. "We appreciate the continued interest in the project at our Jonesborough site and look forward to providing more information to our neighbors and the community as the activity to meet this national security mission ramps up," he said.