Husep Statement Regarding Dusel Selection

Note to Editors: The following is a statement from the executive committee of the Henderson Underground Science and Engineering Project (HUSEP) regarding the National Science Foundations’ announcement that they have not selected the Henderson, Colorado site for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab. For a HUSEP/DUSEL fact sheet, visit www.newsinfo.colostate.edu and click on the heading for this release.

"Today the National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced that the Homestake, South Dakota site has been chosen to be the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab (DUSEL) site.  Naturally, we are disappointed at the decision but we respect the extensive process conducted by the NSF. We congratulate the Homestake team for winning the award and we wish them the best success in the development of a world class research facility, DUSEL.

The HUSEP Executive Committee would like to thank all our partners, which includes over 240 collaboration members from more than 80 academic, research, industry, and community organizations in a dozen countries. In particular, we wish to highlight a few of the core team members.

At the center of the enterprise was, of course, the Henderson Mine itself.  For over three years, we have experienced nothing but strong support for Henderson DUSEL at every level, from the underground crews and management at Henderson on up to senior executives at mine-owner Climax Molybdenum Company, former parent company Phelps Dodge Corporation, and the new parent company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. We gratefully acknowledge the support we received from the Clear Creek and Grand County communities, and many agencies and departments of local and state government. The state HUSEP Advisory Commission established by former Gov. Owens and embraced by Gov. Bill Ritter provided the foundation for several transformational forms of support.  Outstanding among these was the successful bill that would provide $20 million for a visitors’ center sponsored by Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald and State Rep. Al White, with invaluable assistance from the Department of Natural Resources.  The exploration funds provided by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and the Department of Local Affairs allowed the Henderson proposal to vault into front-runner status.  We deeply appreciate the former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton and the current Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien for their leadership of the HUSEP advisory commission as the chairs of the commission.

We acknowledge the strong support from the Governor, U.S. Senators Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar, Congressman Mark Udall and Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, and their attentive staff.

Of special note is The Arapaho Project Inc.  This non-profit organization, spearheaded by Clear Creek County resident Steve Schultz, was established by community members in a grassroots effort to support bringing a world class science facility to Colorado.

The science and engineering committees chairs drawn from Case Western Reserve University, University of Washington, Clemson University, New Mexico Tech, Virginia Tech, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Brookhaven National Laboratory played a central role in the collaboration. Our engineering design effort depended heavily on CNA Consulting Engineers and partners Dunham Associates, Miller-Dunwiddie Architects, Itasca consulting Group, and ILF Consultants Inc.

Finally, this multiyear effort would not have been possible without the support of Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, University of Colorado, Stony Brook University, and State University of New York Research Foundation.  These academic and research institutions provided the core intellectual, financial and administrative foundation."

HUSEP Executive Committee:

Chang Kee Jung, Spokesman (Stony Brook University)

Robert J. Wilson, Deputy Spokesman (Colorado State University)

Mark Kuchta (Colorado School of Mines)

Richard Propernick (Henderson Mine/Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.)

Steve Schultz (The Arapaho Project)

Stuart Teuscher (Henderson Mine/Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.)

Eric D. Zimmerman (University of Colorado at Boulder)

Contacts:

Colorado Media: Professor Robert J. Wilson, Colorado State University                

(970) 491 5033, (970) 420 5368

Outside of Colorado: Professor Chang Kee Jung, Stony Brook University                

(631) 632 8108, (631) 707 2018, (631) 474 4563