WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) will participate in the signing ceremony for the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Department of the Interior and Department of Energy establishing the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz will sign the agreement.
After more than a decade of support and involvement from the local community, Senators Udall and Heinrich worked to include legislation in the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act--which was signed into law in December 2014--to establish the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The provision established three different educational sites in Los Alamos, New Mexico; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Hanford, Washington. The park will conserve historic sites and artifacts that played a key role in the dawn of the nuclear era, and help tell the story of the creation of the world's first atomic bomb and its consequences for society.
Once signed, the MOA will officially establish Manhattan Project National Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System. The MOA will formally describe how the National Park Service and the Department of Energy will work together to preserve, protect, and provide access to the historic resources associated with the Manhattan Project.
Who:
U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell
U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz
Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.)
Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.)
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
When:
Tuesday, November 10, at 10 a.m. EST
What:
Manhattan Project National Historical Park Memorandum of Agreement Signing Ceremony
Where:
Department of the Interior South Building Auditorium
1951 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Live stream is availble here: https://www.doi.gov/live
RSVP is required to facilitate building access for media. Please contact jeremy_barnum@nps.gov. For those who cannot attend, the ceremony will be live-streamed at doi.gov/live.