Washington, DC–Today, U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) congratulated the team at the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority (SDSTA) for reaching the 4,850-foot water level. That is the depth at which the SDSTA intends to establish the state-owned Sanford Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory, as a precursor to a possible federally-funded “Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory” (DUSEL), which would be located further down the mine.
“I want to congratulate the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority on this important milestone in the ongoing effort to turn Homestake into a world-class home for underground science. It’s clear they are putting to good use the funds appropriated for this project by the South Dakota legislature, T. Denny Sanford, and by the federal government through the earmark I was able to secure. I’ll continue to work with the rest of the delegation to keep the ball rolling at the federal level,” Johnson said.
In 2001, Johnson was able to secure $10 million in interim funding for the State of South Dakota in the VA-HUD Appropriations bill to maintain the Homestake Mine in Lead during its consideration as a possible location for the establishment of a national underground laboratory.
In 2007, the National Science Foundation announced that Homestake Mine was the best site for DUSEL. With that announcement came the pledge of a $15 million federal award over three years so that the Homestake team can further refine the plans involved in developing this lab. The project must still compete with other NSF research projects for federal funding, and then receive approval from Congress and the President.
