USGS To Stay For Now

The U.S. Interior Department is putting its plans to consolidate consolidate its operations into the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center in Denver on hold while they take another look at the issue.

The Rocky Mountain News:

Earlier this month, Missouri Rep. Jo Ann Emerson and Sens. Kit Bond and Jim Talent, all Republicans, asked the agency's inspector general to launch a formal probe of a decision they say was made without proper justification.

In a statement Friday, the agency said Assistant Interior Secretary Mark Limbaugh "has directed a review of the decision process in light of questions raised about that process."

The federal agency announced plans in September to consolidate operations from Rolla; Menlo Park, Calif.; and Reston, Va., into the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center in Denver. The move would force 187 Rolla employees out of their jobs within a year.

Missouri lawmakers complained the decision ignored the recommendation of an internal committee that found Rolla was the best choice for consolidation based on wages and operating costs.

"I am glad the Department of Interior is willing to review this arbitrary decision, because I think a mistake has been made which needs to be corrected," Emerson said in a statement.

One of the city's largest employers, the USGS office has been in Rolla since 1921.