Plans for Arecibo, Green Bank observatories prompt pushback

The National Science Foundation’s recent announcement that it will seek partners capable of operating the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico as it divests from the facility was met largely with relief from those who feared a shutdown of the famous radio telescope.

According to the plan , announced 16 November, NSF will try to negotiate a partnership that enables science-focused operations to continue at Arecibo under substantially reduced agency funding.

Prior to making the decision, NSF assessed the implications of several potential futures, ranging from continued operations to complete deconstruction of the facility. NSF is now conducting a similar assessment for the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia. Because of constrained budgets, NSF is seeking to ramp down funding for the two radio observatories and other facilities to free up resources for higher-priority activities.

But that approach does not sit well with several members of Congress who serve on committees that shape the agency’s budget. Two appropriators argue that NSF should maintain its current level of involvement in Arecibo and Green Bank. They are in a position to shape or halt NSF’s divestment process if they can persuade committee leaders to include directives within appropriations legislation.

Attracting observatory partners

Jim Ulvestad, the acting director of NSF’s Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate, said in an interview that a primary factor influencing the agency’s decision for Arecibo is that “one or more viable collaborators” responded to a call for proposals issued in January 2017. The solicitation sought organizations capable of operating the facility as NSF reduces its annual contribution from about $8 million to $2 million over a five-year period.

The response to the solicitation indicates the likelihood is “quite high” that NSF will be able to negotiate a new operating agreement for Arecibo before the current one ends on 31 March 2018, Ulvestad said. However, the agency’s decision is contingent on Congress allocating funds to repair damage to Arecibo from Hurricane Maria. NSF estimates that it will cost $4 million to $8 million to fix the facility. The White House has asked for $7.7 million to repair NSF-owned facilities and equipment damaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria in its latest disaster recovery funding request .

Ulvestad said NSF’s decision to formally pursue partners demonstrates the agency has always been serious about finding a way to keep the facility open. “We’ve had five years of people complaining that all we’re really trying to do is close Arecibo, and that’s never been our intention,” he said. “We’ve been trying to find a viable future for both the unique science it does and for the important role that it plays in Puerto Rico, both as a scientific drawing card and as an educational vehicle.”

NSF’s approach for Arecibo and Green Bank stems from the 2010 decadal survey for astronomy and astrophysics, which recommended that the agency’s Astronomical Sciences Division reevaluate its facilities portfolio. The 2012 review concluded that NSF should divest from several older facilities in order to free up resources for newer ones deemed more important to meeting the science goals laid out by the decadal survey. The midterm assessment of the 2010 decadal survey urged NSF to proceed with the divestment.

Congressional resistance

Several members of the House and Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations subcommittees, which develop the legislation that funds NSF, have pushed back on the agency’s plans for the facilities.

One such member is Representative José Serrano (D-NY), the top Democrat on the House CJS subcommittee. Serrano, who was born in Puerto Rico and has been an advocate for the territory during his time in Congress, blasted NSF’s decision for Arecibo in a 16 November statement . “Scientific research and development are needed now more than ever on the Island to help retain professionals, train students, and motivate investors to look towards Puerto Rico,” he said. “I will do everything in my power to prevent this misguided decision from moving forward.”

Similarly, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), a member of the Senate CJS subcommittee, sent a letter to NSF on 13 November criticizing the plan for Green Bank. “I believe that the Observatory’s contributions to national and international science and the West Virginia commitment to this work justifies the Foundation’s strong, continued full-time support and presence at the Observatory,” he wrote.

Other appropriators have stopped short of arguing that NSF should maintain its current level of support for Arecibo and Green Bank, although they have made clear they will seek to ensure the facilities remain open. Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), chair of the House CJS subcommittee, has not recently made a statement on Arecibo or Green Bank, but he expressed his support for the facilities at a hearing he convened in June on NSF’s budget request for fiscal year 2018.

The House subcommittee has already indicated its willingness to tap the brakes on the divestment process.

The report accompanying the House CJS appropriations bill for fiscal year 2018, released in July 2017, conveys that the committee “expects NSF to sustain support for the programs and scientific facilities funded by the Astronomical Sciences Division at no less than the fiscal year 2017 levels to maintain full scientific and educational operations.” The report also says that NSF “shall not implement any final divestment of infrastructure tied to the findings of its 2012 Astronomical Sciences Portfolio Review without first reporting such actions to the Committee.”

The report for the Senate CJS bill does not contain that language, leaving it to interchamber negotiators to decide whether it is included in a final appropriations agreement.

This article is adapted from a 5 December post on FYI, which reports on federal science policy with a focus on the physical sciences. Both FYI and Physics Today are published by the American Institute of Physics.