Tri-Cities works to fend off another Biden administration snub to pay for schools, roads
Tri-City Herald | 1/28/2022
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For nearly three decades the federal government has made payments in lieu of taxes — or PILT — to help make up for taking the 580 square miles of the Hanford site off the property tax rolls to help pay for local government services in Benton, Franklin and Grant counties in Eastern Washington.
PILT money is used for roads, rural libraries, ports, public hospital and other health services, and help for indigent veterans. But the largest chunk goes to schools. Benton County, which is home to most of the Hanford nuclear reservation, received about $3.8 million in PILT in 2021, with about $1.7 million going to the Richland School District.
But last year the budget the administration proposed to Congress included no money for PILT for Hanford or the Savannah River, S.C., site, but it included payments for communities near other, much smaller Department of Energy sites.
The money was restored to the budget, thanks to work by Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.
Since Congress has yet to approve a budget for the current fiscal year, the payments continue as funding remains at the same level for the previous fiscal year.
But local government leaders remain baffled about the snub by the administration last year and want to make sure there is not a repeat as the Biden administration is preparing to release its
budget proposal for Hanford for fiscal 2023.
“It is a signal of how they do or do not value communities around the site,” said David Reeploeg, vice president for federal programs for the Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC).
During World War II, the federal government seized land from farmers, business owners and homeowners, to make plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program at the Hanford nuclear reservation.
Plutonium production continued through the Cold War and now the federal government is spending about $2.5 billion a year on environmental cleanup of the site, most of which remains closed to the public.
SCHOOLS NEED PAYMENTS
Reeploeg points out that the schools that PILT helps pay for are educating the workers that Hanford will need to continue doing cleanup work for decades to come.
Superintendents of four school districts sent a letter Thursday to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also reminding DOE that the kids helped by PILT money are the children of Hanford
workers.
It was signed by the school superintendents in the Richland, North Franklin, Prosser and Paterson districts.
Hanford Communities — a coalition of Kennewick, Richland and Pasco, Benton and Franklin counties and the Port of Benton — also sent a letter to the energy secretary this week urging her support in the upcoming budget.
“PILT payments are equal to only a fraction of what private companies and employees would contribute to local tax revenues for similar land, improvements and service usage,” the letter said.
As Benton County property values have gone up over the last decade, DOE has balked at paying the full amount billed to the county and some years did not submit the full amount.
Before land was seized by the federal government in 1943, some of it was irrigated for orchards and vineyards. Part of the increase in PILT bills has been driven by the rising value of irrigated land as the Mid-Columbia becomes known for its wine grapes.
The three counties combined have received as much as $9.8 million per year in PILT, with Benton County receiving as much as $7.4 million, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Benton County responded to the federal government’s reluctance to pay its full bill starting about five years ago by reducing the bill in the hopes of more cooperation from the federal government. The current amount billed is a small fraction of the overall Hanford budget, Reeploeg said.
More information on the importance of PILT payments to local communities may be found on ECA's website.
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT
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MARCH 1 & 2, 2022
The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (Board) will hold a virtual public meeting on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, and Wednesday, March 2, 2022, to review information on the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) activities related to spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). Specifically, the meeting will cover research and development (R&D) on SNF and
HLW storage, transportation, non-site-specific disposal, DOE’s integrated waste management system, and its consent-based siting process to identify federal interim storage facilities.
Details for joining and viewing the meeting will be available on the Board’s website (www.nwtrb.gov) approximately one week before the meeting. The meeting will begin on both days at 12:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST) and is scheduled to adjourn at approximately 5:00 p.m. EST.
The meeting will be open to the public and there will be opportunities for public comments.
MARCH 4, 2022
The Department of Energy (DOE) has released a Request for Information (RFI) on how to site Federal facilities for the temporary, consolidated storage of spent nuclear fuel using a consent-based approach.
Responses to the RFI will inform development of a consent-based siting process, overall strategy for an integrated waste management system, and possibly a funding opportunity. DOE especially welcomes insight from people, communities, and groups that have historically not been well-represented in these discussions.
Responses must be received by March 4, 2022 by 5:00pm ET and may be submitted electronically to consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov, including “RFI: Consent-Based Siting and Federal Interim Storage” in the subject line of the email
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House committee passes bipartisan university research infrastructure bill
Nuclear News | 1/21/2022
A bipartisan bill to ensure that U.S. universities are equipped to play a key role in supporting the deployment of advanced nuclear technology and applications has been passed by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
The National Nuclear University Research Infrastructure Reinvestment Act of 2021 (H.R. 4819) would boost investment in new and existing university nuclear science and engineering infrastructure, establish regional consortia to promote collaboration with industry and national laboratories, and support the development of advanced reactor technology and the workforce required for commercial advanced reactor deployment.
The basics: The bill was introduced in July 2021 by Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R., Ohio), together with Reps. Sean Casten (D., Ill.), Peter Meijer (R., Mich.), and Bill Foster (D., Ill). On January 19, during a full committee markup session, the bill was passed out of the committee. At this writing, the bill has garnered the support of 15 cosponsors in the House.
What’s in the bill? The bill provides funding to upgrade existing infrastructure and establish regional or subregional consortia, and it would require the Department of Energy to create a new program to deploy “no more than four new research reactors” at U.S. universities. That program would focus on demonstrating advanced reactor and microreactor concepts, medical isotope production reactors, and other critical research
infrastructure. Those facilities would be constructed as a partnership between the host university and collaborating universities, including historically black colleges and universities, minority-serving institutions, and community colleges.
As introduced, the bill would authorize funding of $55 million per year for five years, beginning in fiscal year 2022, for two efforts intended to enhance existing support for university nuclear programs: upgrading existing infrastructure in support of advanced nuclear technologies and applications, and creating regional or subregional university-led consortia to broaden access to university research reactors and provide project management and technical, engineering,
manufacturing, and nuclear material support.
The DOE would be tasked with creating the Advanced Nuclear Research Infrastructure Enhancement Subprogram to (1) demonstrate various advanced nuclear reactor and nuclear microreactor concepts, (2) establish medical isotope production reactors or other specialized applications, and (3) advance other research infrastructure. The subprogram would receive substantial funding in fiscal years 2022–2029, beginning with $10 million in 2022 and increasing to $140 million by
2027.
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Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
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Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments.
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