ECA Deep Dive: House energy appropriations pass; NDAA bills moving forward
ECA Staff | 7/13/2022
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Today, the House of Representatives passed a six-bill package that includes Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations for the Department of Energy (DOE). The bill would increase DOE funding by $3.3 billion above last year’s
level, for a total of $48.2 billion.
The House energy spending bill is one of many key items that Congress is aiming to pass by the end of September. Among the other priorities to watch during this busy budget and appropriations season are the Senate’s appropriations,
in addition to the National Defense Authorization Act.
These important bills are in various stages of the legislative process. Where do energy appropriations and the annual defense bill stand?
House Energy Appropriations
- $21.2 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- $7.8 billion for the Office of Environmental Management (EM)
- $1.78 billion for the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
- $8 billion for the Office of Science
- $188 million for the Office of Legacy Management (LM)
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In addition to providing DOE funding, the House Appropriations Committee commented on a number of issues facing the defense nuclear complex in its committee report, including cleanup, workforce development, and weapons activities.
Cleanup and Community Issues
- Integrated Waste Management System: The Committee directed DOE to “move forward under existing authority to identify a site for a federal interim storage facility” and to “use a consent-based approach when undertaking these activities.”
- Hanford: The Committee expressed concern about the cost and timeline of cleanup at Hanford, noting, “could leave local communities at risk for an unnecessarily long period of time, and the Committee is concerned that projected funding needs are not realistically achievable.” DOE was also directed “in partnership with its regulators, tribes, and
other stakeholders, is encouraged to seriously consider all cleanup options that have the potential to reduce costs and safely expedite cleanup while protecting public health and the environment.”
- Idaho National Laboratory: As part of INL’s effort to integrate various program offices, the Congress directed DOE to “develop an Idaho Sitewide Spent Nuclear Fuel Management Plan and shall analyze the use of the Naval Reactors spent fuel packaging facility to support EM’s packaging needs in lieu of new construction.”
- Savannah River Site: The Committee directed EM to coordinate with NNSA to develop “future budget requests to ensure shared operations and maintenance costs of SRNL radiological facilities support multiple critical missions.”
- Portsmouth: Funding at the Portsmouth Site is increased by $5 million above the budget request “to provide support for community-focused education and training opportunities and economic development initiatives in the local community and surrounding counties,” and DOE is directed to “develop a comprehensive land use plan in conjunction with the
surrounding counties that establishes a vision and coordinated objectives for the long-term use of the Portsmouth Site.”
- Community Capacity Building Program: In its budget request, DOE requested $40 million for a new Community Capacity Building grant program to improve communities’ abilities to engage with the Department. The House bill would provide $20 million for the program, noting, DOE is directed “to use a competitive, merit-based process in awarding funds
for this program” and “to provide to the Committee prior to the issuance of a funding opportunity announcement, or the allocation or obligation of any funds a detailed spend plan for fiscal year 2023 funds.”
Workforce Development and Diversity
The House addressed the need for improved workforce development efforts and diversity in the bill report. The Committee directed DOE to provide workforce-related reports, including an inventory of workforce development and readiness programs, a plan for a STEM workforce pipeline, and an updated plan to recruit a more diverse workforce.
Advanced Reactor Program Increase
The Advanced Reactors Demonstration Program would receive a $15 million increase for a total of $265 million. The House Committee recognized “the importance of the deployment of advanced reactors to the nation’s ability to regain its leadership in nuclear energy and the contribution of nuclear energy to meeting climate goals…This program will help facilitate the accelerated development
and deployment of advanced reactors.”
Plutonium Pit Production
Congress continues to support NNSA’s plan to expand plutonium pit production to Savannah River Site, providing $2.4 billion for plutonium modernization at LANL at SRS. However, legislators expressed concern about a “slip in schedule” and the lack of an Integrated Master Schedule. The Committee is requiring NNSA to develop a more detailed schedule, contingency plans, and briefings for
members of Congress.
Progress on National Defense Authorization Act
The annual defense bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, is continuing to move forward in the House and Senate. The House passed its version of the bill last week, and the Senate is planning a vote on the bill after releasing its full text this week.
The NDAA includes policies for DOE’s national security programs, and in this year’s bill, Congress is focusing on EM cleanup, DOE contracting, and plutonium pit production.
Environmental Management
The House and Senate Armed Services Committee are requiring several assessments and reports about cleanup issues.
- Complex-wide waste disposal strategy: The Comptroller General of the United States is directed to evaluate what waste streams EM is currently managing or plans to generate that do not yet have a disposal pathway and the extent to which EM has an integrated strategic plan for waste disposal across the EM complex.”
- EM Quality Assurance Functions: The Comptroller General is directed to evaluate what quality assurance functions Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management sites have for capital asset projects, what lessons the Department of Energy has learned from quality assurance issues across the EM complex, and what steps the Department of
Energy is taking to ensure such issues do not reoccur.
- Oversight of the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant and WIPP: The Comptroller General is directed to continue ongoing evaluation of cleanup efforts at Hanford and provide briefings to Congress on operations at WIPP.
- Test Bed Initiative: The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Environmental Management is directed to submit a long-term plan for the development of grout, including not only a long-term plan for the Test Bed Initiative, but the “required funding and other hurdles that may impede its progress.”
- EM Workforce: The Comptroller General is directed to “evaluate the extent to which EM has assessed whether it has sufficient capacity and skills needed to meet EM’s mission and EM’s actions to address increasing attrition due to retirements and resignations and to hire new employees to replace them.”
DOE Contracting
The House and Senate both expressed concern over “uncertainty surrounding the award of management and operation contracts” and its impact on NNSA employees at facilities. The Committees requested briefings on issues in the award process for M&O contracts.
The Senate NDAA also addresses end state contracting task orders, calling for the Comptroller General to evaluate the extent to which EM has established processes and trained staff to implement, manage, and monitor all End State Contracting Model task orders.
Plutonium Pit Production
Similar to the House appropriations bill, the NDAA bills support plutonium modernization but request further information about costs and schedules. The Senate bill would require the scientific advisory group JASON to assess annually the NNSA's progress towards completing the milestones outlined in the plutonium pit aging roadmap and provide a briefing on the results. The House bill
would require reports on the environmental impact, integrated master schedule, and plutonium aging related to NNSA’s pit production plan.
What’s Next?
While the appropriations and NDAA bills are moving forward, some dates and deadlines are approaching that can complicate final passage.
Congress will be out of session for most of August for recess. The deadline to pass new appropriations is on September 30, when Fiscal Year 2022 ends. Members of Congress also spend much of October traveling back and forth between Washington and their home districts or states to campaign before election day on November 8.
Given the recent trends, it is possible (or likely) that Congress will pass a continuing resolution to postpone the FY 2023 appropriations vote until after the election. The NDAA, on the other hand, is more likely to pass on time as has been the case for several decades, and a conference version of the bill can be expected in the coming months.
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REGISTER NOW
August 3-5, 2022
Salt Lake City Marriott University Park
Recognizing the opportunity to address goals shared broadly among U.S. Department of Energy program offices and in frontline communities across the federal nuclear complex, the Energy Communities Alliance will host the ECA Forum: Hosting New Nuclear Development on August 3-5,
2022 at the Salt Lake City Marriott University Park.
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SAVE OUR DATES
September 21-23, 2022
NEW VENUE: CRYSTAL GATEWAY MARRIOTT IN ARLINGTON, VA!
We are pleased to host the 2022 National Cleanup Workshop at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA. Join us to discuss a new era of cleanup success. Hear from senior DOE officials, local government officials, and industry leaders about DOE's cleanup priorities, the future of the workforce, and more.
Additional information on registration and hotel room blocks is available here. We look forward to seeing you in September!
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Nuclear board issues update to report of international waste programs
ECA Staff | 7/20/2022
On July 18, the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (Board) issued a report updating a 2009 survey report describing 30 technical and institutional attributes of nuclear waste programs in 13
countries that account for 80 percent of worldwide nuclear power-generating capacity.
The report, titled Survey of National Programs for Managing High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: 2022 Update, was issued to Congress and the Secretary of Energy and “focus[es] on experiences in the United States and other countries that will provide useful technical and scientific information for decision-makers in Congress and the Administration on different approaches to managing and disposing of spent nuclear
fuel and high-level radioactive waste,” according to a Board press release.
The update to the report is the second of its kind, following an update published in 2016. Since 2016, changes in national waste management programs have taken place in many of the 13 countries, providing the impetus for the recent update.
One of the most important changes in the United States since the report’s original publication is the decision by the Obama Administration to suspend the effort to develop a deep geologic repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. In the wake of a 2013 federal court decision, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) restarted its review of the 2008 license application submitted by the Department of Energy (DOE) and published the
Safety Evaluation Report in 2015.
NRC staff found that DOE’s license application for construction authorization met the regulatory requirements for the proposed repository except for the requirements regarding land and water rights. In 2016, NRC staff developed a supplement to DOE’s Environmental Impact Statement to address groundwater impacts previously identified by NRC staff as requiring additional analysis. The adjudication of the license application is
currently suspended, but most of the information for the United States included in the report applies whether or not a repository is developed at Yucca Mountain.
The information in the report pertains to program attributes, some of which address the programs’ legal and institutional arrangements, while others describe technical attributes. The countries whose programs are included in the report are the United States, Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
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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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