ECA Update 12/16: SENATE TO VOTE ON NDAA; CONGRESS TO PASS NEW CONTINUING RESOLUTION THIS WEEK ; and more

Published: Mon, 12/16/24

Updated: Mon, 12/16/24

SENATE TO VOTE ON NDAA; CONGRESS TO PASS NEW CONTINUING RESOLUTION THIS WEEK

Last week, the House voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025 (FY25). The bill heads to the Senate later this week, where it is on track to be passed. Once the bill is passed, it will be sent to the President’s desk to await signage and final approval.

Below is a summary of some of the key DOE/NNSA authorized funding levels (shown in thousands of dollars):

Atomic Energy Defense Activities

National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) - 24,939,925

Weapons Activities -19,981,044
Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation - 2,465,108
Naval Reactors - 2,118,773
Federal Salaries and Expenses - 564,475

Defense Environmental Cleanup - 7,059,695

Defense Uranium Enrichment D&D - 384,957
Other Defense Activities - 1,140,023

Total: Atomic Energy Defense Activities - 33,085,578

Legacy Management – 205, 258

The NDAA is in line with defense funding levels requested by the Administration.

In related news, Congress has until this Friday, December 20, to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded and avoid a shutdown. The NDAA is just an “authorization” of funds, and not the appropriations for projects. Appropriations will be subject to the CR, which negotiators had hoped to pass the over the weekend. However, they were delayed by disagreements over several funding provisions. The proposed CR is expected to extend current funding levels into March 2025, setting a new deadline for the annual appropriations bill to be passed.

Given the delay, the CR must be released today to abide by the House’s 72-hour rule if members are to vote on Thursday. However, that would leave the Senate with little more than 24 hours to clear the measure. Either way, unanimous consent among congressmembers will be needed to pass the bill expeditiously before the Friday deadline.

Read the House conference report here.

ECA looks forward to providing updates the passage of the NDAA and the status of the CR and budget appropriations as they become available. For more information on budget and appropriations, visit our website.

ENSURING LONG TERM SUCCESS: ECA TRANSITION PAPER FOR EM

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) must continuously examine its work and evolve. The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) is calling on the next Administration to launch a comprehensive review of all aspects of the EM program. To meet the challenges and better ensure the continued success of the DOE-EM program, the ECA’s Transition paper offers the following recommendations:

Establishment of disposal paths for every type of radioactive and hazardous waste, including ensuring that both private and public sites are available and utilized.
The reevaluation of DOE-EM’s use of the end-state contracting model so that more funds are available for actual work.
Ensuring that regulatory agreements are reasonably achievable and balance short- and long-term needs.
Improvement of workforce planning to address “brain drain” and long-term needs for skilled talent of all kinds.
Continuing focus on economic and energy development benefits.
The maintaining of robust local, state, tribal government, and stakeholder engagement at each site.
Clarification on DOE policy regarding how the discovery of hazardous and radioactive materials at “completed sites” will be addressed to ensure that cleanup is protective of human health and the environment, and that the local community is not responsible for the DOE’s legacy waste cleanup.
The reconstituting of a dedicated nuclear waste organization within the DOE to address high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel issues.

Read the paper by clicking its cover above or the button below!

READ HERE

All ECA publications, including the new Transition Paper are available at www.energyca.org/publications.

If you have any questions about the paper please reach out to ajr@energyca.org.

PROVIDE YOUR INPUT - OPEN REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION & PUBLIC COMMENT:

Proposed Rule: Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend the regulations that govern the NRC's environmental reviews of new nuclear reactor applications under the National Environmental Policy Act. The rulemaking would codify the generic findings of the NRC's draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors. The draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors uses a technology-neutral framework and a set of plant and site parameters to determine which potential environmental impacts would be common to the construction, operation, and decommissioning of many new nuclear reactors, and thus appropriate for a generic analysis, and which potential environmental impacts would be unique, and thus require a project-specific analysis. The NRC expects that both the proposed rule and the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors would streamline the environmental reviews for future nuclear reactor applicants. The NRC is also issuing for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), “Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Stations,” and “Environmental Considerations Associated with New Nuclear Reactor Applications that Reference the Generic Environmental Impact Statement.”

Response Due: December 18, 2024

Planned Change Request for Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Replacement Panels 11 and 12

On July 16, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) announced for public comment the availability of a Planned Change Request (PCR) recently submitted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to modify the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The proposed change will involve adding two additional waste panels west of the current repository to replace lost disposal capacity resulting from the 2014 radiological incident and resulting ground control issues. A 60-day comment period was provided for the PCR that expired on September 16, 2024. A request for an extension to the comment period was received from several stakeholders, most recently at the Agency's informal public meetings held in New Mexico in late August. EPA is reopening the comment period to seek public input on both DOE's application and on what EPA should consider in its evaluation.

Response Due: December 31, 2024

WHAT YOU'VE MISSED:

NRC approves “state-of-the-art” Westinghouse eVinci I&C platform

Westinghouse Electric Company’s eVinci Advanced Logic System (ALS) Version 2 (v2) instrument and control (I&C) platform has received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission through a final safety evaluation report on two topical reports. The eVinci is now the first and only microreactor with an I&C system approved by the NRC, which opens a path to autonomous operation. The approvals also allow the ALS v2 platform to be used by any reactor currently in the U.S. fleet.

Read the full story

Last Energy's South Wales nuclear project gets US export bank boost

Microreactor developer Last Energy says it has received a letter of intent from the Export-Import Bank of the United States for USD103.7 million debt financing relating to its project in South Wales in the UK.

Read the full story

Groundwater demonstration begins on Oak Ridge disposal facility project

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and contractor United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) have finished fieldwork and have begun monitoring groundwater elevations for a study at the Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF) project site in Tennessee. The facility, which is slated for completion in 2030, is considered a vital piece of infrastructure to provide the waste disposal capacity OREM needs to complete cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. OREM’s current on-site waste disposal facility is more than 85 percent full.

Read the full story

NEW MEDIA:

Gone Fission Nuclear Report - New ORANO Plant Boosts Nuclear Growth

December 09, 2024 | S4 E20

It’s being called the largest investment in the history of the State of Tennessee. Orano USA has announced plans to build a new multi-billion dollar, state-of-the-art centrifuge uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge. The facility will provide fuel for America’s nuclear power plants and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources. In this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report, host Michael Butler discusses this exciting project with Orano USA President Jean-Luc Palayer.

www.gonefissionpodcast.com

NucleCast - Kris Osborn: Navigating Modern Defense

December 10, 2024 | S02 E198

In this episode, Adam interviews Kris Osborn, a prominent defense journalist and president of the Center for Military Modernization. They discuss various topics including the U.S. nuclear posture, the implications of low yield weapons, advancements in digital engineering for defense acquisition, infrastructure challenges with the Sentinel and B-21 programs, cybersecurity in modern defense systems, China's military strategy, the ongoing Ukraine conflict, and the future of U.S. defense policy amidst political changes.

https://rss.com/podcasts/nuclecast-podcast/

Atomic Show – Jay Hakes, Author of Presidents and the Planet

December 2, 2024 | E324

Julie Kozeracki was the lead author for a U.S. Department of Energy strategy document titled Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear published in September 2024. The document was the result of a multi-agency, multi-lab effort to update a previously issued report. During our conversation, Kozeracki described how the report was informed by changes in the market, by a study of experiences from other countries and other industries, and by a growing recognition of the importance of design completion in enabling cost and schedule adherence.

www.atomicinsights.com

Titans of Nuclear: Brian Woods - Head, School of Nuclear Science & Engineering, Oregon State University

October 10, 2024 | E485

https://www.lastenergy.com