ECA Update: May 17, 2013
Published: Fri, 05/17/13
Manhattan Project national park bill that would include Hanford reactor advances in US Senate
The Associated Press May 17, 2013 KENNEWICK, Washington -- A bill that would create a national park including Hanford's historic B Reactor has advanced to the full U.S. Senate.
The bill introduced by Sen. Maria Cantwell passed the Energy and Natural Resourced Committee on Thursday.
The Tri-City Herald reports (http://bit.ly/16pH7w9 ) the Manhattan Project National Historic Park would include sites at Hanford, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Los Alamos, New Mexico, where the first atomic bombs were created during World War II.
Committee approves DOE budget request
Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald May 15, 2013 A Department of Energy request that could prevent furloughs at the Hanford vitrification plant has received the final congressional committee approval it needed.
Changes in funding levels requested by DOE still must go through an administrative process that starts with the Office of Management and Budget before Hanford contractors may make changes.
DOE had requested that federal money available this fiscal year for environmental cleanup be moved among and within its sites.
Four House and Senate committees agreed that at Hanford, $115 million budgeted for the vitrification plant's Pretreatment Facility could be moved to other vit plant buildings under construction. Construction is on hold at the Pretreatment Facility until technical issues are resolved.
With more money to spend on construction elsewhere at the plant, Bechtel National may be able to avoid a furlough, or required time off for workers, this summer. It had warned workers that it might have to shut the project down for two weeks because of lack of money for work ready to be done.
In addition, $46 million would be transferred from the vitrification plant budget to the Hanford tank farms, which hold 56 million gallons of radioactive waste in underground tanks.
Congress had planned to return spending at the vitrification plant to an annual budget of $690 million, but then did not pass a budget for the current year. Instead, spending was rolled over in a continuing resolution at the previous year's level of $740 million. The $46 million is the approximate difference between those two amounts, after sequestration, the automatic budget reduction required this year.
About $2 million that had been sent to the Idaho nuclear site also would be paid back to Hanford, bringing the total additional money for the tank farms to $48 million.
DOE faces a court-enforced consent decree to have all the waste in the 16 single-shell tanks in the group called C Tank Farm emptied into double-shell tanks that better protect the environment in 2014. The $48 million would support the removal of waste from five tanks, helping avoid the potential for significant fines and penalties, according to DOE's reprogramming request.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., have worked to make sure that Hanford does not lose money to other DOE sites under the reprogramming request and that money for Hanford is shifted to the projects that need it most.
Nuclear watchdog seeks to change rules on transporting radioactive material Julian Hattem, The Hill May 15, 2013 The nation's nuclear watchdog wants to issue new rules on transporting radioactive material to bring the United States in line with international standards.
The changes to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) rules would meet 2009 revisions to regulations from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the global nuclear energy organization, as well as 2011 regulations from the Department of Transportation.
The changes would allow some changes to quality assurance programs to be made without the NRC's prior approval and extend the duration of quality assurance programs before their approval.
Current rules require that any change to an agency-approved quality assurance program must be cleared again by the agency.
"Consequently, the process can be overly burdensome and inefficient for both the licensee and the NRC," the agency describes in its proposal, set to be published on Thursday in the Federal Register. "For example, a change in the quality assurance program to correct typographical errors or punctuation would need to be submitted and approved by the NRC."
In an announcement seeking comment on the changes, the agency asserts: "The quality assurance program changes will make the agency's oversight more efficient and allow its focus to remain on reducing the risk of transportation incidents."
The revised rule would also clarify how to obtain certain licenses and the responsibilities of those licenses.
In its proposal, the NRC states that periodically revising its standards to comply with other regulations makes the agency "able to remove inconsistencies that could impede international commerce and reflect knowledge gained in scientific and technical advances and accumulated experience."
In conjunction with the proposal, the agency published new draft regulatory guidance for quality assurance programs.
Nearly $490 Million in Funding Available for State, Local, and Tribal Governments DOE Tribal Energy Program May 16, 2013 The Tribal Energy Program, under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Reliability (EERE) is pleased to forward the following information on various funding opportunities that may be of interest to Tribes. Nearly $490 million in funding is available for state, local, and tribal governments from DOE, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Economic Development Administration (EDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Funders' Network. The funding can be used to support climate and energy initiatives, including sustainable planning, sustainable transportation, renewable energy, and urban forestry. For full eligibility and application details, please visit the links provided below.
In addition, please visit the calendar of 2013 EPA grant opportunities that may be of particular interest to tribal communities. ________________________________________ DOE Community-Scale Clean Energy Projects in Indian Country - $4.5 Million Applications due: June 27, 2013 Eligible entities: Indian Tribes, tribal energy resource development organizations, or tribal consortiums on whose Indian lands the project(s) will be located The Energy Department is soliciting applications to install "community-scale" or "facility-scale" clean energy systems on Indian lands to provide electricity and/or heating and cooling for local use in tribal buildings. For purposes of this announcement, "clean energy systems" include "renewable energy systems" and "combined heat and power systems." Projects selected under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) are intended to reduce energy costs and increase energy security for Indian Tribes and tribal members. For the complete FOA, visit the DOE Funding Opportunity Exchange website.
DOE Tribal Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Deployment Assistance - Approximately $2.5 Million
Applications due: June 20, 2013 Eligible entities: Indian Tribes, tribal energy resource development organizations, or tribal consortiums on whose Indian lands the project(s) will be located The Energy Department is soliciting applications to install "community-scale" or "facility-scale" clean energy systems on Indian lands to provide electricity and/or heating and cooling for local use in tribal buildings. The renewable energy and/or energy efficiency projects are intended to provide electricity and/or heating and cooling or efficiency measures for existing tribal buildings, including homes, businesses, community buildings, government buildings, or other tribal facilities. Projects selected under this Funding Opportunity Announcement are intended to reduce energy costs and increase energy security for Indian Tribes and tribal members. For the complete FOA, visit the DOE Funding Opportunity Exchange website.
Funders' Network Local Sustainability Matching Fund - Between $25,000 and $75,000 per Project
Applications due: May 22, 2013 Eligible entities: The proposal must be submitted by a team of at least two partners who are (1) the sustainability director of a city (municipality) or a county and (2) the local, place-based foundation. The Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities announces round 3 of the Local Sustainability Matching Fund. The Matching Fund is intended both to support significant urban sustainability projects and to build bridges between public sector sustainability leaders and local foundations. The Fund will provide matching investments from national foundations on a competitive basis to build partnerships between sustainability directors and local place-based foundations to advance discrete sustainability initiatives that demonstrate broad-based community support and engagement.
For more information, visit the Funders' Network .
HUD Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants - Total Funding Available TBD
Applications due: May 28, 2013 Eligible entities: Public housing authorities, local governments, nonprofits, tribal entities, and for-profit developers that apply jointly with a public entity
The Choice Neighborhoods program targets funding to improve severely distressed public and/or HUD-assisted multifamily housing that is located in distressed neighborhoods. Planning Grants support the development of comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plans which, when implemented, will be expected to achieve the following three core goals: 1) Housing: Replace distressed public and assisted housing with high-quality mixed-income housing that is well-managed and responsive to the needs of the surrounding neighborhood; 2) People: Improve educational outcomes and intergenerational mobility for youth and supports delivered directly to youth and their families; and 3) Neighborhood: Create the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in distressed neighborhoods to offer the kinds of amenities and assets, including safety, good schools, and commercial activity, that are important to families' choices about their community.
For more information, visit the funding announcement. DOT Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant Program - $473.847 Million
Applications due: June 3, 2013 Eligible entities: State, local, and tribal governments, including U.S. territories, transit agencies, port authorities, metropolitan planning organizations, other political subdivisions of state or local governments, and multi-state or multi-jurisdictional groups applying through a single lead applicant The FY 2013 TIGER program is designed to invest in road, rail, transit, and port projects that may help achieve critical national objectives which include environmental sustainability, livability, and economic competitiveness. Priority will also be given to projects that are expected to quickly create and preserve jobs and stimulate rapid increases in economic activity. Applicants must request no less than $10 million, or $1 million minimum in rural areas, and provide at least 20% match.
For more information, visit the TIGER grants website. EDA Economic Development Assistance Programs Federal Funding Opportunity - Total Funding Available TBD
Applications due: June 13, 2013 Eligible entities: State and local governments, federally recognized tribes, nonprofits, institutions of higher education Under the Economic Development Assistance Programs Federal Funding Opportunity announcement, EDA will make construction, nonconstruction, and revolving loan fund investments under the Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs. Grants made under these programs will leverage regional assets to support the implementation of regional economic development strategies designed to create jobs, leverage private capital, encourage economic development, and strengthen America's ability to compete in the global marketplace. EDA is soliciting applications from rural and urban communities to develop initiatives that advance new ideas and creative approaches to address rapidly evolving economic conditions. EDA's investment priorities include environmentally sustainable development and economically distressed and underserved communities.
For more information, visit the grant opportunity synopsis. EPA Science for Sustainable and Healthy Tribes - $6 Million
Applications due: June 25, 2013 Eligible entities: State and local governments, federally recognized Indian tribal governments, U.S. territories or possessions, public nonprofit institutions/organizations (includes public institutions of higher education and hospitals) EPA, as part of its Science to Achieve Results program, is seeking applications proposing research to develop sustainable solutions to environmental problems that affect Tribes. The objectives of the awards to be made under this solicitation are to improve understanding of: 1) the health impacts of climate change on tribal populations; and 2) the health impacts of indoor air pollution exposures that derive from or are directly affecting traditional tribal life-ways and cultural practices. In both cases, projects should focus on impacts to vulnerable sub-populations of the tribal communities. Proposals should also consider sustainable, culturally appropriate, and acceptable pollution prevention, and adaptation/mitigation strategies.
For more information, visit the funding announcement. ________________________________________
Regards, For more information on the Tribal Energy Program and our Guide to Tribal Energy Development, visit our website. |
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