ECA Update: Senate Appropriations passes energy & water bill; NRC approves Nuscale SMR safety platform; & more

Published: Thu, 07/20/17

ECA Update: July 20, 2017
 
BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
 
BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
Senate Appropriations Committee passes energy and water bill
ECA Staff
July 20, 2017
The Senate Appropriations committee completed markup on its $38.4 billion energy and water spending bill this afternoon. The bill, which passed with limited amendments on a 30-1 vote, now moves to the Senate floor for approval.

The sole 'no' vote came from Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who did not support the bill's lack of funding for the controversial MOX project in his home state. 

In total, he bill is $629 million above the FY2017 enacted level and $4.1 billion above the President's budget request. For the Department of Energy (DOE), the bill provides $31.46 billion, $718 million above FY2017 enacted levels and $3.6 billion above the budget request. 

In contrast to the President's budget request, the bill gives $330 million to ARPA-E and boosts DOE's Office of Science funding. Unlike the budget request and the House spending bill, the Senate version provides no funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project--instead calling for a pilot program for consolidated nuclear waste storage. The bill does include funding to allow interim storage at private facilities. 

A committee press release includes the following overview of DOE office and program funding:

Nuclear Security – $13.7 billion, $747 million above the FY2017 enacted level, for DOE nuclear security programs, including Weapons Activities, Naval Reactors, and Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation.

Environmental Cleanup – $6.6 billion for DOE environmental management activities, $214 million above the FY2017 enacted level, including $5.6 billion for Defense Environmental Cleanup to continue remediation of sites contaminated by previous nuclear weapons production. The bill also funds cleanup activities at other non-defense related nuclear sites.

Nuclear Energy Research and Development – $917 million, a $214 million increase above the President’s request, for nuclear energy research, development, and demonstration activities.
 
CONTRACTING & ACQUISITION
NNSA Issues Draft RFP for Los Alamos National Lab Management, Operation Support Contract
GovConWire
July 18, 2017
The Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration has released a draft request for proposals for a contract to manage and operate the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

DOE issued the draft RFP for the LANL management and operation contract competition through a FedBizOpps notice published Thursday.

The contract’s scope of work covers research and development support to ensure the safety of nuclear explosive operations, engineering and scientific capabilities to support the evaluation and refurbishment of nuclear weapons stockpile at several sites and secure disposition and handling of plutonium, tritium and uranium, according to the statement of work.  >>Continue reading
 
LANL partners speak out on draft RFP
The Los Alamos Monitor
July 19, 2017
Local non-profits, business organizations and representatives of Los Alamos County expressed concern this week about the National Nuclear Security Administration’s initial draft management and operations contract for the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

To those that have seen it, the contract seemed to provide little support to the region or the county, a sharp contrast to the contract held by Los Alamos National Security since 2006.

The RFP was posted on the NNSA website July 13. Those interested in making suggestions to modify the draft RFP have until July 26 to respond to NNSA.

Los Alamos County Manager Harry Burgess said he was concerned that the 50-page draft RFP only mentions the county twice. With the extensive partnerships the county has enjoyed with the lab through the years,  he said he would have liked to seen more.  >>Continue reading
 
ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP
Stack demolished at Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant
The Spokesman Review
July 17, 2017
RICHLAND – A landmark on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is gone, after the big ventilation stack at the Plutonium Finishing Plant was demolished.

The 200-foot tall stack was demolished on Saturday. The plant was the final step during decades of production of plutonium for nuclear weapons at Hanford. It is being demolished as part of efforts to clean up the site near Richland.

Hanford officials say the plant has been cleaned up enough that the ventilation stack was no longer needed. Workers used a small amount of explosives to weaken the stack, and gravity brought it down.

This month, demolition will start on the main processing facility at the Plutonium Finishing Plant. That work is expected to be done by September. >>Continue reading
 
NEW NUCLEAR
NRC approves safety platform for NuScale SMR
World Nuclear News
July 18, 2017
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has concluded that the highly integrated protection system (HIPS) platform developed for NuScale Power's small modular reactor is acceptable for use in plant safety-related instrumentation and control systems.

The HIPS platform is a protective system architecture designed by NuScale and Rock Creek Innovations LLC over six years. The hybrid analog and digital logic-based system comprises the safety function, communications, equipment interface and hardwired modules. All the modules operate independently and asynchronously. The four modules types can be interconnected to implement multiple configurations to support various types of reactor safety systems. The platform also uses field programmable gate array technology that is not vulnerable to internet cyber-attacks. >>Continue reading
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 2017
20
EM Site-Specific Advisory Board, Paducah
Paducah, KY
 
More info here
 
July 2017
24-25
EM Site-Specific Advisory Board, Savannah River Site
Aiken, SC
 
More info here
 
July 2017
26
EM Site-Specific Advisory Board, Northern New Mexico
Santa Fe, NM
 
More info here
 
August 2017
8-9
Intermountain Energy Summitt
Idaho Falls, ID
 
More info here
 
August 2017
16-17
INVITATION ONLY
 
ECA Peer Exchange: Implementation of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park
Richland, WA
 
 
September 2017
5-7
Radwaste Summitt 2017
Summerlin, NV

More info here
 
September 2017
12-14
2017 National Cleanup Workshop
Alexandria, VA
 
More info here
 
September 2017
13
House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus Event
Washington, DC

 
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