BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
Next stop on the 'minibus'
Politico | 7/25/2020
The House will vote this week on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies appropriations for fiscal year 2021 as part of a series of spending bills comprising a $1.4 trillion plan (H.R. 7617 (116)). The bill would boost energy and water
spending programs to $49.6 billion, a 3 percent increase accounting for nearly $1.3 billion. The House Rules Committee will meet at 2 p.m. today to sort through the dozens of amendments filed.
The bill would send $7.6 billion to the Army Corps, $1.7 billion to the Bureau of Reclamation and $41 billion to the Energy Department. The package is stocked with funding to buoy the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. It includes an additional $43.5 billion for water and energy infrastructure projects, $17 billion for Army Corps projects, $3 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation and $23.5 billion for DOE.
The vote comes after the House passed the first tranche of spending bills Friday. That four-bill, $259.5 billion effort included more than $9 billion for the EPA and nearly $14 billion for the Interior Department. That bill also passed with an amendment blocking the Trump administration’s national air quality standard for particulate matter, or soot, another preventing oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and one that prohibits offshore oil and gas leasing after
2022.
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NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT
DPU: Two More Meetings Slated On County’s Participation In Carbon Next Phase Of Carbon Free Power Project
Los Alamos Reporter | 7/25/2020
Carbon Free Power Project is a proposed nuclear electric generation facility that would use small modular reactor technology.
Two more meetings are scheduled to provide project status updates on the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) prior to a decision that will be made by the Board of Public Utilities and the County
Council on whether Los Alamos continues on to the next phase of project development. A joint Board of Public Utilities and County Council meeting is scheduled for July 28 and a virtual town hall for the community is scheduled for August 3. Additionally the Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has opened an Open Forum page on the county website, where citizens may provide written public comments and ask questions regarding the project.
The proposed CFPP is the construction of a nuclear electric generation facility to be sited at Idaho National Laboratory that uses up to 12 small modular reactors (SMR). Los Alamos County has subscribed to 11.2 megawatts from this 720 megawatt facility to be operational in 2029, to assist with DPU’s goal to be a carbon neutral electric provider by 2040. More information on the project is available
at https://ladpu.com/CFPP.
The upcoming July 28 joint Board of Public Utilities and County Council meeting is for discussion only and will include a presentations by staff from the DPU Staff and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) who will be present to answer questions. Citizens wishing to make public comment during the scheduled 6 p.m. virtual meeting may join by clicking on the Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/95187709751 or by telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592. Visit http://losalamos.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx for a copy of the agenda and to
watch the council proceedings.
NUCLEAR CLEANUP
How the government is removing the Brookhaven plume shows possible future for Nassau
Newsday | 7/25/2020
Long Island’s largest mass of carcinogenic groundwater pollution, the Grumman plume is expanding a foot a day from Bethpage toward the Great South Bay, centerpiece of the region’s South Shore estuary system.
The spread of its 24 contaminants, most notably the cancer-causing solvent trichloroethylene, or TCE, contrasts markedly with the shrinking of a similarly toxic groundwater plume from the property of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, 35 miles east.
Environmentalists and scientists who study the quality and movement of plumes say the cleanup methods have been similar, but not the comprehensiveness and commitment.
The federal Department of Energy is more than 20 years into a $360 million plan to extract the entirety of the pollution that leaked from Brookhaven. Its spread has been stopped and the contamination is on track to be virtually eliminated in another 40 to 50 years.
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
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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