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The Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee met this morning to introduce its version of the FY 2013 (FY13) Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, and to refer that bill to the full Senate Appropriations Committee.
The full Senate Appropriations Committee will consider the measure on Thursday, April 26. ECA will provide more information on that markup as it becomes available.
Spent Nuclear Fuel and Radioactive Waste Storage Policy
A large portion of today's markup focused on the need to develop a long-term storage policy for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
In response to this need, the bill adds a limited provision "providing the Department of Energy with the authority to initiate a pilot program for a consolidated storage facility," according to the committee's press release. Subcommittee Chair Dianne Feinstein said the process would be consent-based and enable the development of one or more interim storage sites.
Feinstein emphasized that the provision is limited in nature, and that Senator Jeff Bingaman, Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is drafting comprehensive legislation to address the issue. Feinstein and her ranking member, Lamar Alexander, are working closing with Bingaman and his ranking member, Lisa Murkowski, on that comprehensive legislation.
Growth of Defense Spending
"Defense has significantly increased at the expense of non-defense programs," in recent years, according to Feinstein. She presented charts outlining how defense spending has grown to compose 54 percent of the Energy and Water Spending Bill, as compared to 50 percent in FY12.
Funding Levels
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Total-The bill would provide a total of $33.361 billion, which is $373 million below the fiscal year 2012 enacted level.
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DOE-The bill provides $27.128 billion for DOE, which is $1.38 billion above fiscal year 2012.
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Environmental Cleanup-The bill provides $5.7 billion, which is $3 million below fiscal year 2012, to remediate sites contaminated by defense and civilian activities. This includes $5.064 billion for Defense Environmental Cleanup to safely cleanup sites contaminated by previous nuclear weapons production.
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NNSA-The bill provides $11.511 billion, which is $511 million above fiscal year 2012, for national security activities. The bill provides funding to accelerate efforts to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials by December 2013 and to modernize the nuclear weapons stockpile, including:
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$7.577 billion, which is $363 million above fiscal year 2012, for Weapons Activities to extend the life of three nuclear weapons systems, upgrade aging infrastructure, and invest in science, technology, and engineering activities,
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$2.459 billion, which is $163 million above fiscal year 2012, for Nuclear Nonproliferation to meet the four year goal to secure vulnerable nuclear materials and accelerate the conversion of reactors that still use weapons-grade uranium,
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$1.089 billion, which is $9 million above fiscal year 2012, for Naval Reactors to continue research and development of a new reactor for the Ohio-class submarine, and
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up to $150 million across the agency's accounts to fund a research, development, and demonstration project for domestic enrichment technologies.
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Nuclear Energy-The bill provides $793 million, which is $31 million above fiscal year 2012 for nuclear energy. The bill fully funds the small modular reactors program to support design certification and licensing and begins to implement the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission to address safe long-term storage of commercial spent nuclear fuel and defense high level waste.
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ARPA-E-The bill provides $312 million, which is $37 million above fiscal year 2012, to accelerate commercialization of future energy technologies that can reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil and tackle carbon emissions.
Look for a comprehensive breakdown of the proposed FY13 funding levels (including the president's request and House and Senate recommendations) in the April edition of the ECA Bulletin.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet released its draft bill text.
Today's Senate Appropriations Committee press release is available here.
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