Committee Announces Nomination Hearing for Energy Secretary
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
March 18, 2013

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Tuesday, April 9, the full Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nomination of Dr. Ernest Moniz to be the next Secretary of Energy. (Dirksen 366 at 10 a.m.)

 

The hearing will be webcast live on the Committee's website, and an archived video will be available shortly after the hearing is complete. Witness testimony will be available on the website at the start of the hearing.

 

DOE Environmental Management Budget Hearing
House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee
March 19, 2013

 

 

 

Senate continuing resolution advances
David Rogers, Politico
March 18, 2013

 

A stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown next week and keep agencies operating through September advanced in the Senate Monday night -- powered by a renewed bipartisan partnership in the Appropriations Committee leadership.

 

On a 63-35 roll call, 10 Republicans joined Democrats to limit further debate on the 587-page package, which seeks to greatly expand on the House-passed version of the same continuing resolution or CR.

 

The strength of the vote all but assures passage, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said it was his "sincere hope" that this will occur Tuesday. All indications are once the Senate acts, the House Appropriations Committee leadership is prepared to take the modified Senate CR directly to the House floor, possibly as early as Thursday.

 

"We've come very far on this bill," said Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) in a final appeal to her colleagues. "We have to decide: Do we want to make the perfect the enemy of the good?"

 

"We could actually show that we could govern. ... We could actually pass a bill that I believe the House will accept as well. Hallelujah, this in [and] of itself would be a major accomplishment."

 

Critical to the win was her partnership with Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the new ranking Republican on the panel who brings old ties not only to Mikulski but also to Reid.

 

"Granted, not everything's ideal, but what is here?" Shelby asked. "If we do not move forward, I am afraid there may be no future appropriations bills which isn't good for anyone in this legislative process."

 

"We've lurched from crisis to crisis. ...What we're asking to do is fund the government until September 30."

 

Indeed, since Oct. 1 the government has been operating under a CR due to expire March 27, a week from Wednesday. The resolution now ensures a smooth transition but also is pivotal for agencies trying to adapt to the across-the-board cuts ordered March 1 under sequestration.

 

As part of its political bargain with the House, the Senate made no attempt to overturn sequestration. Instead the focus has been to update the base from which the cuts are made by providing departments with more detailed full-year appropriations.

 

The House did the same but for only Defense and Veterans Affairs. The Senate added Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Science Foundation and NASA. Taken all together, more than two-thirds of the discretionary funding for 2013 will now be subject to relatively detailed appropriations.

That is no small accomplishment, and in addition, the bill includes scores of so-called anomalies for other departments, including provisions that would free up more than $720 million in highway and transit funds and open the door to up to $50 million in new U.S. aid to Syrian rebels.

 

Nonetheless, there remains considerable pressure for rifle-shot changes sought by a variety of home state interests impacted by sequestration.

Meat packers want to shift money in the Agriculture Department's budget to prevent furloughs of food safety inspectors whose presence is needed to operate been and poultry processing plants. Rural airports want to do the same inside the Federal Aviation Administration's budget so as to continue payments to private contractors who operate the flight control towers at some 189 small airfields.

 

Final decisions won't be made until Tuesday, and even with the cloture vote, it will still require some cooperation from all sides to finish. The meat industry is in a strong position to get its way. But if the rural airports or some other interest doesn't get its amendment heard, objections could be raised.

 

"Remember Easter recess is staring us in the face," Reid said. And before going home this weekend, the Senate must also complete action on its long term budget resolution.

 

DOE Opportunity: Conceptual Design for Interim Storage and Transport
DOE

  

Title: Conceptual Design for Interim Storage and Transport
Reference Number: DE-SOL-0005192
NAICS Code: 541330
Response Due Date: 3/28/2013 8:00:00 PM ET

 

Use the following link to view this opportunity:
https://www.fedconnect.net/fedconnect?doc=DE-SOL-0005192&agency=DOE

 

The posting states:

 

"The Department of Energy (DOE), Nuclear Fuels Storage and Transportation (NFST) Planning Project, is conducting a market survey to determine the availability and technical capability of qualified businesses or organizational groups to provide a conceptual design for consolidated interim storage and transportation of used nuclear fuel. This project will include activities to 1) design one or more (used fuel) interim storage facilities, and 2) prepare for large-scale transport of used nuclear fuel."

 

Project Objectives/Description: DOE is investigating generic design concepts for a ISF that can be developed, on a site-specific basis possibly in multiple locations, for storing commercial used nuclear fuel on an interim basis prior to final disposal. The generic conceptual design will address those activities required to take the commercial used nuclear fuel from its current locations and configurations, transport it to an interim storage facility, prepare the fuel as needed and place it in storage. It is expected that there are options for facility configuration, which would require consent from a volunteer host community.

Therefore, flexibility for additional capabilities will be developed in a modular fashion such that expansion could be achieved in an orderly manner. DOE requires assistance from industry to begin those preliminary activities relative to developing a generic design for an ISF.

 

The interim used nuclear fuel facility will be constructed in accordance with the applicable industry standards and licensable by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The facility is anticipated to be operational for an extended period of years. Using information supplied by DOE on the selected options outlined in the Consolidated Storage Facility Design Concepts Reports and other available information and experience, the contractor shall develop a generic design for an ISF. The ISF should include a complete process for taking the commercial used fuel from its current storage mode and configuration; prepare and transport the fuel to the ISF site; handle and provide additional packaging, where required; and provide the subsequent storage operations and maintenance of theISF, including the consideration of life cycle costs and the ease of decommissioning and decontaminating (D&D) the facility at the end-of-operations. A description of functions and requirements used to support the infrastructure and facility design and associated transportation will be included and will consider the most efficient campaign for transporting the commercial used nuclear fuel to an ISF. The design shall carefully consider the NRC licensing requirements for storage, transportation/packaging, and physical protection/security contained in 10CRF Parts 72, 71, and 73 respectively and their associated regulatory guides.

 

Feds lock down nuclear stockpile
Megan R. Wilson, The Hill
March 18, 2013

 

Federal regulators are tightening security for the country's most potent nuclear materials.

 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will publish a final rule on Tuesday that beefs up the protections for category 1 and category 2 nuclear materials to prevent them from being stolen.

 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ranks nuclear materials on a scale from one to five based on their toxicity to individuals. Categories 1 and 2 are the most harmful, the guidelines say, and could cause "permanent injury or death" if handled incorrectly for "more than a few minutes."

 

Weighing in at 366 pages, the new regulations enhance precautions for the transport and handling of the most dangerous nuclear chemicals. The rules call for stronger background checks and the use of tracking devices to track the movement of materials.

 

The NRC specifically mentioned the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the Federal Register document, saying they "changed the threat environment" for nuclear materials. Some elements of the final rule will only be disbursed to certain nuclear material licensees because some of the orders "contained detailed security information that could be useful to an adversary," the NRC wrote.

 

The agency wants to mandate some kind tracking device -- though not GPS specifically -- for following the movement of category 1 materials. The rules provide detailed explanations for how drivers should communicate when the materials are in transit, including updates about when a shipment departs and is expected to arrive.

 

The rule is one of many intended to strengthen the security of nuclear materials in the U.S., the agency said, and has been nearly three years in the making.

 

It will become effective 60 days after being published in the Federal Register, and compliance is required by March 19, 2014.

 

GAO to Review White House Sequestration Approach
Eric Katz, Government Executive
March 18, 2013

 

The Government Accountability Office will issue an agency-by-agency review of sequestration planning and implementation, according to Federal News Radio.

 

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., chairman of the House Budget Committee, requested the review in a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro earlier this month. Ryan asked GAO to monitor the Obama administration's compliance with the Budget Control Act and explain how agencies defined "program, project or activity" for the purpose of sequestration.

 

GAO will also review two White House budget memos, one from July 31, 2012 -- which called for agencies to continue normal spending and operations -- and another from March 1, the day sequestration went into effect.

 

Ryan also called on GAO to determine the necessity of furloughs and whether there are "alternatives available to [agencies] to achieve some or all of the savings" required by the across-the-board cuts.

 

A GAO spokesman told FNR the agency has not yet begun its review and does not have an expected date of completion.

 

Hanford layoffs Monday total 235 workers
Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald
March 18, 2013

 

Richland -- Layoff notices went out to 235 Hanford workers Monday because of sequestration, or automatic federal budget cuts.

 

That does not include workers who may lose their jobs as some Department of Energy contractors scale back on work assigned to their subcontractors.

 

Most of the 235 jobs cut were union positions, but it also included 27 nonunion positions. Several contractors are cutting spending by furloughing about 2,500 nonunion workers -- requiring them to take paid or unpaid time off -- but that cannot be required of union workers under collective bargaining agreements.

 

However, at least nine jobs were saved because of time some union workers volunteered to take off under an agreement proposed by the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council, or HAMTC.

 

The last day of work for most laid-off employees is March 28.

 

Here's the breakdown by Department of Energy contractor:

 

Mission Support Alliance is laying off 112 union workers. However, more than half of those workers will "bump and roll" to other Hanford contractors, claiming the jobs of less senior employees, who then will lose their jobs.

About 700 nonunion employees will be required to take furloughs of 200 hours by the end of September. The contractor, which provides support services across Hanford, must cut its budget by $23.7 million.

 

CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. is laying off 59 union workers and seven nonunion workers. About 900 workers will be furloughed for 200 hours.

 

It must cut its budget by $29.8 million. The contractor is responsible for central Hanford environmental cleanup and treatment of contaminated groundwater.

 

Washington River Protection Solutions is laying off 37 union workers. Nine jobs were saved because HAMTC workers volunteered to take time off.

 

About 900 nonunion workers will be furloughed for 2.5 to 6.5 weeks. The contractor's budget is being cut $40 million. It's in charge of the Hanford tank farms, where 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste are stored in underground tanks.

 

Washington Closure Hanford is laying off 20 nonunion workers. In addition, about 15 workers will lose their jobs in April as part of a gradual reduction as it nears the completion of most work to clean up Hanford along the Columbia River.

 

Although it does not plan to cut any union jobs because of the furlough, the HAMTC bump and roll will mean that 90 of its workers will leave to be replaced by more senior workers who are losing their jobs at other contractors.

 

No furloughs are planned. The contractor's budget cut is $23.1 million.

Bechtel National, which is building the Hanford vitrification plant, plans no furloughs or layoffs. It made plans for possible sequestration at the start of the fiscal year, Oct. 1.

 

Advanced Technologies and Laboratories, a small business that does analyses at the 222-S Laboratory, plans no layoffs and also no furloughs for now.

 

The Future of Nuclear Power Runs on the Waste of Our Nuclear Past
Andrew Tarantola, Gizmodo
March 14, 2013

 

America alone produces about 2,000 metric tons of nuclear waste annually and our best solution for disposing of it: bury it deep in the Earth. However, a pair of MIT scientists believe they've found not only a better way of eliminating nuclear waste but recycling the deadly detritus into enough clean electricity to power the entire world until 2083. Win, meet win.

 

The conventional nuclear power method involves inserting radioactive rods into a reactor core where their fissionable material is converted into energy. Problem is, it's not particularly efficient. Over the four years or so that a rod will remain in use, only about three percent of its available nuclear material is expended, leaving 97 percent as "waste." And since nobody seems particularly willing to just fling it into the Sun, this waste must be disposed of in a nuclear repository site like Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Over the past forty years or so, the US has generated 67,500 metric tons of the stuff--enough to cover a football field with spent fuel rods to a depth of seven yards. But what if there were a way to recycle the waste and recapture the remaining energy? There is.

 

Molten salt reactors are nuclear reactors which use a molten fluoride salt mixture as the primary coolant. These salts have proven to be far superior heat sinks than the helium used in light-water reactors, which greatly reduces the need for supplementary cooling. The nuclear fuel (uranium tetrafluoride) can also be dissolved directly into the coolant as well. When the fluid is inserted into a graphite core, the mix goes critical and drives a turbine to generate electricity. Unlike conventional light-water reactors, an MSR operates at very high temperatures to achieve thermodynamic efficiency but remain at atmospheric pressure to reduce mechanical stress on the system.

 

The US military has been experimenting with MSRs since the mid '50s, producing both the Aircraft Reactor Experiment in 1954 and the Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) of 1965 conducted at Oak Ridge National Labs. The MSRE produced 7.4 MWth from epithermal thorium molten salts at 650 degrees C--enough to easily power a closed-cycle gas turbine while minimizing the amount of nuclear waste remaining. However, since MSR systems tend to take up more floor space than light-water reactors, the military opted for the latter when installing nuclear power in its subs and ships.

 

Designed by Transatomic co-founders and former MIT researchers Leslie Dewan and Mark Massie, the Waste Annihilating Molten Salt Reactor (WAMSR) updates the technology utilized in the original Oak Ridge experiment. However, the new system is fuel-agnostic and can run on either the uranium or thorium leftovers from light-water reactors. According to Transatomic's website, their MSR is incredibly efficient--capable of utilizing as much as 98 percent of the remaining fuel's energy (though even a rate of just 50 percent would be a huge improvement)--since fuel suspended in a liquid medium can remain in a reactor for far longer than as a rod, allowing more of the fuel to be used. What's more, reusing this waste as a fuel source would reduce their radioactive lifetimes from hundreds of thousands of years to just hundreds.

 

The Tansatomic system is also reputedly very user friendly thanks to a pair of idiot-proof safety features. The design of the MSR itself avoids many potential issues by keeping the pressure of the reaction low, this allows the fuel mixture to expand as it heats and self-regulate the fission reaction. If the system gets too hot, the mix will expand far enough to fall below criticality and automatically stop the nuclear reaction. The system also features a freeze-plug, an actively-cooled barrier that leads to a fortified, underground storage vault for the fuel mix. If there's a major power interruption, the active-cooling maintaining the barrier stops, the barrier melts, and the molten salt mix drains into the vault for safe storage until systems can be restored.

 

The company claims that each reactor will be capable of generating 500 megawatts of power at a price of $1.5 billion apiece. That may sound like a lot but realize Westinghouse's new AP1000 light-water reactor only produces double that output and costs a cool $7 billion. What's more, these reactors are expected to be small enough to be constructed at a factory and shipped whole to the installation site where they can start chewing through the $7.1 trillion worth of untapped electricity sitting in our nuclear stockpiles.