Kenneth Fletcher
RW Monitor
4/17/2015

House appropriators are looking to give the National Nuclear Security Administration $50 million in reprogramming authority above a base level of funding in Fiscal Year 2016 to support a program sustaining the American Centrifuge uranium enrichment technology. The House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee cleared this week its version of the FY’16 spending bill, which according to Hill staff included the reprogramming authority. In its FY’16 request, the NNSA requested $100 million for domestic uranium enrichment, which would primarily go to Oak Ridge National Laboratory to keep the American Centrifuge project running in warm standby. In the House bill, it’s unclear if the $50 million in reprogramming comes on top of a $50 million base appropriation to match the request level, or if the total funds available would ultimately come in higher or lower than the request. Detailed funding levels in the bill were not publicly released this week.

Centrus Energy Corp., formerly USEC, is maintaining the American Centrifuge technology under a subcontract to Oak Ridge National Laboratory that is currently set to expire on Sept. 30. Under the agreement, Oak Ridge National Laboratory manages the work, while Centrus maintains the American Centrifuge technology for possible future deployment. While Centrus is hoping for deployment of a train of centrifuges for national security purposes, the Department of Energy has not yet made any decisions on the future of the technology. However, DOE has a report due to Congress this spring on tritium production and uranium enrichment needs.