Burns, who appeared with his fellow commissioners for a budget hearing before the House Appropriations Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, was referring to a pending license application from Waste Control Specialists. The company plans to submit its license application for a site in West Texas in April. The NRC has said in the past that it expects a second application from Holtec International this summer for a site in New Mexico.
“My understanding is that we do have the money available in the current budget to address the (WCS) application,” Burns told the subcommittee. “It may require some reprogramming of funds and then if it triggers the marks, we would come to the committee. … We may be able to shift some funds and to be able to cover that.”
Any reprogramming of appropriated funds would need to be approved by the subcommittee. In its budget proposal for fiscal 2017, NRC requested $970.2 million in total funding. Because NRC recovers about 90 percent of its budget from license fees, the net appropriation request is about $124 million, compared to $154 million in fiscal 2016.
In discussing the reduction in potential funding, panel Chairman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) asked the commissioners if the budget request will impact safety at nuclear sites. The four commissioners all agreed that it would not, with Burns saying, “It will not have an adverse effect on safety.” The fiscal 2017 budget request represents a decrease of $73.7 million and about 280 employees since fiscal 2014 was enacted, according to agency budget documents released Tuesday.
