Staff report
RW Monitor
12/18/2015
The Fiscal Year 2015 Appropriations omnibus bill adopted by Congress on Friday provides about $990 million for nuclear energy activities. The agreement includes no funding derived from the Nuclear Waste Fund.
Legislators opted for a continuation of prior-year funding for the Yucca Mountain repository project, continuing Congress’ nuclear waste impasse. The House this year included $175 million earmarked for Yucca, while the Senate did not include any funding. Instead, the Senate designated $89 million for the development of interim nuclear waste storage, allowing the federal government the option to contract with private companies for interim storage. Waste Control Specialists plans to submit federal license application for a site in Texas in April, with a plan to begin accepting waste in 2020. Holtec International is currently exploring a site in New Mexico.
The bill also includes $112 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, for expenses associated with cleanup of the contaminated nuclear waste sites it oversees. The FUSRAP Coalition, made up of members of industry, local government, and federal agencies, had lobbied to raise the FUSRAP yearly budget to $150 million from its average annual total of about $100 million in recent years.
