The House of Representatives’ fiscal 2018 energy funding bill directs the National Nuclear Security Administration to address various legal and diplomatic hurdles in its proposed alternative plutonium disposition method before Congress considers funding the new approach and abandoning the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility under construction in South Carolina.
The House version of the energy and water appropriations legislation provides $29.9 billion to the Department of Energy, a decrease of $857.6 million from the current funding level and $2 billion above the budget request for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. Of that, it would provide the NNSA $13.9 billion, or $976.1 million more than the current level and $16.6 million below the request.
The NNSA’s defense nuclear nonproliferation account would receive $1.8 billion, down by $76.5 million from the current amount. Within that account, the bill grants $340 million to continue construction of the MOX facility, prohibiting any funding for termination of the project. The MOX project is intended to fulfill the U.S. obligation under the 2000 Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement with Russia to dispose of 34 metric tons of weapon-usable excess plutonium.
The DOE requested $270 million for the next fiscal year to terminate the MOX project, along with $9 million to research an alternative method it says would save tens of billions of dollars and years of work. Congress has pushed back against efforts by the Obama and Trump administrations to terminate the program, providing continued funding for MOX construction, including the $340 million it received for the current fiscal year. Roughly $5 billion has been spent on the project to date.
The alternative method would involve diluting the plutonium at the Savannah River Site and disposing of the material in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. The House bill report, however, grants no funding for this alternative plutonium disposition method, noting that “DOE does not yet have the legal or regulatory basis” to pursue it.
According to the bill report, the committee will not consider the alternative disposition method until the NNSA submits a proposal that outlines the legislative changes needed to meet disposal requirements at WIPP; demonstrates through analyses that the material can be safely disposed of at the transuranic waste storage mine; sets forth independently verified cost and schedule estimates; and offers a negotiation plan to engage the relevant U.S. states and Russia on modifications to the PMDA.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), during a full committee markup Wednesday, commented on the MOX project’s “fragile future” and suggested its funding could be diverted to other Energy Department offices facing budget cuts. “We’re all standing here saying we wish we had more money for this program or that . . . yet we’re throwing money at something that has an undetermined future and we need to determine that now,” he said.
The full House is next to consider the bill following its approval Wednesday in the House Appropriations Committee. The Senate Appropriations energy and water subcommittee has not yet released its corresponding legislation.
Meanwhile, the House version of the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act would grant the NNSA $14.2 billion, including $1.9 billion for the defense nuclear nonproliferation account. The Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the NDAA would give the NNSA $14.5 billion, including $2 billion for that same account.
The Senate bill directs the energy secretary to continue MOX construction but allows for a waiver if he commits to removing the plutonium intended for MOX; certifies that the alternative method meets the requirements to dispose of that same amount and that the remaining life-cycle cost of the alternative would be less than half of that of the MOX program; and outlines the regulatory changes necessary to switch to the new method.
The White House in a statement of policy on the NDAA said this week that it opposes Congress’ plan to continue MOX project funding.
