The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday voted to support the nomination of Anne Marie White to become assistant secretary of energy for environmental management. The voice vote clears the way for White’s eventual consideration by the full Senate.
One obstacle to White’s confirmation remains Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who during a hearing last month said he had placed a hold on the nomination. “Sen. Barrasso still has a hold on Ms. White. He was a recorded no vote on her nomination today during the business meeting,” a spokesperson for the senator said by email Tuesday.
Barrasso has threatened to hold up White’s nomination until the Energy Department addresses its use of uranium barter to fund certain programs – such as cleanup of the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The lawmaker says DOE bartering injures the ailing uranium industry in Wyoming by further depressing already-low prices in the marketplace.
The Barrasso spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry Friday on whether the Wyoming lawmaker was having any discussions with DOE or other senators about lifting the hold.
The Energy Department barters uranium to the lead contractor for cleanup of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant to help defray costs of cleaning up the 1950s-era uranium enrichment plant. Last May, DOE cut the amount of excess government uranium traded to help finance Portsmouth cleanup from 1,600 metric tons to 1,200 metric tons. In 2016, sales of bartered uranium on the open market paid for roughly 30 percent of Portsmouth’s environmental management tab. In its fiscal 2018 budget request, DOE sought $417.9 million for D&D work.
Contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth has credited the uranium barter program with reducing the risk of layoffs on the cleanup program. The Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry trade group whose membership includes nuclear fuel companies, wants DOE to discontinue its uranium barter program.
A spokesperson for Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said Wednesday by email the lawmaker continues to evaluate uranium barter’s role in financing cleanup at the Portsmouth.
“Senator Portman has talked with Secretary Perry and Senator Barrasso about the importance of ensuring a long-term, stable funding solution for cleanup at the Piketon site,” the spokesperson said. “With the drop in uranium prices, funding from the barter program has become more and more uncertain, at times jeopardizing cleanup activities at the Piketon site. Senator Portman will continue to work with Secretary Perry and his colleagues to ensure Piketon cleanup is fully funded.”
Portman has not said yet if he will support White’s nomination whenever it reaches the full Senate, the spokesperson said.
In addition to White, the committee also advanced the nomination of Melissa F. Burnison as assistant secretary of energy for congressional and intergovernmental affairs. Burnison is currently director of federal affairs at NEI.
There is no word yet on when either nomination might make it to the full Senate for a vote, a congressional source said by email Thursday. White’s nomination could also be taken up by the Senate Armed Services Committee, as the nomination was referred jointly to both committees.
White, an energy industry consultant who founded Bastet Technical Services LLC, has worked for decades within the nuclear sector and as a consultant on projects at certain waste sites within the DOE complex. If confirmed as “EM-1,” she would take over management of the roughly $6.5 billion annual cleanup of Cold War-era nuclear sites, which encompasses 16 active remediation projects.
The Senate received White’s nomination from President Donald Trump on Jan. 8. If confirmed, White would be the first permanent EM-1 since Monica Regalbuto during the Obama administration.
Longtime DOE veteran James Owendoff continues to run the office as principal deputy assistant secretary for environmental management. President Donald Trump had designated Owendoff as the acting EM-1 last June, but the interim status expired before the end of 2017.
In 2014, Barrasso held up Regalbuto’s nomination over concerns related to the same DOE uranium transfer program.
