Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
5/9/2014
A provision in the House Armed Services Committee version of the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act that would have boosted authorized construction funding for the wobbling Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility was stripped from the bill late in the evening of May 7 with opponents of the project calling the funding increase a “zombie earmark.” The National Nuclear Security Administration decided earlier this year to put the project in “cold standby” while it examined other alternatives due to cost overruns, but in the face of pressure from South Carolina’s Congressional delegation, it recently decided to hold off on halting construction until the beginning of FY 2015.
The bill would’ve authorized $316 million for the project, a $120 million boost from the Administration’s $196 million FY 2015 budget request that would help put the project on hold, but an amendment drafted by Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) to shift the $120 million in authorized funding to buy eight more MQ-9 Reapers for the Air Force passed narrowly by a vote of 32-29. Provisions in the bill calling on DOE to launch a study to validate the surplus plutonium disposition options study for MOX remained in the bill, as did a requirement for a report from DOE within 270 days of the enactment of the legislation.
‘This is a Dead Project’
During a lengthy markup hearing on the bill, Peters said the funding boost “will not buy back any value to justify this increase,” and Democrats on the committee like Reps. Adam Smith (Wash.), Jim Cooper (Tenn.) and John Garamendi lined up to oppose the project. “Surely $200 million dollars is enough for our friends in South Carolina for a dead project,” Cooper said during an exchange with Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), a staunch defender of the project. “This isn’t just an earmark. This is a zombie earmark. This is a dead project and it’s not enough for us to give it $200 million dollars. We’re going to give it another $120 million dollars because we love Joe Wilson and [South Carolina Democrat] Jim Clyburn. That cannot be done in this budget environment as much as we love them.” Smith added: “The amount of money we’re putting into this, even adding $120 million, doesn’t even begin to get you there in terms of what is needed to keep the project moving forward toward nowhere. This project is pretty much clearly not going to work. It’s going to cost an enormous amount of money.”
Wilson spoke out in support of the project, and is likely to attempt to restore the funding when the bill is considered by the full House the week of May 19. Wilson did not respond to a request for comment on his plans to push for language restoring the boost on the House floor. “The consequence of what’s being proposed would undercut the ability to complete the MOX facility,” he said. “The people of the United States need to know how important this facility is in terms of environmental cleanup, in terms of nonproliferation, in terms of our national security.”
Cold Standby Delayed Until FY 2015
The MOX facility is currently the designated pathway inked in a deal with Russia for disposal of 34 metric tons of weapons grade plutonium in each country. But citing major cost increases and tight budgets, the NNSA announced in March that it would immediately suspend work on the facility while it further analyzes alternatives to MOX construction. The NNSA had planned to begin work in March with contractor Shaw AREVA MOX Services to develop a “detailed cold standby plan” for stopping work, according to the Fiscal Year 2015 budget request. But that decision sparked a lawsuit from the state of South Carolina, which claimed that DOE’s use of construction funds to shut down the project was illegal because it lacked Congressional approval—a major complaint of Graham and other lawmakers.
A report detailing the NNSA’s analysis of five plutonium disposition options—including MOX–was released last week and identified downblending surplus plutonium and disposing of it at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant as the least expensive option by billions of dollars. The WIPP option would cost about $8.8 billion and be completed in 2046 with less risk and uncertainty than MOX, according to the report. That is $16.3 billion less than the “to go” costs for MOX, which the report estimates at $25.1 billion with a completion date of 2043 with “significant risks.” Those figures include construction and lifecycle costs for the facility. Other options considered were deep borehole disposal, immobilization of the material, and irradiating the plutonium in fast reactors.
Garamendi: MOX Will Not Solve Pu Disposition Problem
During this week’s hearing, Garamendi suggested that it was time to move on and accelerate the search for alternatives, though an amendment he authored that would have called for industry to bring forth proposals on each of the five options being considered by the Department failed by a voice vote. This is “about a project that isn’t working, a project that is way, way over budget, a project that if it continues will be even further over budget and ultimately will not solve the problem of the disposition of the surplus plutonium, some 34 metric tons,” he said. Wilson, however, said he was confident that the other options would not be cheaper than MOX. “This is a process that will work. It has worked with reprocessing in France. We can make it work here in the United States,” he said. “There have been cost overruns … but at the same time the different alternatives that have been proposed will cost more. We’re going to find that out.”
Wilson also said he was confident there would be buyers for the fuel, pointing out that the Tennessee Valley Authority has expressed interest. That’s been a major question, because no utilities have signed up to purchase the MOX fuel since Duke Energy pulled out of an agreement in 2008. Cooper, however, questioned whether TVA would step up and purchase the fuel during a spirited exchange with Wilson. “We don’t know what the Administration has picked but I am from Tennessee, I know a little about the Tennessee Valley Authority. I don’t believe they’ve committed to purchase fuel from a dead project in South Carolina,” Cooper said. “The gentleman is a wonderful advocate for the project but to lead this committee to believe this project still has legs—the $200 million recommended by the Administration is closing down costs.”
S.C. Drops MOX Lawsuit
South Carolina dropped its lawsuit against DOE and NNSA late last week after the Administration announced that it would continue construction of the facility through the end of the year, backing away from earlier plans to immediately place the plant in “cold standby.” South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a statement: “Although I am disappointed that, once again, the state was forced to seek redress from the courts to protect the citizens of South Carolina from a federal government ignoring the rule of law, we are pleased with the outcome in this case. The federal government will continue moving forward, at least for now, on this project that is critical to security of our state and country.”
In its lawsuit, the state of South Carolina claimed that DOE could not use FY 2014 funds appropriated for construction to shut down the project (NS&D Monitor, Vol. 18 No. 12). After the state moved for summary judgment and members of South Carolina’s Congressional delegation pushed on the same point, last month DOE officials said the project would not be suspended until FY 2015. “While this is undoubtedly a victory for South Carolina, its citizens, and all Americans, the battle is not over. We must remain ever vigilant in continuing the fight to uphold the rule of law and ensure that this important program continues,” Wilson said.
