By Wayne Barber
The House of Representatives on Thursday approved fiscal 2018 appropriations legislation that would provide more than $939.1 million for Nuclear Regulatory Commission salaries and expenses.
The NRC funding is included within the energy appropriations section of the so-called “mini-bus” bill, which also covers defense, legislative, military construction, and veterans affairs operations. It passed the House Thursday afternoon in a 235-192 vote.
The vote followed two days of debate over dozens of amendments to the bill, none of which was directed specifically at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Of the base funding amount for the nuclear industry regulator, just over $779.8 million would be generated from licensing fees, inspection services, and other revenue collections. The rest of the funding would come via congressional appropriation.
The measure directs that $30 million of the money come from the Nuclear Waste Fund, to support licensing activities for the proposed Yucca Mountain deep geological repository for spent fuel and other high-level radioactive waste. The Trump administration aims to advance the license application from the Department of Energy, which the Obama administration halted in 2010.
The NRC’s Office of Inspector General would be funded at $12.8 million for fiscal 2018, with more than $10.5 million provided through fees.
Combined, the NRC would receive just shy of $952 million for the budget year beginning Oct. 1 – meeting the agency’s funding request.
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee signed off on an NRC funding package with $914 million in base funding, with a $10 million carryover, and $12.9 million for the regulator’s Inspector General’s Office. That funding does not include any money for Yucca Mountain licensing.
The House bill also budgets $118 million for the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The program provides remediation of sites contaminated by nuclear weapons and civilian energy programs managed by the Manhattan Engineer District and Atomic Energy Commission from the 1940s to the 1960s.
The Army Corps requested $118 million for FUSRAP. The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $117 million for the program.
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board would get $3.6 million from the Nuclear Waste Fund under the House budget. The 10-member board of experts provides independent and technical peer review and advice for DOE’s management of high-level radioactive waste and spent fuel.
The full Senate has not yet considered its version of the energy funding legislation. The two chambers’ spending plans would have to be merged before going to the president for final approval.
