Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
12/12/2014
With continued gridlock between the House and Senate on long-term plans for high-level waste, no funding for either Yucca Mountain or a pilot interim storage plant made it into the compromise version of the Fiscal Year 2015 Appropriations omnibus bill released this week. The House and Senate have taken opposite sides when looking for a potential high-level waste solution in their versions of the bill. The Senate draft of the Energy and Water appropriations bill completed last summer included a reform to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to enable the construction of a pilot interim storage facility as well as $89 million for that strategy. The House, for its part, included over $200 million for the resumption of the Yucca Mountain project in their version of the appropriations bill that passed last summer. The House bill also included language that would prevent any future tampering with the Yucca Mountain adjudicatory process.
The Department of Energy has deemed Yucca Mountain an “unworkable” site, and instead is attempting to pursue a strategy to begin a consolidated storage program for the nation’s high-level waste while a final repository solution is worked out, although legislation is needed to allow this to move forward.
$71.5 Million Included for Used Fuel Disposition
The proposed omnibus bill did provide $71.5 million for Used Nuclear Fuel Disposition, compared to a request level of $79 million, which covers some initial steps towards long-term storage or disposal of the material. Of the $71.5 million, $49 million is set aside for research and development activities, as requested by DOE, and $22.5 million is for integrated waste management system activities, which aims to lay the groundwork for long-term storage and a repository. DOE had requested $30 million for integrated waste management. Within that $22.5 million for integrated waste management, $3 million is set aside to design, procure, and test industry-standard compliant rail rolling stock.
Bill Directs Study on DOE-Owned Spent Fuel Consolidation
The omnibus also includes a requirement for DOE to complete a study on the costs of storing spent fuel at Fort St. Vrain and other Department locations and whether options exist for consolidating the DOE-owned fuel. “Instead of direction in the House report, the Department is directed to report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate not later than 180 days of enactment of this Act on the costs of continuing to store spent nuclear fuel at Fort St. Vrain and other Department locations, and on options for consolidating inventories of all defense-related wastes, spent nuclear fuel, and special nuclear material at one or more private sector or Government sites to reduce ongoing maintenance, operations, and security costs,” the explanatory statement for the bill said.
The bill does fund the upgrades needed at the Fort St. Vrain storage facility, pending a project data sheet for security upgrades at the site. DOE had requested funding for the site back in October when the initial Continuing Resolution was passed, but Congress denied that request. According to the request, DOE needed the funding to upgrade the facility to meet Nuclear Regulatory Commission compliance standards. The bill allocates $20 million for the upgrades, but it notes in an explanatory statement: “The Department is further directed to provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate a project data sheet for security upgrades at Fort St. Vrain prior to the use of funds for construction.”
