There remains no need to transfer management of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Department of Energy, the House Appropriations Committee said Sunday.
The Trump administration proposed relocating the 46-year-old cleanup program in budget requests both for the current fiscal 2020 and for the coming spending year. Congress rejected the plan last year, and so far seems likely to do so again.
In the legislative report for their fiscal 2021 energy and water development legislations, House appropriators noted that Congress “intentionally” transferred FUSRAP from the Energy Department to the Army Corps in October 1997.
“The Committee remains pleased with the current cooperation between the Corps and the Department in carrying out the program and expects the Department to continue to provide its institutional knowledge and expertise to ensure the success of this program and to serve the nation and the affected communities,” according to the bill report, posted Sunday to the committee website. “The Corps is directed to submit its fiscal year 2022 budget request using this budget structure.”
Within FUSRAP, the Army Corps remediates sites contaminated from the 1940s to 1960s by nuclear-weapon and power operations under the Manhattan Engineer District and Atomic Energy Commission. The House committee would provide at least $210 million for the program in fiscal 2021, $10 million above its current funding and $60 million more than requested by the administration.
The bill separately would add another $500 million “to remain available until expended: Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to” the 1985 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act.
The House bill would provide $7.6 billion in full for the Army Corps, $1.7 billion more than requested. Separately, it would meet the $863.4 million spending request for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and leave the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board with its standard $3.6 million annual balance – $2 million less than the small agency wanted.
The Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up the legislation starting at 1 p.m. Eastern time today. The bill was advanced last week from the panel’s energy and water subcommittee.
