Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
4/23/2015
An amendment to the House 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations bill this week cut the funding for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing review of Yucca Mountain in half to $25 million when compared to an earlier version of the bill. The passed amendment lowers the NRC’s total allocated funding by $50 million from the subcommittee version of the bill, with $25 million coming from the originally planned $50 million for the Yucca review and another $25 million coming from corporate support.
According to Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), the freed $50 million from the amendment would then go to activities related to ensuring electrical grid reliability and resiliency. “I believe this additional funding is necessary to ensure an electric grid that is both reliable and resilient now and in the future,” Simpson said during the bill markup this week. “This amendment reduces corporate support, administrative activities of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, by $25 million to accelerate the right-sizing process that is already underway. It also reduces funding for Yucca Mountain licensing process from $50 million to $25 million, as we heard in testimony that the NRC only needs $25 million in 2016 to continue work on the Yucca Mountain licensing process.”
The spending bill cleared the full House Appropriations Committee markup this week, and the House will most likely vote on it in the next two weeks, according to Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers (R-Ky.).
NRC Chair Steven Burns said last month at a House budget hearing that the NRC would need $25 million to $30 million in 2016 appropriations to restart the Yucca adjudication process, the next step in the licensing review after the completion of the supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. The NRC has estimated in the past that the adjudication process could cost an estimated $330 million, although that number is based on a willing applicant defending the license application. There are still over 300 contentions filed by Nevada and other parties challenging the repository that need adjudication before a construction authorization permit could be issued, according to the NRC.
The bill report, released this week, also included language that would ensure the NRC moves forward with the Yucca licensing review. The report also contained a clause that would require the NRC to submit a report on the plans to complete the review as well as necessary funding needed for completion. “The recommendation continues language prohibiting the Chairman of the NRC from terminating any program, project, or activity without the approval of a majority of the Commissioners,” the report said. “The NRC is directed to report to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress, not later than January 5, 2017, on the plan to complete the license application and additional funding needs as necessary.”
Yucca Only… No Interim Storage
The bill report specifically rejected the Department’s proposal to reform the Nuclear Waste Policy Act so as to allow interim storage. The bill provides $150 million to the Department of Energy for nuclear waste disposal activities as outlined in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and $25 million to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission so it can complete the Yucca Mountain licensing review. “The recommendation rejects these non-Yucca proposals and makes clear that any activities funded from the Nuclear Waste Fund must be in support of Yucca Mountain,” the bill said.
The report, though, does leave room for looking at interim storage or a second repository location, so long as Yucca Mountain still remains and Congress approves it first. “The Committee notes that geological repositories in addition to Yucca Mountain will be needed. If the Congress provides the authority for such repositories, as well as for a consensus-based siting process, the Committee will consider support for such activities at that time,” the report said. “In the meantime, the bill contains a prohibition on using funds to close the Yucca Mountain license application or to take actions that would irrevocably remove Yucca Mountain as an option for a repository.”
Bill Cuts Used Fuel Disposition Program
Meanwhile, the House’s bill would allocate only $55 million for the Department of Energy’s Used Nuclear Fuel Disposition program, an approximate $53 million decrease compared to DOE’s requested amount and a $16.5 million decrease from the enacted 2015 budget, according to the bill report. DOE was seeking approximately $108 million for its UNFD in 2016, including $18 million for deep borehole disposal research. The House, though, chose to focus on long-term dry cask storage integrity, providing $6 million for railcar design and certification and $7 million for activities related to the testing of high burnup fuel. “The Committee directs the Department to support research and development of advanced sensors, online monitoring, and other non-destructive evaluation and examination technologies to ensure long-term dry cask storage integrity,” the report said. “No funding is provided for integrated waste management system activities or new activities related to Department of Energy-Managed High Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel.”
House Matches FUSRAP Request
The House bill also matches the Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program’s request of $104 million. The allocation is a $2.5 million increase compared to FY’15 enacted funding. The House also included a clause that would prioritize the cleanup of sites nearing completion and the finalization of studies necessary to begin the Sylvania nuclear fuel site cleanup in Hicksville, N.Y. “The Committee continues to support the prioritization of sites, especially those that are nearing completion,” the report said. “Within the funds provided in accordance with the budget request, the Corps is directed to complete the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study of the former Sylvania nuclear fuel site at Hicksville, New York, and, as appropriate, to proceed expeditiously to a Record of Decision and initiation of any necessary remediation in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).”
