The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be budgeted at $842.2 million for salaries and expenses in the current federal fiscal year, under a wide-ranging appropriations package passed by Congress this week.
The Senate on Thursday voted 71-23 in favor of the domestic priorities and international assistance minibus, two days after the House’s 297-120 vote. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill today.
H.R. 1865 is one of two fiscal 2020 minibuses that encompass all spending plans for the federal government through Sept. 30. The federal government has operated under stopgap measures since the budget year began on Oct. 1, with the second and latest bill expiring today.
The NRC’s final funding figure is well below the $907.8 million the agency requested for salaries and expenses in March, along with the $898.4 million it received for the preceding fiscal 2019.
Much of the reduction comes from Congress zeroing out of the agency’s proposal for $38.5 million to resume review of the Department of Energy’s 2008 license application for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada.
Together, the NRC and DOE asked for about $150 million to revive the licensing proceeding that was defunded about a decade ago by the Obama administration. The House and Senate recommended no money for that in their respective energy and water appropriations bills earlier this year, and they sustained that position in negotiations on the final measures.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission receives 90% of its annual funding through licensee fees and other fee-based services. For fiscal 2020, Congress projected that amount at just over $717.1 million. The remaining 10% from congressional appropriation would be about $125.1 million.
The NRC is the federal regulator for commercial nuclear power and waste activities. Its total 2020 budget plan covered 3,062 full-time equivalent employees, including at the Office of Inspector General.
The largest chunk of the agency appropriation, $447.6 million, would be directed to nuclear reactor safety activities, down just under $2 million from what the NRC wanted. That is followed by corporate support at $292.6 million, equal to the agency request.
The agency’s nuclear materials and waste safety and decommissioning and low-level waste line items would be funded at, respectively, $103.1 million and $22.9 million. The NRC had asked for $165.7 million for nuclear materials and waste safety, including the Yucca Mountain money.
Congress directed the agency to spend at least $15.5 million on developing the regulatory framework for advanced nuclear technologies, along with $14.5 million for international operations. It must also apply $40 million from prior-year unobligated balances.
The Office of Inspector General has a separate appropriation, which Congress set at $13.3 million for fiscal 2020. That is equal to the request for the office that provides audits and investigations for both the NRC and the federal Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Of that amount, $10.9 million would come from fees.
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
Separately, Congress also approved a $3.6 million appropriations for the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. The independent agency evaluates the technical and scientific aspects of the Energy Department’s nuclear waste management operations.
