S.C. DELEGATION PUSHES DOE ON SAVANNAH RIVER TANK WASTE FUNDING

Members of South Carolina’s Congressional delegation yesterday urged the Department of Energy to work with them on restoring funding for tank waste cleanup at the Savannah River Site. The Department’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget request cut funding significantly for liquid waste cleanup at the site, putting cleanup milestones at risk. “We are very concerned regarding the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management’s (DOE-EM) funding level at the Savannah River Site (SRS). DOE has greatly reduced funding for the liquid radioactive tank waste at SRS which penalizes the important remediation progress that has been achieved at SRS over the past four years,” states the letter to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz from Republican S.C. Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham and Reps. Joe Wilson, Mark Sanford, Jeff Duncan and Tom Rice.

The lawmakers emphasized that the state of South Carolina has warned DOE that it could incur up to $154 million in fines and penalties due to the cuts. “We ask that the Department work with the South Carolina delegation to find a path toward restoring funding to the liquid waste mission. This will ensure the critical environmental cleanup continues at SRS and will save taxpayers millions of dollars,” the letter states.