The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday erased the $16.5 million sought for Savannah River Site infrastructure upgrades that was included in President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2017 budget request. The committee approved the bill after the Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved its version of the energy and water spending bill, which sustained SRS infrastructure funding at the requested level.
The full Senate has taken up its bill, while the full House has not yet scheduled debate on the legislation.
The recommended money for infrastructure improvements comes a year after SRS officials reported they would need $30 million annually for multiple years to address the infrastructure needs at the South Carolina site. “This remains a fair assessment,” SRS spokesman Monte Volk said by email. “DOE recognizes the need for infrastructure improvements and has implemented a new Project Baseline Summary to address recapitalization and general plant projects.”
Plans have already been made for the $16.5 million, assuming both chambers of Congress agree eventually agree on the funding level. About $8.1 million would go toward a window replacement at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) Shielded Cells Facility, where the laboratory works with a variety of highly radioactive samples in development of nuclear technology.
The rest of the money would primarily benefit the site’s H Area, particularly H Canyon and HB Line, the two facilities that work to process domestic and foreign nuclear materials. Upgrades would be made to the seventh-level roof of H Canyon and the canyon’s air tunnel, which provide ventilation for the facility, and an alternate generator would be installed for HB Line.
Despite the longstanding need for infrastructure upgrades, Volk said work at Savannah River has not suffered as a result. But Rick McLeod, executive director of the SRS Community Reuse Organization, said at some time in the future, the impacts of failed infrastructure improvements could interfere with program operations. “Although I doubt it would jeopardize the safe operations of any facilities, it could come to a point where some missions would have to be delayed or postponed until the needed infrastructure is fixed,” he said.
