March 17, 2014

U.S. NUCLEAR INDUSTRY SAYS ‘NO’ TO D&D FUND PROPOSAL

By ExchangeMonitor

In a move that comes as little surprise, the U.S. nuclear industry has come out against the Obama Administration’s latest proposal for utilities to resume contributions to the federal uranium enrichment fund. The Department of Energy’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget request includes a proposal to reauthorize the fund, used to help cover cleanup costs at the Oak Ridge, Paducah and Portsmouth sites, with the resumptions of both federal and industry contributions. Total annual contributions would be capped at $663 million, with utilities to contribute a maximum of $200 million per year. “The nuclear energy industry will continue to vigorously oppose this outrageous attempt to have our companies make up the government’s failure to fulfill its legal obligation to this long-standing environmental program,” Alex Flint, senior vice president for governmental affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute, said in a Feb. 13 press release.

This year marks the fourth time in a row that DOE has attempted to reauthorize contributions to the D&D fund, which has been found to be facing a significant shortfall and may run out sooner than anticipated. The fund, which saw its authorization expire in 2007, was to last for 15 years, with the utilities to contribute a total of $2.5 billion and DOE to contribute a total of $4.95 billion. Utilities wrapped up paying their obligations to the fund in 2007. Explaining the need for new utility contributions, DOE said in its request, “This proposal reflects the ongoing need to decontaminate, decommission and remediate the uranium processing facilities, and the shared responsibility of both industry and the federal government for these costs. As the cleanup and decommissioning at the gaseous diffusion plants progresses, the risk and hazard to human health and the environment is greatly reduced. In addition, as cleanup is completed, the financial resources needed to maintain the site infrastructure will be reduced.”

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