The Trump administration this week again proposed transferring management of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to the Department of Energy.
The plan is laid out in fiscal 2021 budget documents for both entities, employing similar language to that used last year in the White House’s first attempt to return the program to the Energy Department after more than two decades. Congress ultimately blocked that effort in appropriations legislation passed in December for the current fiscal 2020.
The full budget for FUSRAP, proposed at $150 million for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, would pass to DOE’s Office of Legacy Management. That office already evaluates contaminated properties for inclusion in the program and provides long-term monitoring of sites once cleanup is complete.
“The Army Corps would continue to perform cleanup of FUSRAP sites on a reimbursable basis with DOE,” according to a USACE press release. “This proposal would enable DOE to consider a broader range of federal cleanup efforts in prioritizing work each year, thereby increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of Federal cleanup efforts. For these reasons, no funds are included in the Army’s Civil Works Budget for FUSRAP.”
FUSRAP provides environmental remediation of properties contaminated into the 1960s by nuclear-weapon and power operations under the Manhattan Engineer District and Atomic Energy Commission. There were 23 active sites in 10 states as of fiscal 2019, which ended on Sept. 30 of last year, according to the latest program update from the Army Corps.
“Similar to the approach the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and USACE executes the Superfunds program, this alignment will enhance LM and USACE’s partnership and lead to operational efficiencies required for more complex FUSRAP sites,” the Energy Department said in its new budget in brief.
A DOE official added by email Thursday: “Consolidating financial management under LM would help shorten the duration of remediation by improving project planning and eliminating multiple mobilizations. It would also help minimize transition costs by streamlining the process of transferring sites from active remediation to long-term stewardship.”
The Energy Department managed FUSRAP from its inception in 1974 until October 1997, when Congress shifted the program to the Army Corps. The program received $200 million from Capitol Hill in this year’s budget.
With sufficient funding, FUSRAP could complete its mission by 2040, according to the Army Corps. The projected remaining cost is $2 billion to $2.5 billion.
The Army Corps in total requested $5.967 billion for fiscal 2021. That is more than $1 billion above the $4.8 billion requested for the current budget year, but well below the $7.65 billion bestowed by Congress in December.
The DOE Office of Legacy Management would receive $317 million next year, under the White House budget. That would rise from the current $162 million, almost entirely on the back of assuming funding for FUSRAP.
The office currently conducts long-term stewardship of 100 properties around the nation following completion of remediation by FUSRAP and other programs.
