Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday expressed optimism that the Y-12 National Security Complex’s Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) can be completed by 2025. The UPF is part of broader plans for the modernization of the Y-12, and is intended to provide a sophisticated, centralized facility for processing of weapon-grade uranium.Following the recommendations of a Red Team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason, Y-12 site manager Consolidated Nuclear Security has moved away from plans to effectively house UPF in one large building and toward plans centered around a grouping of three buildings. “I can tell you all this: The new contractor is working daily to make sure that the new design will work. It’s part of a campus approach as opposed to a big-box approach. This is a national priority, and again, we’re going to work toward that 2025 deadline,” Fleischmann, whose district encompasses Y-12, said in a video presentation to the 2015 RadWaste Summit in Las Vegas.
Fleischmann commended CNS’ work as Y-12 manager and its efforts on the UPF redesign. “This is going to be a state-of-the-art facility … and it’s critical that we get it done.” He repeatedly emphasized the need to update Y-12 as a whole, calling the Tennessee nuclear-weapon support complex “an antiquated facility.”
The lawmaker reaffirmed his belief that the Department of Energy must prioritize resuming storage operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, which were suspended following a fire and subsequent radiation leak in February 2014. Site manager Nuclear Waste Partnership is now updating its restart plan, almost certainly meaning the budget will exceed the $242 million projected last year and that work will extend beyond the earlier end date of March 2016. “WIPP needs more money to be fixed, there’s no question about that,” Fleischmann said, but he said such a funding boost would not be expected if Congress passes a continuing budget resolution for fiscal 2016 rather than a full federal spending plan. The new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1: “If you’re a betting person, the easiest, safest bet is probably a continuing resolution,” according to Fleischmann.
