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Chair
Mayor Tom Beehan
City of Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Treasurer
Councilor Fran Berting
Incorporated County of Los Alamos, New Mexico
Immediate Past Chair
Councilmember Robert Thompson
City of Richland, Washington
Vice Chair
Councilmember Chuck Smith
Aiken County, South Carolina
Secretary
Mayor Steve Young
City of Kennewick, WA
Energy
Communities
Alliance
Inside this issue: Page
FY14 DOE/NNSA Funding Tables ....................................................................................................................... 3
FY14 National Defense Authorization Act Policy Details .................................................................................... 6
DOE Releases “A Project Concept for Nuclear Fuels Storage and Transportation” ....................................... 11
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS MEET TO DISCUSS DEFINING A CONSENT-BASED
PROCESS
In June, representatives from 15 energy
communities, states the nuclear industry, U.S.
Department of Energy, national laboratories, the
Shoshone-Bannock tribe and economic development
entities met to discuss the role for local communities
in advancing new nuclear waste storage and disposal
plans. Participants at ECA’s Shaping a Nuclear
Future Peer Exchange, held in Idaho Falls, ID, with
support from DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy,
focused on defining a consent-based process for
siting nuclear facilities, and identifying what
communities need as potential hosts.
Key messages presented by local governments at the
meeting included:
Energy communities support a consent-based
process for siting and several communities
are interested in potentially hosting interim
storage facilities.
Potential host communities need resources to
begin public education campaigns now on
nuclear energy and waste issues in order to
achieve consent for future nuclear storage
and disposal facilities.
Local governments should identify the kinds
of incentives they want to include in a consent
agreement.
Local governments must have oversight and
be represented on any oversight board that is
established in new legislation.
To the extent possible, political factors must
be limited in a consent-based siting process
and balanced with scientific factors.
At the outset of the meeting, Assistant Secretary for
Nuclear Energy, Dr. Pete Lyons, joined meeting
participants in an interactive discussion of
community priorities and the implementation of
DOE’s nuclear waste management strategy. Dr.
Lyons stated his commitment to work with national
(Continued on page 2)
2
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
organizations to provide education to communities
and states. He also underscored the need to see how
Congress will address nuclear waste management
through legislation before funding any site-specific
activities. Dr. Ron Faibish from Argonne National
Laboratory provided an overview of the discussion
draft legislation recently released by the Senate, and
solicited input from meeting participants on the
challenges and opportunities that decision-makers
need to understand.
Vice Admiral John Grossenbacher, Director of the
Idaho National Laboratory − DOE’s lead nuclear
energy research lab − highlighted the importance of
nuclear energy, the need for greater transparency,
public information, education on nuclear issues, and
most importantly, engagement in the public
discourse. Jeff Sayer, Chairman of Idaho Governor
Butch Otter’s Leadership in Nuclear Energy
Commission (LINE Commission) provided a
keynote address outlining the importance of
developing nuclear energy opportunities for the
future.
The meeting also included a tour of the Idaho
National Laboratory, with stops to view dry cask
storage facilities, spent nuclear fuel pools, new
nuclear research and development facilities, and the
Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-I) the world’s
first nuclear power plant to generate electricity.
(Continued from page 1)
Defining a Consent-Based Process
There was a lot of action on the Hill and around
D.C. for energy communities issues this month, in
the form of the fiscal year 2014 (FY14) National
Defense Authorization Act and Energy-Water
Appropriations Bill.
In addition, the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) issued new guidance for agency heads on
austerity measures for the FY15 budget; President
Obama gave a policy speech on nuclear weapons in
Berlin; the Manhattan Project National Historical
Park Act was passed by the House; and Secretary
Moniz found his chief of staff.
FY14 Defense Authorization Act Update
Congress continues to make progress on the FY14
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA),
which authorizes the budget authority of the
Department of Defense and DOE national security
programs.
The House passed its version of the FY14 NDAA
(H.R. 1960) on June 14. Upon passage of the bill,
the White House issued a Statement of
Administration Policy, stating, “if the bill is
presented to the President for approval in its current
form, the President's senior advisers would
recommend that the President veto the bill.”
Items in the bill to which the White House objects
include New START Treaty implementation
reductions and nuclear employment strategy,
modifications to annual reports regarding the
condition of the nuclear weapons stockpile, nuclear
treaty matters, and governance of the nuclear
security enterprise.
The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC)
completed its markup of the Senate version of the
bill (S. 1034) on the same day, June 14. It is
unknown when the SASC bill will reach the Senate
floor, although Senate Armed Services Chairman
Carl Levin (D-MI) suggested that may not be until
September.
For details on the contents of the House and SASC
bills, see the story on page 6.
Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act
Passed as Part of House Defense Authorization
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act
was passed as part of the House NDAA. The bill
was incorporated as an amendment, filed by
Representative Doc Hastings (R-WA).
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee approved a stand-alone version of the (Continued on page 4)
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
3
FY14 DOE/NNSA FUNDING TABLES
Account Funding Levels (select accounts)
Defense Environmental Cleanup Site Details (select sites)
Account
FY14
Request
Senate
Appropriations
House
Appropriations
Senate
Authorization
House
Authorization
DOE $28.95
billion
$28.21 billion $24.93 billion N/A N/A
NNSA $11.69
billion
$11.76 billion $11.27 billion $11.6 billion $11.9 billion
NNSA
Weapons
Activities
$7.87
billion
$7.87 billion $7.68 billion $7.87 billion $8.09 billion
Defense
Environmental
Cleanup
$5.32
billion
$5.15 billion $5.02 billion $5.24 billion $4.96 billion
Office of
Legacy
Management
$176.98
million
Not available $173.03 million $176.98 million $176.98 million
Account
FY14
Request
Senate
Appropriations
House
Appropriations
Senate
Authorization
House
Authorization
Hanford $921.79
million
Not available $876.61 million $941.79
million
$921.79 million
Office of
River
Protection
$1.21 billion Not available $1.19 billion $1.26 billion $1.21 billion
Los Alamos
National
Laboratory
$219.79
million
Not available $195 million $259.79
million
$219.79 million
Oak Ridge
Reservation
$193.94
million
Not available $204.03 million $203.94
million
$193.94 million
Savannah
River Site
$1.09 billion Not available $1.07 billion $1.24 billion $1.183 billion
Waste
Isolation Pilot
Plant
$203.39
million
Not available $204.54 million $236.39
million
$203.39 million
4
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
legislation (S. 507) on May 16, sending it to the full
Senate for consideration. The Senate has not yet
acted on the bill. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA),
Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM),
Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tom Udall (D-NM)
sponsored the bill.
The bipartisan legislation would establish a
Manhattan Project National Historical Park
encompassing facilities in Hanford, Washington;
Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Los Alamos, New
Mexico.
Conveyance of Land at the Hanford Site
During consideration of the bill, an amendment was
adopted regarding conveyance of land at the
Hanford Site to the Community Reuse Organization
of the Hanford Site (see page 9 for more
information).
House and Senate Panels Mark Up FY14 Energy
Appropriations Bill
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees
took up the FY14 Energy and Water Development,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill this
month. The House Appropriations Committee
passed its version of the bill on June 26, referring it
to the full House. The Senate Appropriations
Committee passed its version of the bill on June 27.
See the funding table on page 3.
In addition to setting funding levels, the panels
provide policy direction. Of particular interest is
direction regarding the management of nuclear spent
fuel and defense waste:
House and Senate Panel Direction on
Management of Nuclear Spent Fuel and Defense
Waste
Although details are not yet available on the Senate
bill, the Senate Appropriations Committee says the
measure includes “a limited provision to begin
addressing our lack of progress in managing the
long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-
level radioactive waste by providing the Secretary
of Energy with the authority to initiate a pilot
program for a consolidated storage facility.”
In its bill, the House Appropriations Committee
weighed in with the following language:
The fiscal year 2014 request includes a proposal to
implement the Department’s Strategy for the
Management and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuel
and High-Level Radioactive Waste. This strategy—
informed by the Administration’s Blue Ribbon
Commission that by its very charter did not examine
the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a permanent
repository—is estimated at $5,600,000,000 over the
next ten years. The strategy also proposes to reform
the current funding arrangement for the
Department’s nuclear waste fund management
program. The Committee notes that neither the BRC
recommendations nor the Department’s proposal
has been considered by Congress, yet the
Administration included $60,000,000 in its fiscal
year 2014 request for used nuclear fuel disposition,
including activities necessary solely as a
consequence of the Administration’s Yucca
Mountain policy. The recommendation rejects these
proposals and makes clear that any activities funded
from the Nuclear Waste Fund must be in support of
Yucca Mountain.
In addition, the recommendation provides
$25,000,000 to support the Yucca Mountain High-
Level Waste Geological Repository and includes
bill language allowing Nuclear Waste Fund
appropriations to be transferred to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission in support of Yucca
Mountain. The recommendation also expresses
support to local communities who have formally
consented to host Yucca Mountain. The Committee
includes this support in recognition that Nye
County, the county that encompasses the Yucca
Mountain area, has given its formal consent to host
Yucca Mountain, yet the Administration blithely
ignores this consent as it pushes ahead on its own
‘‘consent-based approach’’.
The Committee notes that geological repositories
will be needed in addition to Yucca Mountain. If the
Congress provides the authority for such
repositories, as well as for a consensus-based siting
process, the Committee will consider support for
such activities at that time. In the meantime, the bill
contains a prohibition on using funds to close the
(Continued from page 2)
D.C. Update
(Continued on page 5)
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
5
Yucca Mountain license application or to take
actions that would irrevocably remove Yucca
Mountain as an option for a repository.
The House report is available here.
OMB Guidance for FY15 Budget Submissions
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director
Sylvia Burwell sent a memo to the heads of federal
departments and agencies on May 29, providing
guidance for preparing FY15 budget submissions.
FY15 budget submissions to OMB should reflect a
5 percent reduction below the net discretionary total
provided for each agency for FY15 in the FY14
budget. Each agency’s budget submission should
also include additional reductions that would bring
the overall submission to a level that would reduce
the budget an additional 5 percent (totaling 10
percent).
As part of the budget process, agencies were
instructed to submit draft strategic goals and
objectives for OMB review in June, along with full
draft strategic plans.
This process will ultimately result in the release of
the President’s FY15 budget request, as statutorily
required, in February 2014.
The OMB memo is available here.
House Energy and Commerce Chairman
Prepares Yucca Mountain Bill
The Hill reports that House Energy and Commerce
Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) is preparing to unveil
legislation that would affirm Yucca Mountain as the
nation’s sole nuclear waste site.
"We're working on that," Upton told The Hill. "Stay
tuned."
Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), chairman of the House
Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on
Environment and the Economy, said “Chairman
Upton has talked to me about maybe we’re going to
have to be a little more offensive as far as legislation
just to send a signal.”
In Berlin Speech, Obama Calls for Reductions to
Nuclear Arsenal
President Obama delivered a speech in Berlin on
June 19, calling to reduce the nation’s deployed
nuclear arsenal by up to one-third.
Obama lauded the New START Treaty for helping
cut American and Russian deployed nuclear
warheads, but said it is only the beginning. “So
today,” he said, “I'm announcing additional steps
forward. After a comprehensive review, I've
determined that we can ensure the security of
America and our allies, and maintain a strong and
credible strategic deterrent, while reducing our
deployed strategic nuclear weapons by up to one-
third. And I intend to seek negotiated cuts with
Russia to move beyond Cold War nuclear postures.”
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck
McKeon (R-CA) issued a response, saying "The
President's desire to negotiate a new round of arms
control with the Russians, while Russia is cheating
on a major existing nuclear arms control treaty,
strains credulity.”
A number of lawmakers believe the President has
not lived up to his commitment to modernize the
country’s nuclear complex and strategic delivery
systems, as agreed, in exchange for Senate
ratification of the New START Treaty.
Moniz taps veteran environmentalist as chief of
staff
Secretary Moniz selected Kevin Knobloch, former
president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, to
serve as his chief of staff. Among other positions,
Knobloch worked on Capitol Hill in the 1980s, as
legislative director for U.S. Senator Timothy Wirth
(D-CO) and legislative assistant and press secretary
for U.S. Representative Ted Weiss (D-NY).
(Continued from page 4)
D.C. Update
6
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
FY14 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT POLICY DETAILS
The Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14) National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes the
appropriations of FY14 funding; includes policy
provisions that direct statutory changes; and
includes directive and non-directive report language
that requires agency action and clarifies
congressional intent.
The House and Senate work on separate versions of
the bill, and then resolve their differences via a
conference.
House NDAA Policy Provisions and Report
Language (select, edited excerpts)
See Senate-Armed Services Committee NDAA
information on page 10
Study on Treating Defense Nuclear Facilities as
Military Construction
Section 2804 of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2013, as passed by the House of
Representatives, would have mandated that certain
defense nuclear facility construction projects of the
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
be deemed military construction projects and be
carried out as such. The committee continues to be
concerned about NNSA’s inability to successfully
execute large defense nuclear facility construction
projects.
To better understand the option and implications of
designating these facilities as military construction,
the committee directs the Secretary of the Navy, in
coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the
Secretary of Energy, to submit a report to the
congressional defense committees by January 30,
2014, containing an analysis of the feasibility, costs,
benefits, and risks regarding moving design and
construction of defense nuclear facilities to military
construction.
Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility analysis
While the Committee is concerned with the
continuing escalating costs associated the Mixed
Oxide Fuel Fabrication (MOX) Facility, the budget
request may not actually reduce costs to the
taxpayer and will likely delay the disposition of 34
metric tons of weapons grade plutonium.
Therefore, the committee directs the Administrator
for Nuclear Security to study ways to achieve cost
savings within the MOX program.
Office of Infrastructure and Operations
In March 2012, the National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA) created the Office of
Infrastructure and Operations, headed by a new
Associate Administrator, and realigned all NNSA
site offices to report to this new entity rather than
the Office of Defense Programs.
The committee understands the intent of this
realignment, but is concerned about NNSA’s ability
to execute it efficiently and effectively. Based on
past experiences at the Department of Energy and
NNSA, creation of a new office can lead to
increased bureaucracy, confused roles and
responsibilities, and poor coordination on priorities
and programs. The committee will continue its
oversight of this new structure.
Plan and roadmap to address security problems
In response to the security incident that occurred at
the Y–12 National Security Complex on July 28,
2012, the committee conducted several briefings
and hearings to examine the management,
governance, oversight, and cultural failures within
the National Nuclear Security Administration
(NNSA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) that
enabled the incident to take place.
The committee continues to be concerned with the
failure to implement meaningful and effective
changes when the problems and possible solutions
have been so thoroughly studied. Therefore, the
committee directs the Secretary of Energy to
prepare and submit a report to the congressional
defense committees and the Committee on Energy
and Commerce of the House of Representatives, by
September 30, 2013, on the Department’s plan to
address the longstanding, well-documented (Continued on page 7)
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
7
problems that contributed to the Y–12 security
failure.
Reprogramming Procedure and Funding Control
Levels
The committee requests that the Department of
Energy follow the same procedures for
reprogramming requests and approvals as the
Department of Defense. Requesting prior approval
for reprogramming requests rather than adhering to
a notice and wait procedure can streamline the
process for approval and execution. The committee
would like to work with and support the emergent
execution year requirements of the Department of
Energy, and will work to respond to reprogramming
requests in an efficient manner.
In the justification books accompanying the fiscal
year 2014 budget request, the National Nuclear
Security Administration (NNSA) proposes funding
control levels at the subprogram level, rather than
the activity level. The committee is concerned that
this proposal for higher-level control levels was
made without prior discussion with the committee
and without sufficient justification and transparency.
Therefore, the committee clarifies that the control
levels for the NNSA authorization are those
authorized by section 3101 of this Act. The
committee encourages the Administrator for
Nuclear Security, in coordination with the White
House Office of Management and Budget, to
consult closely with Congress before any future
changes to control levels are proposed.
Environmental Management Technology
Development Program
The budget request contained $24.1 million for the
technology development program of the Office of
Environmental Management. This program is
focused on resolving technical challenges and
developing transformational technology solutions to
address the highest priority needs of the
environmental remediation program.
The committee supports this program and
encourages the Office of Environmental
Management to develop and communicate potential
return on investment figures for each subprogram.
The committee recommends $34.1 million, an
increase of $10.0 million, for the technology
development program.
Transuranic Wastes at Hanford Tank Farms
The committee is aware that on March 11, 2013, the
Department of Energy announced its preferred
alternative to characterize and certify appropriate
mixed transuranic (TRU) waste at the Hanford
Site’s Tank Farms and ultimately dispose of such
waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in
Carlsbad, New Mexico. The Department has
identified up to 3.1 million gallons of potential
mixed TRU waste in the Tank Farms, equivalent to
approximately 5.6 percent of the total waste volume
in the tanks, that would be assessed for possible
disposal at WIPP. Currently, all Tank Farm waste is
managed as high-level waste.
The committee is aware that although the amount of
waste that may potentially be classified as mixed
TRU is a small fraction of the total 56 million
gallons of waste in the Tank Farms, efforts to
dispose of this small fraction at WIPP may result in
significant cost savings in the long-term. Such
disposal may also enable the Department of Energy
to demonstrate small but appreciable progress on
cleaning up a major Cold War legacy site and
removing waste from the State of Washington.
However, the committee notes stakeholder concerns
about the process of classifying tank waste as TRU
waste, as well as the technical and legal obstacles to
doing so. Such disposal, if viable and cost-effective,
must adhere to a rigorous and transparent process
based on sound science in determining and
certifying potential mixed TRU waste, be based on a
rigorous cost-benefit analysis of the investments
needed to certify and dispose of TRU waste versus
immobilization through vitrification, and be
adequately coordinated with the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency,
and appropriate agencies in the State of Washington
and the State of New Mexico. The committee
(Continued from page 6)
FY14 National Defense Authorization Act Policy Details
(Continued on page 8)
8
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
encourages the Department of Energy to fully
investigate this possible approach to disposal and
ensure that all regulatory requirements are met and
appropriate permits are in place before retrieval of
tank waste is initiated. Throughout this process, the
committee expects the Department to keep the
appropriate congressional committees fully
informed of its plans.
Section 3111—Clarification of Principles of
National Nuclear Security Administration
This section would amend section 3211 of the
National Nuclear Security Administration Act (50
U.S.C. 2401) to clarify the set of principles with
which the National Nuclear Security Administration
must carry out its operations and activities.
Specifically, this section would add the requirement
that all operations and activities of the
Administration be conducted consistent with the
principle of ‘‘ensuring the security of the nuclear
weapons, nuclear material, and classified
information in the custody of the Administration.’’
Section 3112—Termination of Department of
Energy Employees to Protect National Security
This section would authorize the Secretary of
Energy to terminate an employee of the National
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) or any
element of the Department of Energy that involves
nuclear security if the Secretary determines the
employee acted in a manner that endangers the
security of special nuclear material or classified
information.
The committee understands that several Federal
employees have been reassigned or allowed to retire
in response to the July 2012, security breach at the
Y–12 National Security Complex. However, no
Federal employees have been terminated. Senior
officials from the Department of Energy have
indicated to the committee that Federal employment
rules did not enable terminations in this case. The
committee believes that strong accountability
actions are required in response to egregious
security problems; this section would provide the
Secretary of Energy the authority needed to ensure
strong accountability actions are possible.
Section 3113—Modification of Independent Cost
Estimates on Life Extension Programs and New
Nuclear Facilities
This section would amend section 4217 of the
Atomic Energy Defense Act (50 U.S.C. 2537) to
require that any independent cost estimate carried
out pursuant to section 4217 be conducted by the
Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of
Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE).
The Director would be authorized to delegate
carrying out such cost estimates to other elements of
the Department of Defense. This section would also
provide the Secretary of Defense, in consultation
with the Administrator for Nuclear Security and
acting through the Director of CAPE, the authority
to conduct an independent cost assessment of any
initiative or program of the National Nuclear
Security Administration (NNSA) that is estimated to
cost more than $500.0 million.
Section 3114—Plan for Retrieval, Treatment,
and Disposition of Tank Farm Waste at Hanford
Nuclear Reservation
This section would require the Secretary of Energy
to submit a comprehensive plan through 2025 to the
congressional defense committees by March 1,
2014, for the safe and effective retrieval, treatment,
and disposition of nuclear waste contained in the
Tank Farms of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in
Richland, Washington. The plan would be required
to include: (1) a list of all requirements,
assumptions, and criteria needed to design,
construct, and operate the Waste Treatment and
Immobilization Plant (WTP) and any required
infrastructure or facilities at the Hanford Tank
Farms; (2) a schedule of activities, construction, and
operations at the Tank Farms and the WTP through
2025 in order to carry out the safe and effective
retrieval, treatment, and disposition of nuclear waste
in the Tank Farms; (3) actions required to
accelerate, to the extent possible, retrieval and
treatment of lower-risk, low-activity waste while
continuing efforts to accelerate resolution of
(Continued from page 7)
FY14 National Defense Authorization Act Policy Details
(Continued on page 9)
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
9
technical challenges associated with higher-risk,
high-activity waste; and (4) a description of how
adequate protection will be provided to workers and
the public under the plan and how any new science
and technical information, not available prior to
development of the plan or available prior to March
2014, will be incorporated into the plan.
Section 3120—Cost-Benefit Analyses for
Competition of Management and Operating
Contracts
This section would amend section 3121 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2013 (Public Law 112–239) to clarify that, if a
management and operating contract awarded by the
Administrator for Nuclear Security is protested, the
report required by such section to be submitted to
Congress shall be submitted not later than 30 days
after such protest is resolved.
The committee notes that the National Nuclear
Security Administration’s (NNSA) recent award of
the contract for consolidated management and
operations of the Y–12 National Security Complex
and the Pantex Plant was protested by several
bidders. On April 29, 2013, the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) sustained this protest.
GAO stated that it, ‘‘sustained these protests on the
basis that NNSA failed to follow the publicly-stated
solicitation criteria, which provided that the agency
would evaluate the feasibility and size of each
offeror’s proposed cost savings resulting from the
consolidation of the management and operation of
these sites. Specifically, GAO concluded that NNSA
failed to meaningfully assess the majority of each
offeror’s proposed cost savings, and based its source
selection decision on the unsupported assumption
that all cost savings proposed by every offeror
would be achieved.”
The committee believes NNSA’s failure to
meaningfully assess each offeror’s proposed cost
savings is unacceptable for a contract whose total
value will likely exceed $22.8 billion. To ensure
robust oversight of this issue, the committee
recommends this section to ensure NNSA reports to
Congress about the assumptions and analysis
utilized to estimate anticipated cost savings.
Amendments Adopted on House Floor
Manhattan Project National Historical Park
See information on page 2.
Government Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Extension
The Secretary of Energy shall manage WIPP in such
a way as to include, in addition to the disposal of
wastes authorized by section 213 of the Department
of Energy National Security and Military
Applications of Nuclear Energy Authorization Act
of 1980 (Public Law 96-164; 93 Stat. 1259, 1265),
the transportation and disposal of any non-defense
Federal Government-owned transuranic waste that
can be shown to meet the applicable criteria
described in the document entitled ‘‘Transuranic
Waste Acceptance Criteria For The Waste Isolation
Pilot Plant’’, published by the Department of
Energy on April 21, 2011, or any successor
document.
Conveyance of Land at the Hanford Site
Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall
convey, for consideration at the estimated fair
market value or, in accordance with certain
restrictions, below such value, to the Community
Reuse Organization of the Hanford Site all right,
title, and interest of the United States in and to the
real property, including any improvements thereon.
The Secretary may convey real property for
consideration below the estimated fair market value,
or without consideration, only if the organization:
A. Agrees that the net proceeds from any sale or
lease of the real property (or any portion thereof)
received by the Organization during at least the
seven-year period beginning on the date of such
conveyance will be used to support the
economic development of, or related to, the
Hanford Site; and
(Continued from page 8)
FY14 National Defense Authorization Act Policy Details
(Continued on page 10)
10
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
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B. Executes the agreement for such conveyance
and accepts control of the real property within a
reasonable time. The Secretary shall actively
solicit, and provide priority consideration to, the
views of the cities and counties adjacent to the
Hanford Site with respect to the development
and execution of the Hanford Comprehensive
Land Use Plan.
Senate-Armed Services Committee NDAA
The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC)
completed its markup of its version of the FY14
NDAA (S. 1034) on June 14. The bill has not yet
reached the Senate floor.
The detailed SASC report is not yet available. The
following materials come from a summary issued by
SASC.
MOX Fuel Program
The bill authorizes $583.0 million Mixed Oxide
(MOX) Fuel Program, an increase of $80.0 million
to the budget request. This would continue the
program while allowing DOE/NNSA to perform a
strategic analysis of the overall disposition effort,
including the ways to lower cost and achieve
efficiencies in the current program.
Nuclear Modernization
The bill expresses the sense of Congress on the
importance of maintaining a modernized triad,
stockpile, and science behind it is consistent with
the report required by Section 1043 of the fiscal
year 2012 NDAA as amended and that the President
and Congress should work to ensure the programs
are conducted as efficiently as possible.
DOD-DOE Cooperation on nuclear security
programs
The bill ensures coordination between DOD and
DOE on nuclear security programs by requiring a
report by the Nuclear Weapons Council on joint
DOD – DOE activities to share best practices and
procedures for nuclear material security.
Other Items of Interest
In addition, the bill:
Increases the design threshold of major
construction projects from $600,000 to $1.2
million.
Requires the NNSA to develop an integrated
plutonium strategy across all phases of its
mission.
Requires the Secretary of Energy to certify to
Congress that DOE defense facilities containing
special nuclear material at high security levels
meets DOE standards for physical security and,
for those that are de-certified, a plan reviewed
by the IG on how they will meet security
standards.
Requires a common financial accounting system
at the NNSA sites so that an assessment can be
made on how efficient some NNSA sites are in
their performance compared to others.
Establishes a Cost Analysis and Program
Evaluation Office in the NNSA to help control
costs of construction and weapons life time
extension programs.
(Continued from page 9)
FY14 National Defense Authorization Act Policy Details
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
11
DOE RELEASES “A PROJECT CONCEPT FOR NUCLEAR FUELS STORAGE
AND TRANSPORTATION”
This month DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy issued
a report that provides guidance for defining
systems, equipment, and facilities necessary to
implement DOE’s Strategy for the Management and
Disposition of Used Nuclear Fuel and High-Level
Radioactive Waste (Strategy). The report, “A
Project Concept for Nuclear Fuels Storage and
Transportation,” includes requirements for a pilot
interim storage facility, a larger interim storage
facility, and the transportation system and
equipment needed to move used nuclear fuel and
high-level radioactive waste from current locations
to interim storage and then to a future permanent
geologic repository. It also supports the consent-
based siting process being undertaken by DOE.
Specifically, DOE’s report summarizes design
concepts for the first two elements of the Strategy:
Site, design and license, construct and begins
operations of a pilot interim storage facility by
2021 with an initial focus on accepting used
nuclear fuel from shut-down reactor sites; and
Advance towards the siting and licensing of a
larger interim storage facility to be available by
2025 that will have sufficient capacity to
provide flexibility in the waste management
system and allows for acceptance of enough
used nuclear fuel to reduce expected
government liabilities.
The report uses work done by three teams, headed
by Areva Federal Services, EnergySolutions and
Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure, each tasked
by DOE to prepare design concept studies to
investigate used nuclear fuel (UNF) storage and
transportation. DOE was seeking alternatives to
support an evaluation and possible future selection
of a concept that can be developed as an option for
interim storage of commercial used nuclear fuel.
The project concept addresses all activities required
to take the commercial used nuclear fuel and
Greater-than-Class C (GTCC) low level radioactive
waste from its current location and configuration,
transport it to a location of interim storage, prepare
the fuel as needed and place it in storage, operate
and maintain the interim storage facility, and
prepare the used fuel for shipment to the permanent
repository.
In addition, DOE’s report includes work done by a
National Laboratory team of Argonne (ANL),
Savannah River (SRNL), and Oak Ridge (ORNL).
In 2012, the team issued a Fuel Cycle Research and
Development (FCRD) report which summarized
system-level analyses of the overall interface
between at-reactor, interim storage and ultimate
disposition along with development of supporting
logistic simulation tools.
The 115 page report reviews topics including
Program Strategy and Mission Need; Systems
Engineering Approach, including Functions and
Requirements and Used Nuclear Fuels and HLW
Inventory; Phased Design Concepts including Pilot
Interim Storage Facility, Larger Interim Storage
Facility, and Transportation System; Design and
Operational Considerations including Special Used
Fuels and Materials Handling, Safety, Security,
Siting Requirements, Waste Management and
Decommissioning; Cost and Schedule Estimates
and finally Next Steps.
The design concepts will inform planned follow-on
activities for further alternatives analysis and
conceptual design activities. The report states that
more detailed evaluations will continue in FY 2013
taking into account the requirements of the Strategy.
A link to the report can be found here.
12
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
NRC HOSTS SMALL MODULAR REACTOR “CHAT”
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) held a
real-time discussion, using their “Let’s Chat”
platform, on small modular reactors (SMRs) with
NRC experts and public participants on June 18,
2013.
The discussion was hosted by Anna Hajduk
Bradford, the Chief of the Small Modular Reactor
Licensing Branch 2 in the Division of Advanced
Reactors and Rulemaking at NRC
Headquarters. The division is the
lead for the project management of
work related to SMRs, “which right
now is focused mainly on pre-
application interactions with
potential applicants.”
SMRs are much smaller than
traditional nuclear power plants.
The small designs currently being
discussed would generate less than
200 megawatts of electricity per
reactor, compared to the 1,000
megawatts or more coming from
many current reactors. These
compact designs could be grouped
at a single site, with each reactor a
“module” in the overall power plant.
SMRs would be built at a factory and could be
transported to their final location by truck or train.
Discussing the advantages of SMRs, Hajduk
Bradford said SMRs may offer advantages in
scalability and siting flexibility at locations unable
to accommodate more traditional, larger reactors,
and their small size and potential below-ground
construction could enhance safety and security. The
modular nature of SMRs would also enable the
ramp up of power production capability rather than
building it all at one time.
Design Certification Status
Regarding the status of design certifications for
SMRs and “advanded” reactors, Hajduk Bradford
said, “Westinghouse expects to submit
a design certification application in the
second quarter of 2014. B&W expects
to submit a design certification
application in the third quarter of 2014.
The Tennessee Valley Authority
expects to submit a construction permit
application for the B&W design in the
second quarter of 2015. Ameren
expects to submit a Combined License
application for the Westinghouse
design in the third quarter of 2015.
NuScale expects to submit a design
certification application also in the
third quarter of 2015. Holtec expects to
submit a design certification
application in the fourth quarter of
2016… As for ‘advanced’ reactors, the
NRC has been told STL expects to submit a thorium
-based SMR design in 2016. The Next-Generation
Nuclear Plant Industry Alliance expects to submit a
gas-cooled SMR construction permit application
between 2016 and 2018.”
The Chat is available here.
NYE COUNTY STATEMENT ON RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
This month Nye County released a press release on radioactive waste disposal. Nye County Board of County
Commission Chairman Andrew “Butch” Borasky, reaffirmed that as long as it can be done safely, Nye County
is willing to accept Department of Energy low-level and high-level radioactive waste disposal activities in Nye
County.
Commissioner Borasky and Commissioner Dan Schinhofen, Board of County Commissioner’s liaison for
nuclear programs, stated “consistent with our existing resolutions on high-level waste disposal, we will
continue to ensure the long-term safety and security of the disposal activities of all levels of waste by working
with the Department of Energy, Congress and the state of Nevada to understand the details of the activities and
the science supporting them.” Questions may be directed to Nuclear Waste Repository Project Office Director
Darrell Lacy at [email protected] or 775-727-7727
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
13
This month, NNSA provided to Congress its annual,
statutorily required Stockpile Stewardship and
Management Plan (SSMP).
The SSMP’s primary purpose is to lay out a plan to
sustain and modernize the nuclear stockpile
consistent with national policy and Department of
Defense requirements.
“This SSMP takes on a more ambitious scope of
work relative to its predecessors, placing most of
the stockpile into some phase of life extension in
this decade.”
To support these objectives, the FY 2014 budget
request for the Weapons Activities account (which
does not take sequestration into account) would
provide a 7.6 percent increase over the Weapons
Activities account in the enacted FY 2013 budget.
The FY 2014 President’s budget is the fourth
consecutive increase in the Weapons Activities
budget, resulting in an approximate 28 percent
increase since the FY 2010 budget.
The report is available here.
NNSA RELEASES REPORT TO CONGRESS ON ITS FY14 STOCKPILE
STEWARDSHIP AND MANAGEMENT PLAN
DOE IG: ALLEGED NEPOTISM AND WASTEFUL SPENDING IN THE
OFFICE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY
The DOE Inspector General (DOE IG) released a
report, Alleged Nepotism and Wasteful Spending in
the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy, on June 6, 2013.
Allegations were made that a senior Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
official violated hiring regulations by engaging in
nepotism by advocating for his three children to
obtain employment in DOE’s Student Temporary
Employment Program (STEP), and by wasting
funds by enrolling two of the three children in
costly training courses unrelated to their duties as
STEP interns.
The DOE IG inspection substantiated the allegation
that the senior EERE official secured STEP
positions for his children.
Management concurred with the DOE IG’s
recommendations to strengthen internal controls
over hiring processes within DOE.
The report is available here.
14
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
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The DOE Inspector General (DOE IG) released a
report, Concerns with Consulting Contract
Administration at Various Department Sites, on
June 7, 2013.
The review was conducted at the request of NNSA,
to determine whether a consulting agreement
awarded to Heather Wilson and Company, LLC
(HWC), by Los Alamos National Laboratory was
appropriately administered and managed.
Specifically, the report examined whether:
Work products were produced in return for
monthly payments to HWC of $10,000 Invoices
included itemized charges, as required by the
agreement;
There was overlap between the services
provided and work products produced by HWC
on consulting agreements awarded by Sandia
National Laboratories, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory and the Nevada National
Security Site; and
An NNSA Contracting Officer was subjected to
"pressure" when Los Alamos National Security,
LLC, the Management and Operating contractor
for Los Alamos, requested authorization to enter
into an agreement with HWC
The inspection identified serious concerns with the
administration and management of agreements with
HWC for advice and consultation provided to senior
managers at four Department contractor-operated
sites. Specifically, our testing revealed that the four
facility contractors paid approximately $450,000 to
HWC even though they did not receive evidence
that work performed under the agreements had been
completed.
The report found this situation resulted because
contractor officials responsible either did not
incorporate, or failed to enforce, the requirements of
the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) into the
agreements with HWC.
Management generally agreed with the report’s
findings and indicated it was in the process of
implementing corrective actions. Management
indicated that the Department has already recovered
$442,877 from its contractors of the approximately
$464,203 paid to HWC.
The report is available here.
DOE IG: CONCERNS WITH CONSULTING CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION
AT VARIOUS DEPARTMENT SITES
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
15
WASTE CONTROL SPECIALISTS FEDERAL WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY
OPENS IN ANDREWS, TEXAS
DOE officials attended the opening ceremony for
the Waste Control Specialists (WCS) federal waste
disposal facility in Andrews, Texas on June 6, 2013.
EM Senior Advisor Dave Huizenga said, “I am
proud to be here today to celebrate this historic
event. We appreciate the state of Texas, the local
communities and Waste Control Specialists for their
support of our important national cleanup mission
and look forward to a continued, collaborative
relationship to ensure the safe disposal and long-
term management of this nation’s low-level and
mixed low-level (LLW/MLLW) radioactive waste.”
The DOE Los Alamos Field Office is the first to
dispose of waste in this new facility.
“With the help of WCS and the supporters in Texas,
we now have a cost-effective way of meeting our
commitment to the Governor of New Mexico that
was agreed to following the 2011 Las Conchas fire
that came within 3-1/2 miles of the Las Alamos
National Laboratory waste storage area,” Los
Alamos Field Office DOE Transuranic Waste
Manager David Nickless said.
The WCS website is available here.
FIRST NUCLEAR FACILITY DEMOLITION COMPLETED AT WEST VALLEY
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
The Office of Environmental Management (EM)
and its contractor completed the first demolition of a
nuclear facility at the West Valley Demonstration
Project (WVDP). The four-story facility, known as
the “01-14 Building,” was constructed in 1971 to
support commercial nuclear reactor fuel
reprocessing by Nuclear Fuel Services, and was
later converted by EM for sodium bearing waste
processing, which continued until 2005.
The demolition process took five months. Prior to
the commencement of demolition activities, workers
removed hazardous components, isolated and
removed facility systems and decontaminated the
structure.
“The demolition and removal of the 01-14 Building
is an important accomplishment in the progress to
decommission the WVDP,” WVDP Deputy
Director Craig Rieman said. “This effort showed
that robust engineering controls coupled with
abundant monitoring techniques can accomplish
safe removal of nuclear facilities and will be used to
build on future demolition activities.”
“The CH2M HILL B&W West Valley workforce
was deliberate in the planning and execution of the
work, resulting in the safe, compliant demolition of
the 01-14 Building,” CHBWV President Dan Coyne
said. “Every effort was made to protect the
workforce and the environment. We met our
objectives and look forward to the future demolition
challenges at the WVDP."
The EM press release is available here.
Demolition work is shown in February 2013
16
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
June 2013 ECA Bulletin
17
July (anticipated)
Senate consideration of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park
Act (S. 507)
July 1
Nuclear Weapons Council report to congressional defense committees on
the feasibility of finding further efficiencies in the facilities and functions
of NNSA in order to reduce costs
July 14–18
Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) 54th Annual Meeting;
Palm Desert, California
September
(approximate)
Federal agencies submit initial fiscal year 2015 budgets to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
September 18–20
ECA Peer Exchange; Oak Ridge, TN; contact Allison Doman for more
information.
October 14–18
National Nuclear Fuel Summit; Carlsbad, NM; visit the website for more
information
Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) Bulletin
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ECA Articles Allison Doman, Deputy Executive Director
Kara Colton, Director of Nuclear Energy Programs Eli Persky, Assistant Director
Layout and Design Sharon M. Worley, ECA Staff Member