DOE Seeking Three Anomalies in CR

As lawmakers returning to Congress this week resume work on a continuing resolution, the Obama Administration has requested funding anomalies for Department of Energy programs at Portsmouth, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and Fort St. Vrain, according to a White House Office of Management and Budget report. The short-term CR under development is expected to fund the federal government largely at current levels for the first few months of the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. But DOE is seeking the anomalies to address issues that have come up that will require a change in funding. That includes $8 million in additional funds for WIPP to pay for recovery activities related to the truck fire and radiological release that occurred in February.

At Portsmouth, DOE is seeking an anomaly to avoid the layoffs of hundreds of workers that could begin at the start of the fiscal year without additional funding. The Administration is asking for a rate of operations of $664.7 million for DOE’s Uranium D&D account to reallocate funding within the account, which also covers work at Oak Ridge and Paducah. That compares to a total of $554.8 million for the fund included DOE’s FY’14 request. “Due to a recent decline in uranium prices, without the anomaly, DOE will be unable to provide increased cleanup resources and make funding adjustments under the CR to address programmatic needs,” the report states.

The Department also seeking language to allow a new start for a project to upgrade the spent fuel storage facility at Fort St. Vrain in Colorado, as required by an order issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in an order in May. “Project activities must begin in October 2014 to meet the September 2015 completion schedule established by the Order,” the report states.