The Administration’s should urge continued use of appropriated funds for construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, rather than the planned suspension of the project, a bipartisan group of 20 House lawmakers said in a letter yesterday to Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. They note that funds were “explicitly provided” for construction, not the “cold standby” that the Administration recently announced. “We request they be used only for construction as Congress intended. We are concerned that the intent of Congress is being ignored and as a result we may see a usurpation of Congress’ power of the purse,” states the letter signed by Republican Reps. Joe Wilson (S.C.), Mick Mulvaney (S.C.), Tom Rice (S.C.), Trey Gowdy (S.C.), Mark Sanford (S.C.), Phil Roe (Tenn.), Paul Broun (Ga.), Ted Yoho (Fla.), Rob Pittenger (N.C.), Doc Hastings (Wash.), Frank LoBiondo (N.J.), Mark Meadows (N.C.), Jack Kingston (Ga.), Robert Hurt (Va.), Bob Goodlatte (Va.), Richard Hudson (Va.), Phil Gingrey (Ga.) and Democratic Reps. Jim Clyburn (S.C.) and John Barrow (Ga.).
Other issues include the agreement with Russia mandating MOX and a lack of information on how the Administration arrived at the $30 billion lifecycle cost for the project that has been cited. Additionally, the lawmakers note that DOE will face stiff penalties if plutonium destined for MOX is not moved out of the state by 2016. “Thus, by simply doing nothing, or ‘studying other alternatives,’ American taxpayers will be left to pick up a $100 million penalty annually with no expiration date in sight. Material will never move out of SRS, and the U.S. will have a serious blow dealt to its international credibility on the nonproliferation front,” the letter states. “It will leave material stranded and derail environmental cleanup missions in South Carolina for years to come. And lastly, walking away would cost the American taxpayers far more money with no return on their investment.”
Meanwhile, the industry group Nuclear Energy Institute also called on support for MOX in a letter to Moniz Friday. “To cancel, suspend or simply reduce funding for the project will, unfortunately, validate those critics of the Department of Energy who claim it simply cannot complete complex projects, particularly those concerning nuclear materials disposition,” states the letter from NEI President Marv Fertel. “Unfortunately, DOE’s history with this and other large complex projects does not instill confidence in the commercial industry that the MOX program will be able to deliver commercial fuel to utilities on an agreed-to schedule. However, DOE can and should begin to reverse this trend, and begin to restore confidence by following through with the construction and operation of the MOX facility on a set schedule.”
