A 437-page justification for the Donald Trump administration’s request for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management adds more detail on White House priorities for nuclear cleanup.
Overall, the roughly $8.2 billion Environmental Management (EM) budget would be $386 million less than the $8.56 billion enacted by Congress for fiscal 2026, according to the document.
At EM’s most contaminated and costly property, the Hanford Site in Washington state, DOE last October started solidifying some of the less-radioactive waste into glass form at the Waste Treatment Plant.
In addition, Hanford conducted a test where 2,000 gallons of tank waste was pre-treated and transported to disposal sites in Utah and Texas before being solidified into a concrete-like grout.
At the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, construction has been finished on a new ventilation system designed to triple the rate of underground airflow.
Meanwhile in Ohio, DOE “began demolition of the second of three uranium enrichment process buildings at the Portsmouth Site – a priority that will create beneficial reuse opportunities for a strong economy and American energy future in the region,” according to the EM document.
Here’s a breakdown of EM sites and whether their fiscal 2027 requests are more/less or flat with fiscal 2026 levels.
The Carlsbad Field Office (N.M.) request of $483 million would be 12% more than 2026.
Idaho National Laboratory’s $493 million request, 3% less.
Oak Ridge Site (Tenn.) $604 million, 14% less.
Paducah Site (Ky.), $374 million, 1% more.
Portsmouth Site (Ohio) $597 million, 3% more.
Hanford-Richland (Wash.) $1 billion, 14% less.
Hanford-River Protection (Wash.) $1.95 billion, 10% less.
Savannah River Site (S.C.) $1.79 billion 1% more.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Calif.), $2 million, unchanged.
Los Alamos National Laboratory (N.M), $296 million, 5% more.
Nevada National Security Site, $65 million, unchanged.
Sandia National Laboratories (N.M.) $1 million, unchanged
Separations Process Research Unit (N.Y.) $950,000, unchanged.
West Valley Demonstration Project (N.Y.), $98 million, unchanged.
Energy Technology Engineering Center (Calif.) $10 million, unchanged.
Moab (Utah), $64 million, unchanged.