Lawmakers Optimistic on MOX, but Moniz Wants Sustained Funding

Because of rising costs on the project, DOE said earlier this year that it planned to put the project in cold standby, though Congress has intervened, first blocking an attempt to stop construction in FY 2014 and then providing additional funding for construction of the facility in FY 2015. The House version of the FY 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations Act included $345 million for the project, while Senate appropriators have included $400 million to keep construction going. While that’s significantly more than the $221 million the Administration requested, Moniz noted that it would take a much more significant commitment to keep the project running efficiently. “The issue is whether there will be a sustainable and adequate … funding stream. There certainly has been some motion in both the House and the Senate in terms of the markup for FY ‘15,” Moniz said, noting that DOE had asked contractor Shaw AREVA MOX Services with examining different funding profiles in FY 2015. “At this stage we are working with the delegation, others in Congress, in terms of understanding what the funding stream is and its adequacy. Not only in FY ’15, but it’s got to be like a two-decade sustained funding.”