February 09, 2016

NRC Requests 2 Percent Funding Decrease For FY 2017

By ExchangeMonitor

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has requested $970.2 million in funding for fiscal 2017, which would represent a roughly 2 percent decrease from the current funding level of about $990 million.

The proposed budget encompasses $757.4 million for nuclear reactor safety operations and $212.8 million for nuclear materials and waste safety, which, respectively, are currently funded at $760 million and $172 million. The budget would be 100 percent discretionary.

“This budget recognizes the changing environment in the nuclear industry and reflects the considerable steps taken by the NRC to become more efficient, while still meeting our obligation to protect public health and safety,” NRC Chairman Stephen Burns said in a statement.

Because NRC recovers about 90 percent of its budget from license fees, the net appropriation request is about $124 million, compared to $154 million in fiscal 2016. The amount requested for the NRC Office of the Inspector General, an independent office that audits government programs, was $12.1 million.

The proposed budget does not include any new money for license review of the national repository planned at Yucca Mountain, but the agency budgeted for review of a consolidated interim nuclear waste storage license application expected to be filed in April by Waste Control Specialists in West Texas.

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