Ohio Senators Want Answers on Portsmouth D&D Funding

Amid reports of potential layoffs at the Portsmouth D&D project, Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown (D) and Rob Portman (R) are seeking answers from the Department of Energy as to whether the project has sufficient funding. In a July 11 letter to Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, Brown and Portman said they have received “correspondence from workers at the site and local community leaders expressing concern with the funding situation for the project. They indicated they have been told that WARN Act notices could shortly be issued to employees at the site due to a lack of funds.” Brown and Portman added, “We find these rumors incredibly disturbing because Congress provided DOE the funds it requested for Fiscal Year 2014.”

WC Monitor recently reported that DOE and contractor Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, LLC, are projecting a potential reduction of as many as 675 employees from the Portsmouth D&D project’s current workforce of about 1,900 employees next fiscal year due to funding challenges. DOE uses both appropriated funds from Congress and transfers of excess uranium to FBP to help pay for the Portsmouth D&D project. In its FY 2015 budget request, DOE sought $160 million for D&D work at Portsmouth, an increase of approximately $22 million from current funding levels. However, uranium prices have been steadily declining, decreasing the value of the material provided to FBP to help augment funding. In addition, DOE has announced plans to reduce the amount of excess uranium to be made available to help fund cleanup activities. While the Department had previously planned to provide up to 2,400 metric tons of material per year, DOE is now looking to provide up to 2,055 metric tons for cleanup purposes annually from 2014 through 2021.

In their letter, Brown and Portman asked DOE if it has “enough funding on-hand” to continue the Portsmouth D&D project at current employment levels this fiscal year; along with whether the $175 million included in the House-approved version of the FY 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations bill for the Portsmouth D&D project would be enough, when combined with anticipated barter proceeds, to maintain current employment levels and to keep the project on schedule for a 2024 completion. The two senators also asked if the Department plans to barter 2,400 metric tons of uranium in FY 2015, and the amount of anticipated barter proceeds next year. In addition, Brown and Portman also asked DOE if it has “contingency plans” in place should Converdyn be successful in its effort to obtain a temporary injunction to prevent the Department for conducting transfers of excess uranium while a suit the company has filed against DOE moves forward.