September 09, 2014

Short-Term CR Includes Anomalies for Portsmouth, WIPP

By ExchangeMonitor

The House Appropriations Committee unveiled a short-term Continuing Resolution yesterday that includes funding anomalies to prevent hundreds of layoffs at Portsmouth and to aid in recovery activities from a truck fire and radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The CR will fund most Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration programs at Fiscal Year 2014 levels through Dec. 11, and while it is mostly a “clean” CR and isn’t overloaded with anomalies or policy riders, the Administration got its wish for anomalies on Portsmouth and WIPP.

The bill provides flexibility for DOE when it comes to Portsmouth, saying funds for DOE’s Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund “may be apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary to avoid disruption of continuing projects or activities funded in this appropriation.” With regard to WIPP, the bill also says cleanup funds “may be obligated at a rate for operations necessary to assure timely execution of activities necessary to restore and upgrade the repository.”

DOE sought an additional $8 million for WIPP to help with recovery efforts at the repository, and was hoping to spend at a rate of $664.7 million for DOE’s Uranium D&D account, more than the $554.8 million for the fund included DOE’s FY 2014 request. The bill does not include the support the Administration sought for a project to upgrade the spent fuel storage facility at Fort St. Vrain in Colorado as required by a May Nuclear Regulatory Commission order.

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