Uncertainty and stress may be on the horizon for the Savannah River Site (SRS) workforce if Congress does not provide adequate and timely funding for operations at the Department of Energy facility in South Carolina, SRS stakeholders said earlier this week.
Congress on Sept. 29 passed a stopgap funding measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to keep the federal government operating through Dec. 9. U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) voted in favor of the CR, but acknowledged that it is not a long-term solution and makes it difficult for agencies to plan ahead. “I look forward to continuing to work towards a return to a regular appropriations process that provides stability for the Savannah River Site,” he wrote in an email.
SRS officials, who typically avoid discussing budget situations, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Energy Department has requested $1.44 billion in funding for SRS in fiscal 2017 – an uptick from the $1.34 billion it received in the last fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The CR funds the site at the fiscal 2016 enacted levels until Dec. 9, which is expected to give Congress enough time pass a more permanent level of funding.
But the timing and amount of funding remain up in the air, said Rick McLeod, executive director of the SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO), a nonprofit group that works with SRS and other local stakeholders to benefit the facility and local economy. McLeod said news reports and personal conversations suggest Congress will next pass an omnibus budget that contains funding for SRS missions.
However, he has also seen reports that indicate lawmakers might instead vote for another CR and freeze progress for site work. McLeod says another CR would impede the site’s ability to continue current work or begin new missions. “For instance, a CR might remove a restriction on prohibiting an agency to start a new program or activity if the funds have not been appropriated in the previous fiscal year,” he said.
The Savannah River Site employs more than 10,000 workers for a wide range of missions, including liquid waste cleanup, waste tank stabilization, nuclear nonproliferation, and nuclear materials processing. It is also home to the Savannah River National Laboratory, which provides scientific research for national security and other missions.
McLeod said funding all of the site’s current operations is crucial to maintaining a steady and stress-free workforce. “SRS missions and its workforce are better served when Congress passes a budget,” he said.
He added that the uncertainty regarding long-term funding hurts the site because leaders are unable to plan for the current fiscal year and beyond. “The (Environmental Management) budget would be stagnant for much needed infrastructure funding and liquid waste and H-Canyon operations may suffer if the CR continues,” according to McLeod.
Tom Clements, director of the nongovernmental SRS Watch, said Congress should follow President Barack Obama’s lead and nix the nation’s MOX program, which includes stopping construction of the SRS Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). In his fiscal 2017 budget proposal, Obama is seeking $270 million to begin shutting down the plant. Meanwhile, the U.S. House and Senate fiscal 2017 energy budgets both include $340 million to continue construction.
The facility is intended to meet the terms of a 2000 bilateral agreement that requires the United States and Russia to each dispose of 34 metric tons of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium. The MOX mission would achieve that goal by converting the material to commercial nuclear fuel. DOE now favors a downblending process the agency says would be much cheaper and faster.
The process would dilute the plutonium at SRS and then ship the material to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. “There simply isn’t enough money in the DOE budget to finish the problem-plagued construction and carry out the project,” Clements said.
McLeod has been a longtime advocate for MOX, along with other SRS programs. He said funding all of the site’s current missions is crucial to supporting its workforce. “SRS missions and its workforce are better served when Congress passes a budget,” he said.
Though the two men do not agree on the fate of MOX, they come together on properly funding the SRS liquid waste program. The primary mission is ridding South Carolina of more than 36 million gallons of high-level liquid waste and grouting the 40-plus tanks that store the waste.
The radioactive threat of the site is removed using SRS facilities and the final solution is temporarily stored on site until a permanent repository is identified. The waste is a byproduct of weapons processing during the Cold War and is considered by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control as the No. 1 threat environmental threat in the state.
The Energy Department requested $822 million for fiscal 2017 liquid waste work – a $38 million increase from last year’s appropriation. “It is essential that high-level waste management funding remain stable now and in the future in order to reduce risks and make sure that cleanup standards and closure milestones are maintained,” Clements said.
