The Donald Trump administration is requesting $7.2-billion for Defense Environmental Cleanup in fiscal 2027, which accounts for most of the funding, for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management.
That would be down slightly from the $7.4-billion estimated figure for fiscal 2026, which ends Sept. 30. It would also be down from the $8.2-billion appropriation for the line item in fiscal 2025, according to DOE budget details released last week in an appendix from the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Under the White House fiscal 2027 spending request, Defense Environmental Cleanup would transfer $253 million to the Uranium Enrichment Decommissioning and Decontamination Fund (UED&D). That fund would be $855 million about level with the fiscal 2026 level.
Non-defense Environmental Cleanup would receive $338 million, up from $322 million in the prior appropriation, according to the request document.
When it comes to legacy environmental work at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) sites, DOE will focus on a “risk-informed approach” that focuses first on those soil and groundwater contaminant plumes and sources “that are the greatest contributors to risk,” according to the Management and Budget document. The affected NNSA sites include Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, the National Security Site and Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.