[House Document 107-255]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress, 2d Session - -- - - - - - - House Document 107-255
REQUESTS FOR FY 2002 BUDGET AMENDMENTS
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
REQUESTS FOR FY 2003 BUDGET AMENDMENTS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
September 4, 2002.--Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and
ordered to be printed
The White House,
Washington, August 2, 2002.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: I ask the Congress to consider the
enclosed requests for FY 2003 Budget amendments for the
Department of Energy (DOE). Both requests satisfy commitments
made in my FY 2003 Budget.
The first request supports reform of remediation projects
at contaminated DOE sites. Currently, there are unacceptably
long cleanup schedules and plans that appear wasteful and do
not result in adequate protection of the public for decades.
This request carries out the pledge that my Administration
would support additional resources when they would lead to new
cleanup agreements that result in efficient and accelerated
protection of human health and the environment.
The second request, for readying the Yucca Mountain site as
a viable nuclear waste repository by 2010, fulfills my
assurance that my Administration would seek additional funding
to begin essential transportation-related activities and a
long-term management and financing plan for the entire
licensing and construction effort. My Administration is
committed to ensuring the environmentally sound and safe
disposal of the Nation's radioactive waste.
When my FY 2003 Budget was transmitted, we did not know the
exact level of resources that would be required to support
these commitments. These requests would increase the budgetary
resources proposed in my FY 2003 Budget by $366.1 million. The
details of these requests are set forth in the enclosed letter
from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. I
concur with his comments and observations.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush.
Enclosure.
[Estimate No. 19, 107th Cong., 2d Sess.]
Executive Office of the President,
Office of Management and Budget,
Washington, DC, August 1, 2002.
The President,
The White House.
Submitted for your consideration are requests for FY 2003
budget amendments for the Department of Energy (DOE). These
requests would increase the budgetary resources proposed in
your FY 2003 Budget by $366.1 million
Environmental Management
An increase of $300.0 million is requested to improve
program effectiveness within DOE's Environmental Management
program. Your FY 2003 Budget proposed $6.7 billion for the
Environmental Management program, including $800.0 million for
program reforms at cleanup sites. This request would increase
the funding available for program reforms to a total of $1.1
billion. The amendment would provide additional resources to
the Secretary to implement reforms that would supersede less
effective plans now in place, reforms that were specifically
addressed on page 16 of the DOE Congressional Budget
Justification for the Environmental Management program.
DOE has made significant progress toward implementing these
reforms and has signed and issued six letters of intent with
regulators that provide the basic outline of revised cleanup
approaches. Pursuant to these letters, the Department is
working on detailed cleanup plans that will lead to revised
cleanup agreements. The requested funds will be made available
to each site only after the Secretary confirms that the
following criteria have been met:
The Department completes a new multi-year,
risk-based cleanup plan for the site that includes
significant reform proposals;
The Department prepares multi-year estimates
of required funding to implement the revised plan and
demonstrates it will protect human health and the
environment, accelerate completion schedules, and yield
significant cost savings over existing baselines for
the site; and
The Department and appropriate regulatory
officials enter into an agreement committing to
implementation of the revised cleanup plan and, as
necessary, modify current compliance agreements.
A critical factor in the success of this reform initiative
is that the Secretary be provided the flexibility to allocate
funding based on resources required to implement each
agreement. These agreements take time, and any effort to
allocate requested funding by site before these agreements are
in place would be counterproductive. Accordingly, it would be
unacceptable for Congress to allocate this additional funding
by site, thereby blocking the reform mission of the additional
funds.
Nuclear Waste Disposal
Your FY 2003 Budget proposed a total of $527.0 million for
DOE's Civilian Radioactive Waste Management program, including
$212.0 million for the Nuclear Waste Disposal account. This
request would increase the funding available for the Nuclear
Waste Disposal portion of the Civilian Radioactive Waste
Management program by $66.1 million, for a total of $278.1
million.
The amendment would support timely completion of DOE's
application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a
repository construction license for the Yucca Mountain site,
accelerate development of a national system for transporting
waste to Yucca Mountain, improve the safety of working
conditions at the repository site, and support tests and
studies that would increase public confidence in the project.
This request fulfills your assurance, articulated on page 411
of the FY 2003 Budget Appendix, that the Administration will
seek additional funding to begin essential transportation-
related activities and provide a long-term management and
financial plan for the entire licensing and construction
effort.
Without these additional funds, DOE would not be able to
submit a license application to the NRC in 2004. Timely
submittal of the application and subsequent NRC approval are
crucial to achieving the Federal Government's longstanding goal
of beginning waste acceptance at the Yucca Mountain repository
in 2010. DOE estimates that every year of delay beyond 2010
would cost $500.0 million in potential liabilities.
Recommendation
Transmission of these requests to the Congress reflect your
commitment to provide DOE with the necessary additional
resources for program reforms and project completion that will
accelerate cleanup and waste repository development schedules,
reduce costs, and better protect human health and the
environment.
I have carefully reviewed these proposals and am satisfied
that they are necessary at this time. Therefore, I join the
Secretary of Energy in recommending that you transmit the
amendments to the Congress.
Sincerely,
Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.,
Director.
Enclosures.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Environmental and Other Defense Activities
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT CLEANUP REFORM
FY 2003 Budget Appendix Page: 392
FY 2003 Pending Request: $800,000,000
Proposed Amendment: $300,000,000
Revised Request: $1,100,000,000
This proposal would increase the pending request by $300.0
million for the Environmental Management Cleanup Reform
account. The change is consistent with the Administration's
commitment to propose additional resources above the pending FY
2003 request of $800.0 million for this account to implement
program reforms at additional cleanup sites.
The Environmental Management program is responsible for
cleaning up the legacy of waste and contamination from nuclear
weapons production. Under the program, the Department of Energy
(DOE) enters into cleanup agreements with State and Federal
regulators at sites managed by DOE. The FY 2003 Budget proposed
a new reform strategy geared toward the development of
alternative cleanup strategies to accelerate risk reduction and
cleanup timetables through innovative technologies and
processes, and reduce total project costs.
This amendment would increase FY 2003 outlays by $210.0
million.
------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Programs
NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL
FY 2003 Budget Appendix Page: 410
FY 2003 Pending Request: $212,045,000
Proposed Amendment: $66,100,000
Revised Request: $278,145,000
This proposal would increase the pending FY 2003 request by
$66.1 million for the Nuclear Waste Disposal account. The
change is consistent with the Administration's commitment to
propose additional resources to ensure submittal of a license
application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for
construction of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain,
Nevada, in 2004 and readiness for operation in 2010 of the
repository and associated national waste transportation system.
The amendment would fund an electronic database required by
the NRC to compile information on the project; accelerate
planning for a major rail spur in Nevada; increase public
involvement in the planning; upgrade equipment in the
repository's underground tunnel to enhance worker safety; and,
fund a number of other necessary activities.
This amendment would increase FY 2003 outlays by $33.0
million.