[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8251-S8253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. McConnell (for himself and Mr. DeWine):
       S. 2316. A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to 
     submit to Congress a plan to ensure that all amounts accrued 
     on the books of the United States Enrichment Corporation for 
     the disposition of depleted uranium hexafluoride will be used 
     to treat and recycle depleted uranium hexafluoride; read the 
     first time.


           united states enrichment corporation privatization

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a must-pass 
piece of legislation to ensure that the Department of Energy is not 
stuck with a massive unfunded mandate as a result of privatizing the 
United States Enrichment Corporation. I am pleased to be joined by 
Senator DeWine who is an original cosponsor of this legislation.
  Last month, the administration, the Department of Energy, and the 
USEC Board came to a decision on how they intend to privatize the USEC. 
This deal, which was struck in secret, is a complicated and confusing 
matter that I am only just beginning to understand. The facts, I have 
discovered, are not welcome news to the communities of Paducah, 
Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, where the two USEC gaseous diffusion 
plants are located. These facilities employ approximately 4,000 people, 
making them the largest employers in those regions.
  The most discouraging aspect of this privatization proposal is the 
impact this deal will have on jobs. The administration has tried to put 
a positive spin on things by claiming that only 600 jobs would be lost 
over the next 2 years. Unfortunately, this may be the tip of the 
iceberg, because after the first 2 years, the administration has made 
no guarantees on the number of jobs that might be lost. In fact, after 
reading the fine print of this agreement, union and community leaders 
feel that closure of one of the two plants is a very real possibility. 
This could result in the loss of nearly 2,000 jobs. Without some 
efforts to mitigate the job losses, these communities will be 
economically devastated.
  The second item of concern is that the Department of Energy--and 
taxpayers--will be stuck with an unfunded environmental liability. As 
you may know, under the terms of the USEC Privatization Act of 1996, 
the responsibility for the treatment and disposal of the uranium waste 
will be transferred from USEC to the Department of Energy. To prepare 
for this reality, USEC has collected nearly $385 million from its 
customers for the specific purpose of cleaning up their environmental 
liability. Unfortunately, the administration's proposal only provides 
$50 million of that total to be used to address this problem, while the 
remaining $335 million is due to be deposited into the General 
Treasury.

  Mr. President, there are two problems with this scenario. First, I 
fail to see the logic behind the decision to use only one-eighth of the 
money which has been collected for the purpose of addressing the 
nuclear waste at the USEC plants. Second, the administration's plan 
calls for the $50 million to be given to USEC, Inc.--the private 
corporation. Why should we, as legislators, allow the government to 
give a $50 million handout to a private corporation to clean up a 
Federal entity's mess when $385 million is already available for 
environmental clean up? What is worse, the administration's plan will 
add to the tens of thousands of canisters of depleted uranium 
hexafluoride already stored at the plants, further expanding the 
environmental problems of the plants and the cost to clean up this site 
for the Department of Energy.
  Mr. President, I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but 
this deal is not good for Kentucky and is an abrogation of the Federal 
Government's responsibility to clean up this nuclear mess. We need to 
ensure that the taxpayers and the workers at these facilities get a 
better deal than what is being offered. That is why I have introduced 
this legislation to ensure that all the funds raised and earmarked for 
the clean up of USEC's environmental legacy will remain available for 
that purpsoe--and that purpose only. This bill mandates that the 
administration hold these earmarked funds until the Secretary of Energy 
submits a plan and

[[Page S8252]]

legislation to implement and operate a facility to cleanup the nuclear 
waste at Paducah and Portsmouth. Once this plan is submitted, then the 
funding can flow to clean up this environmental nightmare.
  This bill will ensure that taxpayers aren't stuck with an unfunded 
mandate and makes a commitment to the communities that this toxic 
hazard will be disposed of in a timely manner. Unlike the 
administration's plan to simply store additional uranium waste, my bill 
will create many more jobs to construct and operate this facility. The 
new facility will convert the depleted uranium from an unstable and 
toxic hexaflouride form to a stable and non-threatening oxide. During 
this process many useful commercial by-products can also be recovered 
and sold.
  Mr. President, I have here a letter from the Governors of Kentucky, 
Ohio, and Tennessee urging Secretary Pena to take immediate steps to 
convert the toxic uranium hexafluoride into a more stable, non-
threatening oxide form. The Governors urge the Secretary to seek the 
necessary funding to begin this process and they specifically 
identified the funding I have identified in my amendment. I ask 
unanimous consent that the letter signed by Governors Patton, Sunquist, 
and Voinovich be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                                   April 27, 1998.
     Hon. Federico Pena,
     Secretary, Department of Energy, Washington, DC.
     Re ``Draft PEIS for Alternative Strategies for the Long-Term 
     Management and Use of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride,'' DOE/
     EIS-0269 dated December 1997.
       Dear Secretary Pena: More than forty years ago the U.S. 
     Department of Energy began the uranium enhancement initiative 
     that created a common link between Ohio, Kentucky, and 
     Tennessee. This commonality includes the U.S. Department of 
     Energy's legacy of waste, a significant portion of which is 
     made up of depleted uranium hexafluoride. Today, our three 
     states are working together in order to recommend the 
     selection of an appropriate and lawful alternative for the 
     long-term management and use of depleted uranium 
     hexafluoride. We believe that such an alternative must 
     minimize impacts on human health and the environment, as well 
     as benefit the overall mission of our states and the U.S. 
     Department of Energy (``DOE'').
       Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee have the following 
     significant concerns regarding the above-referenced document:
       DOE should consider the immediate conversion of all 
     depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) to the less hazardous 
     uranium oxide (U308) and provide above ground storage of the 
     U308. We do not believe that waiting for possible market 
     demands for the DUF6 is justification for delaying this 
     project. It is incumbent upon DOE to immediately begin 
     seeking funds from Congress for this conversion. We urge DOE 
     to complete conversion by the year 2018 or earlier and reduce 
     the mortgage of maintaining the cylinders.
       A long-term strategy for DUF6 must include DOE's entire 
     cylinder inventory, including heel and small cylinders. The 
     10,000+ cylinders of DUF6 generated by the United States 
     Enrichment Corporation (USEC), which will revert to DOE 
     ownership upon privatization of USEC, must also be considered 
     in any plans.
       An estimated $480 million has been accrued by USEC since 
     1993 in order to offset the cost of the future conversion of 
     DUF6 generated by USEC. DOE should work with Congress now to 
     ensure this fund is not diverted into the federal treasury 
     for an unrelated use. In addition, DOE might consider 
     partnering with the future owner of USEC in a long-term 
     strategy for managing and converting DUF6, in order to avoid 
     redundancy of efforts. Any partnering effort, however, must 
     not slow progress toward conversion.
       Natural phenomena events or accidents may not have been 
     adequately considered in the PEIS. DOE must identify the 
     ``worse-case'' cylinder conditions and explicitly use this 
     information in the hazard modeling descriptions.
       In order for states to effectively evaluate the potential 
     impact of the preferred alternative DOE must provide 
     information on the location of the sites where conversion 
     would occur and how wastes generated from this process will 
     be managed. In order to avoid the undue risk of transporting 
     deteriorating cylinders, we recommend that DOE evaluate the 
     feasibility of on-site conversion plants.
       DOE must ensure that funding for safe storage and 
     maintenance of DUF6 cylinders and storage yards is at an 
     adequate level to protect human health and the environment.
       The States welcome the opportunity to work closely with the 
     Department of Energy in addressing these complex issues and 
     moving rapidly toward an alternative that will well serve the 
     public and the environment. In addition we urge DOE to 
     carefully consider the more detailed comments being submitted 
     by each of our states environmental regulatory agencies.
           Sincerely,
     Governor Paul E. Patton,
     Governor George V. Voinovich,
     Governor Don Sundquis.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I also have a letter from the Oil, 
Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, which represents 2,200 hourly 
workers at the Paducah and Portsmouth uranium enrichment facilities. 
They have also advocated for the use of those funds to begin the clean 
up of this toxic material. I ask unanimous consent that this letter 
also be printed in the record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

         Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International, Union, 
           AFL-CIO,
                                                     Lakewood, CO,
                                                    July 14, 1998.
     Senator Mitch McConnell,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator McConnell: On June 29, 1998 the Administration 
     announced that it will soon privatize the United States 
     Enrichment Corporation (USEC), which operates the two uranium 
     enrichment plants owned by the Department of Energy in 
     Portsmouth, Ohio and Paducah, Kentucky. Coinciding with this 
     announcement, USEC declared that:
       (1) ``to the extent commercially practicable'' it will 
     eliminate no more than 600 jobs during over the next two 
     years, consistent with an undisclosed USEC ``Strategic 
     Plan'', and
       (2) it will transfer thousands of canisters of its depleted 
     uranium hexaflouride waste to the Department of Energy who 
     will inherit the disposition responsibility for wastes that 
     were created by USEC between July 1, 1993 and the date of 
     privatization. USEC has accrued approximately $400 million on 
     its balance sheet to cover the disposition costs of this 
     waste.
       Approximately $1.2 billion is presently in a revolving fund 
     account in USEC's name at the Treasury Department--a fund 
     which was created pursuant to Section 1308 of the Energy 
     Policy Act of 1992. Of that amount, $400 million represents 
     the funds collected from utility customers for enrichment 
     services to cover the costs for disposition of these wastes. 
     The Administration has advised us that, absent legislation, 
     these funds will be swept out of this revolving fund 
     immediately after privatization.
       To date, Treasury Department officials have been unwilling 
     to secure these funds for the purpose of which they were 
     reserved; to threat the massive quantities of waste left by 
     USEC for the government to clean up. If the funds accrued on 
     USEC's pre-privatization balance sheet were transferred into 
     a dedicated fund at the Department of Energy, these extremely 
     corrosive radioactive wastes would not sit untreated and 
     approximately 240 displaced workers could be re-employed 
     preforming waste treatment activity at Paducah and 
     Portsmouth.
       We understand that you are planning legislation which will 
     secure the $400 million in USEC's account at Treasury for the 
     purpose for which it was reserved: to treat waste 
     generated by USEC. Your legislation will fence these funds 
     until the Administration submits a waste treatment plan to 
     Congress with its FY 2000 budget request. The plan will 
     include the construction of two treatment plants--one in 
     Ohio and one in Kentucky. This approach will reduce the 
     hazards associated with the transport of radioactive 
     wastes.
       In April of this year the Governors from Kentucky, Ohio and 
     Tennessee wrote to Secretary of Energy Federico Pena 
     endorsing the concept of using the funds from USEC's balance 
     sheet for the treatment and disposition of the depleted 
     uranium hexaflouride tails.
       The Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union (OCAW), which 
     represents 2,200 hourly workers at the two gaseous diffusion 
     plants in Paducah and Portsmouth, applauds your efforts to 
     pass legislation which will fence these funds prior to the 
     privatization of USEC.
       As you deliberate this legislation, we urge you to ensure 
     that the Department of Energy will require the cleanup 
     contractor(s) to provide a right of first refusal to 
     displaced workers from the gaseous diffusion plants, and to 
     require the contractor(s) to minimize the social and economic 
     impacts by bridging health and pension benefits. Such an 
     arrangement is consistent with the amendment you proposed to 
     offer as part of the FY 99 Energy and Water Development 
     Appropriations Act.
       We look forward to working with you and other members to 
     ensure swift passage of this legislation in the House and 
     Senate prior to the privatization date.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Richard Miller,
                                                   Policy Analyst.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I have also cleared this bill with 
Chairman Murkowski of the Energy Committee and Senator Domenici, who is 
the chairman of the relevant subcommittee on the Appropriations 
Committee. Neither Senator has any objection to the immediate passage 
of this

[[Page S8253]]

legislation. Finally, I have cleared this proposal with the 
Congressional Budget Office and they have scored this bill as having 
zero budget impact.
  Mr. President, we need to ensure that the people, economies and 
environment of Western Kentucky and Southeastern Ohio are not 
sacrificed to make a quick buck off the sale of the uranium enrichment 
facilities, especially when funding is available. I urge my colleagues 
to approve this legislation and protect taxpayers from paying an 
additional cost for clean up.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of the 
legislation offered by our distinguished friend from Kentucky, Senator 
McConnell, to ensure that the Energy Department has the resources to 
address an important public health issue and is not saddled with a 
massive unfunded mandate in the wake of the privatization of the United 
States Enrichment Corporation (USEC).
  This privatization will entail the purchase of nuclear material from 
the Russians--material which it is clearly in our national security 
interest to have removed from the international market. There is 
currently a fund within USEC which deals with the ``disposition of 
depleted uranium hexafluoride''--and this fund contains an estimated 
$400 million. If no changes are made, this money will go to the U.S. 
Treasury when the Initial Public Offering occurs, possibly as soon as 
next week.
  This fund was created explicitly to handle the disposition of this 
kind of material. But if the law isn't changed, the Department of 
Energy (DOE) would have to find new funding sources in order to treat 
the material--and it may not be able to come up with the money.
  This would be a vary undesirable result. The material under 
discussion is highly toxic--and disposing of it is and should remain an 
important national security priority. That $400 million is needed to 
stabilize this material, and to process it so that parts of it can be 
recycled and other parts can be safely secured.
  This bill would provide that, ``the Secretary of Energy shall 
prepare, and the President shall include in the budget request for 
fiscal 2000, a plan and proposed legislation to ensure that all amounts 
accrued on the books of the United States Enrichment Corporation for 
the disposition of depleted uranium hexafluoride will be used to 
commence construction of, not later than January 31, 2004, and to 
operate, an onsite facility at each of the gaseous diffusion plants at 
Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, to treat and recycle depleted 
uranium hexafluoride.''
  The bill will address this key challenge. And it will also prevent a 
major economic dislocation in two communities--Portsmouth, OH (whose 
USEC plant has 2,400 employees) and Paducah, KY (whose USEC plant has 
2,000 employees). This bill will support new decontamination and 
decommissioning jobs at these plants, which may experience limited job 
loss through the privatization.
  It is an important investment in these two communities--and in a 
sensible toxic-materials disposal policy for America. I thank Senator 
McConnell for his leadership on this legislation, and I am proud to be 
an original cosponsor of this effort.

                          ____________________