[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 63 (Thursday, May 16, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E816-E817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




BILL TO INCREASE LIKELIHOOD OF COMPLETING CLEANUP AND CLOSURE OF ROCKY 
                           FLATS SITE BY 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 15, 2002

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I am today introducing a bill 
dealing with the cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats, a Department of 
Energy (DOE) site just 15 miles from downtown Denver, Colorado.
  Rocky Flats once produced vital components of nuclear weapons. But 
now production there has ended, and the site is being cleaned up and 
readied for closure--after which, under legislation enacted last year, 
it will become a National Wildlife Refuge.
  Cleanup at Rocky Flats is proceeding under a plan agreed to by DOE, 
EPA, and the State of Colorado. DOE's goal is to complete cleanup and 
close the site on or before December 15, 2006.
  Closure of Rocky Flats will mean increased greater safety for 
Coloradans. But it will also mean reduced demands for funds for 
security and maintenance of the site as well as for cleanup work. And 
that can make additional funds available to meet the needs of other 
nuclear-weapons sites, including sites in Washington, Texas, Ohio, 
Tennessee, South Carolina, Idaho, New Mexico, and other States.
  As a crucial part of the cleanup, DOE intends to relocate several 
tons of plutonium

[[Page E817]]

and other radioactive materials from Rocky Flats. The previous 
Administration planned to ship the plutonium to the Savannah River 
site, in South Carolina. There, some of it was to be used to create 
mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for commercial nuclear reactors and some was to 
be immobilized for disposal elsewhere.
  This plan was developed to implement an international agreement under 
which both the United States and Russia agreed to reduce stockpiles of 
weapons-grade plutonium, This is an important part of our efforts to 
prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons, which of course is so vital 
an aspect of our foreign and defense policies. It is also important to 
our national security to consolidate this surplus plutonium in one 
location so that it can be effectively guarded and efficiently 
managed--and since Rocky Flats is slated for closure, it does not make 
sense to keep the plutonium there.
  However, the Bush Administration now has adopted a new plutonium-
disposition strategy that does not include immobilization. In turn, 
that has prompted the Governor of South Carolina to raise objections to 
having plutonium shipped to that State. The Governor has gone into 
federal court to prevent that from happening--and as a result, 
shipments of plutonium from Rocky Flats have been delayed.
  Other legislation has been introduced that addresses issues raised in 
that lawsuit, and the bill I am introducing today does not focus on 
them--it focuses only on the cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats.
  That is because while Coloradans may differ about some things, we all 
agree that a prompt and effective cleanup and closure of the Rocky 
Flats site is a matter of highest priority for our state--and we are 
all concerned that the shipments of plutonium, originally scheduled to 
begin last fall, are not yet underway. We are worried that unless those 
shipments begin soon the DOE will be unable to achieve its goal of 
completing the cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats by 2006.
  That is why I was disappointed last week when the House's Republican 
leadership refused to even allow consideration of including in the 
defense authorization bill a simple statement of the importance of a 
timely cleanup. That is why I think it is now essential to act to 
protect Colorado's interests in case DOE does not soon overcome 
obstacles to removal of the Rocky Flats plutonium. And that is the 
purpose of the bill I am introducing today.
  The bill is intended to make it more likely that DOE will have the 
ability and the incentive to meet the 2006 cleanup goal. It provides 
that if shipments of the Rocky Flats plutonium under the current 
disposition plan have not begun by July 1 of this year, DOE will be 
required to examine alternative plans and to report on those 
alternatives within 6 months. And if shipments have not been completed 
by November 1 of next year, as called for in current cleanup plans, DOE 
would be required to compensate Colorado at the rate of $1 million per 
day--up to $100 million per year--until all the Rocky Flats plutonium 
has been removed.
  These deadlines were not selected arbitrarily. It is essential that 
the plutonium now stored at Rocky Flats be removed by the fall of next 
year so DOE can accomplish other essential cleanup work that must be 
done in order to achieve a 2006 closure. If the plutonium stays at 
Rocky Flats too long, DOE runs the risk of missing other cleanup and 
closure milestones and of failing to live up to its commitments to 
Colorado. That is also why there is an immediate need to explore other 
alternative locations to which the plutonium can be sent. DOE did look 
at other alternatives before selecting the South Carolina site, so I 
think a new examination of alternatives would not take very long, but 
it must be done soon for DOE to stay on schedule at Rocky Flats.
  Admittedly, this is strong medicine. But I think strong medicine is 
required in this case, because this is a matter of such great 
importance to the country and particularly to Colorado.
  In drafting this bill, I cannot claim great originality. The 
requirement for a consideration of alternatives is based on legislation 
that Senator Wayne Allard, Colorado's junior Senator has proposed, and 
the idea of a $1 million-per-day incentive is based on legislation 
introduced by our colleague, Representative Lindsey Graham to protect 
the interests of South Carolina. My purpose in shaping this proposal 
was not to be innovative, but to develop legislation that would protect 
Colorado's interests and advance the national interest in reducing our 
stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium.
  Mr. Speaker, I have supported DOE's efforts to achieve an effective 
cleanup of Rocky Flats, closure of the site, and its transformation 
into a National Wildlife Refuge before the end of 2006. I have done so 
because I have considered that to be in the national interest as well 
as the interests of all Coloradans--and of that I am still convinced. 
The bill I am introducing today reflects my continuing determination to 
do all I can to see that DOE will continue to press forward to achieve 
those goals.

                          ____________________