The programs that appear to suffer are associated with H-Canyon which may not be able to process any new material due to the projected budget decrease. The immediate impact from these proposed funding decreases are not fully known at a local level, except we do know that important missions and programs will not be able to function as planned. Not only could the program missions suffer but we could face potential job reductions if the funding cuts are significant. However, the budget does appear adequate for SRS to continue to securely store plutonium in K-Area and spent nuclear fuel in L-Area in FY 2016.

All of the missions and programs at SRS are important. While it is great to be moving ahead with liquid waste cleanup and the continuation of tank closure as the 2016 budget proposes, we still, at the same time, need to keep H-Canyon fully operational to process nuclear materials and optimize funding for MOX. A next step is to continue the education process with our Congressional delegation on the importance of all of SRS missions and see if additional funding can be found. With the current tight budget constraints, this is a challenging proposition.

If you want to learn more, mark your calendar to attend a budget forum at Aiken Technical College Amphitheater on the afternoon of March 30 to hear top Department of Energy officials from Savannah River Site (SRS) provide an overview of DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) program and site missions. The SRSCRO will be hosting this event again this year - look for additional information in local newspapers soon.

As promised in last's month newsletter, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff completed the Yucca Mountain review. On January 29, 2015, Volumes 2 (Repository Safety Before Permanent Closure - NUREG-1949, Volume 2) and 5 (License Specifications - NUREG-1949, Volume 5) where published. This completes the NRC staff review. After 25 years, NRC staff has independently concluded that "staff finds, with reasonable assurance, that DOE has demonstrated compliance with the NRC regulatory requirements for preclosure safety." The staff has also stated that license conditions are necessary because "DOE has not met regarding ownership and control of certain land and water rights. Should the applicant provide additional information, the NRC staff may remove or revise a condition identified in the NRC staff's SER, or could add one or more conditions, based on its review of the information."

So all in all, this is a clean bill of health for scientific safety and regulatory requirements. The next licensing step requires some Congressional appropriations to NRC (and some to DOE) to adjudicate the State of Nevada contentions before the Licensing Board, which will be close to a two year process. Then a final Commission decision after that and then a national decision to go forward or not.

Here is what U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said about the NRC completion of the technical documents:

"The American people have spent 30 years and $15 billion to determine whether Yucca Mountain would be a safe repository for our nation's civilian and defense-related nuclear waste. Four years ago, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's review was illegally shutdown. Today, with the public release of the last remaining volumes of the Safety Evaluation Report, Americans will finally know the complete technical conclusion about the safety of Yucca Mountain. Congress must now provide funding for the licensing process to continue, and transfer control over the land and water rights to the Department of Energy (DOE) to officially make Yucca Mountain a place to safely contain our nation's nuclear waste. I will work with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that America has a safe, permanent resting place for nuclear waste."