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1 1 (November 27, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbbtr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: - .......... November 27, 2019 Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund: Status and Funding Issues Decades of uranium enrichment by the federal government resulted in the contamination of buildings and structures, generated substantial volumes of radioactive and other hazardous wastes, and resulted in environmental contamination of the soil, sediments, surface water, and groundwater at federal uranium enrichment facilities. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-486; Title XI) established the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning (UED&D) Fund to support the closure of federal uranium enrichment facilities and the remediation of related waste and contamination. With monies appropriated annually from the UED&D Fund, the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) administers closure and remediation of federal uranium enrichment facilities and reimburses eligible uranium and thorium licensees for cleanup activities. As of FY2019, DOE estimates that remaining liabilities associated with the UED&D Fund range from $40.4 billion to $47.9 billion (see Table 1 for a site breakout). The end-of-year balance of the UED&D Fund was $2.2 billion in FY2018, which presents an issue for Congress about how and whether to provide funding for the remaining liabilities. DOE estimates that remediation and closure at these sites may continue for decades, after which the federal government would be responsible for long-term stewardship of residual contamination and waste containment at these sites. Table I. DOE Estimates of Remaining UED&D Fund Liabilities as of FY20 I 9 Year of Low High Estimated Estimate Estimate Site/Activity Completion ($M) ($M) Oak Ridge, TN 2046 $1,112 $1,485 Paducah, KY 2065-2070 $27,811 $33,905 Portsmouth, OH 2039-2041 $11,506 $12,521 U/Th Reimbursements $131 $131 Total $40,429 $47,911 Source: CRS compiled completion estimates from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), FY2020 Budget Justification, vol. 5: Environmental Management, p. 41. CRS compiled cost estimates from DOE, FY2019 Budget Justification, vol. 5: Environmental Management, p. 84 and pp. 93-99. DOE did not provide cost estimates in the FY2020 budget request. Notes: D&D = Decontamination and Decommissioning. Oak Ridge projects: Nuclear Facility D&D-East Tennessee Technology Park (OR-0040), East Tennessee Technology Park Contract/Post-Closure Liabilities/Administration (OR-0102). Paducah projects: Nuclear Facility D&D (PA-0040), Contract/Post-Closure Liabilities/Administration (PA-0102), and Community and Regulatory Support (PA-0103). Portsmouth projects: Nuclear Facility D&D (PO- 0040), Contract/Post-Closure Liabilities/Administration (PO-0103), Community and Regulatory Support (PO-0104). U/Th = Uranium and Thorium Reimbursements (HQ-UR-0 100). Dollars are presented in millions and may not sum due to rounding. Uranilum Enric-kdhment Facilities The federal government, through DOE's predecessor agencies (e.g., Atomic Energy Commission), enriched uranium in the fissile isotope U-235 for use in both commercial nuclear power fuel and defense activities (e.g., nuclear warhead production and Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program). The federal government constructed three gaseous diffusion facilities to enrich uranium for national defense purposes: the Paducah site in Kentucky, the Portsmouth site in Ohio, and the Oak Ridge site in Tennessee. Once the national defense stockpile of enriched uranium was deemed sufficient for military purposes in the early 1960s, the three plants focused on providing enriched uranium fuel for the growing fleet of commercial nuclear power plants at that time. In 1992, Congress sought to transition the federal government out of the commercial nuclear fuel business. Title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 established the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC) as a federal corporation that would be privatized over time. The act authorized DOE to lease federal enrichment facilities to USEC to continue the production of enriched uranium fuel for electric utilities. These three facilities have since ceased operations at various times: Paducah (2013), Portsmouth (2001), and Oak Ridge (1985). The U.S. government does not have an operational facility to enrich uranium for defense purposes. One operational commercial uranium enrichment facility is located in New Mexico. Cleanup of these DOE facilities is a diverse and complex challenge that generally encompasses four categories of activities: (1) decontamination and decommissioning of buildings and facilities, (2) remediation of environmental contamination, (3) permanent disposal of wastes resulting from past enrichment operations and remedial activities, and (4) long-term surveillance and maintenance of facilities after closure is complete. DOE funds additional projects at these sites from two other accounts: the Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup account and the Defense Environmental Cleanup account. Title X Uraniumn- andW Thorium Congress passed the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA, P.L. 95-604) in the wake of environmental and public health concerns about exposures to radiological and non-radiological material originating from Cold War-era uranium mill tailing sites. Uranium mills process uranium ore to produce uranium gm 100 ILI

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