About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (April 16, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govcqzy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: &~ ~ riE SE .$rCh &~ ~ ~ April 16, 2020 Uranium Reserve Program Proposal: Policy Implications DOE Bu e ', sw The President's FY2021 budget request for the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Nuclear Energy includes $150 million for the purchase and development of a Uranium Reserve (UR) program. For the UR program, DOE would purchase uranium from domestic uranium producers to develop a stockpile of uranium that would be available for nuclear power operators in the event of a civilian nuclear fuel market disruption. According to DOE, the UR program would also support U.S. strategic fuel cycle capabilities for defense purposes. The UR program refers to DOE's proposal to procure uranium and not the development of a physical facility to store uranium. DOE's proposal to purchase domestic uranium for a UR program would be a new initiative included in the FY2021 budget request. This In Focus describes the background and current context for the proposal, as well as uranium requirements for commercial power production and defense-related applications, and analyzes the policy implications of appropriating funds for the establishment of the UR program. During the 1950s and 1960s, the United States procured uranium by funding domestic uranium mining and milling operations and purchasing foreign-produced uranium concentrate largely in support of the production of U.S. nuclear weapons and other defense applications. Over time, U.S. uranium needs changed from weapons production to commercial nuclear power production, supplied almost exclusively by domestically produced uranium during the 1970s. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. nuclear utilities and reactor operators have purchased increasingly more foreign-origin uranium for reactor fuel than domestically produced uranium since the late 1980s. In 1987, about half of uranium used in domestic nuclear reactors was foreign origin. By 2018, 93% of uranium used in U.S. nuclear reactors was foreign origin. On January 16, 2018, two U.S. domestic uranium mining companies petitioned the U.S. Department of Commerce to investigate whether uranium imports from foreign state- owned enterprises such as those in Russia, China, and Kazakhstan pose a threat to national security. The companies were asking Commerce to investigate foreign uranium imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. § 1862), which provides the President with the ability to impose restrictions on certain imports. Those decisions are subject to an affirmative determination by Commerce that the product under investigation is being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security. The domestic uranium companies' petition called on the President to enact a quota, pursuant to Section 232, on uranium imports such that 25% of the average historical consumption will be reserved for newly produced U.S. uranium. On July 18, 2018, Commerce began a Section 232 investigation into uranium imports. In May 2019, Commerce submitted a report to the President finding that uranium imports posed a threat to national security and recommended the President take action under Section 232. According to a presidential memorandum released by the Trump Administration on July 12, 2019, the President did not concur with Commerce findings. Nonetheless, the Trump Administration expressed significant concerns regarding national security and responded by establishing a Nuclear Fuel Working Group (NFWG), which included representatives from various executive branch agencies. The working group was tasked with examining domestic nuclear fuel production and options to revive the entire nuclear fuel supply chain. The NFWG was to provide a report to the President within 90 days of the memorandum. To date, neither Commerce's report to the President based on its Section 232 investigation nor the recommendations of the NFWG to the President have been made public. The front end of the nuclear fuel cycle includes multiple stages of processing uranium materials before it is capable of producing electricity in a commercial nuclear power reactor. These stages include uranium mining and milling, uranium conversion, uranium enrichment, and nuclear fuel fabrication. At each stage, uranium is processed chemically or isotopically into different products. Generally, each of those uranium products or services may be bought, sold, traded, or stockpiled throughout a global uranium market involving a host of international organizations. The global uranium market operates with multiple industries exchanging uranium products and services through separate, non-direct, and interrelated markets. Nuclear utilities and reactor operators generally diversify fuel sources and may acquire and stockpile uranium from multiple domestic and foreign suppliers and servicers. These transactions may involve multiple federal agencies and international agreements. For calendar year 2019, EIA reported production of 173,875 pounds of domestic uranium concentrate (U308), the lowest annual production amount since before 1949. As of the fourth quarter of 2019, EIA reported three domestic in-situ recovery (ISR) plants operating and three domestic conventional uranium mills on standby. Uranium ~dN p\w -- , gmmw' goo mppm qq\ a , q 'S I 11LULANJILiN,

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most