**Statement of James A. Rispoli**

**Assistant Secretary for Environment Management**

**U.S. Department of Energy**

**Before the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces**

**Committee on Armed Services**

**U.S. House of Representatives**

**March 20, 2007**

Good morning, Chairman Tauscher and Members of the Subcommittee. I am
pleased to be here today to address and answer your questions on the
President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget request for the Department of
Energy's Environmental Management (EM) program. I want to thank the
Subcommittee for its support of the EM program.

The EM mission was undertaken to address the safe and successful cleanup
of the Cold War legacy brought about from five decades of nuclear
weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research.
This mission, as I pointed out last year, is both inherently challenging
and innately beneficial to the American people. As this subcommittee
knows the EM program has solved several cleanup challenges, including
Rocky Flats and Fernald, that at one time seemed insurmountable. We are
also making progress on the many other complex challenges that the
program still faces. Since I last appeared before this committee, EM has
been able to achieve notable results by addressing these challenges
through a risk reduction and prioritization strategy and a judicious use
of the resources that Congress entrusts to us. EM is implementing this
prioritized, risk reduction strategy supported by the crucial tenets of
safety, performance, cleanup, and closure.

The President's Fiscal Year 2008 budget request will allow this
prioritized work on these important cleanup and closure projects to
continue across the complex. For the EM program, the President's budget
request for FY 2008 is \$5.4 billion for defense environmental
management activities. We've been able to achieve a decrease of \$26
million from the FY 2007 request by employing a thoughtful balance of
reducing risk and completing cleanup for the EM program. About half of
our budget request will go towards our highest risks activities in
stabilizing tank waste, nuclear materials, and spent nuclear fuel, and
another quarter is going to clean up contaminated soil, groundwater, and
unused facilities. With this request, we are continuing on our strategic
course to address high-priority tank waste treatment and radioactive
waste disposition while preserving our site completion and closure
drive.

With this budget request, the Defense Waste Processing Facility at the
Savannah River Site (SRS), the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Facility
at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and the Toxic Substance Control
Act Incinerator at the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) will continue to
operate. Design and construction will continue at the Waste Treatment
Plant (WTP) at Hanford, the Sodium-Bearing Waste Treatment Plant at INL,
and the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) at SRS. Tank farm
operations will continue at Hanford, INL, and SRS along with spent
nuclear fuel receipt, storage, and cleanup.

For two of these previously mentioned projects, we have encountered some
setbacks. For instance, the SWPF Project is in the process of formally
establishing a cost and schedule baseline in accordance with DOE Order
413.3A that takes into account all impacts encountered over the last
two-year period. These impacts include additional design and analysis to
ensure that the seismic criteria for the project will be met. The
baseline will establish the cost and schedule for the project and
baseline development is anticipated to be completed by mid summer in
support of September 2007 Critical Decision 2 (CD-2) to proceed to final
design. EM will provide the oversight required to ensure that the
baseline schedule is maintained.

For the WTP Project at Hanford, the Department is confident in the new
project cost and schedule baseline. Over the past 18 months, the
Department has retained a broad range of external, senior professionals
from private industry, academia, and other government agencies to
thoroughly review the management issues, technical approach and
remaining challenges, adequacy of the design to meet the seismic
criteria, and the cost and schedule elements of the WTP project. The
results of these reviews, together with implementing the many
recommendations, provide the Department with the assurance that the WTP
can be built and commissioned as designed to treat and immobilize the
high-level waste, and can be executed within the revised cost and
schedule baseline.

At the SRS, this request will support ongoing nuclear material
processing in H-Canyon and design of the plutonium vitrification project
to support ultimate disposition. At Hanford, it supports consolidation
of plutonium and unirradiated category 1 and 2 nuclear fuel to an
off-site location, pending a consolidation decision. Consolidation of
enriched uranium from INL to an off-site location, and design and
long-lead procurement for the U-233 disposition project at the Oak Ridge
Reservation is also supported in this request.

This request enables transuranic (TRU) waste projects to continue with
priority for INL and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) TRU waste.
Other contact and remote-handled TRU shipments to the Waste Isolation
Pilot Plant (WIPP) are also supported. Low-level radioactive waste and
mixed low-level radioactive waste activities will be supported at
Hanford, the Nevada Test Site (NTS), INL, SRS, and ORR.

The request will allow high-priority waste retrieval, soil and
groundwater remediation, and decontamination and decommissioning (D&D)
of excess facilities at Hanford, INL, SRS, ORR, and other sites. In
addition, the request supports targeted technology development and
deployment in support of high-level waste, soil and groundwater, and
facility D&D.

With this budget request, EM will achieve our goals for risk reduction
and cleanup completion at:

-   Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-Site 300, California

-   Pantex Plant, Texas

-   Sandia National Laboratory, New Mexico (calendar year 2008)

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As cleanup work is completed at these sites with continuing missions, EM
will transfer long-term surveillance and monitoring activities to the
NNSA.

The FY 2008 budget request will allow the EM cleanup program to reduce
risk, honor commitments and produce results worthy of the investment of
the American people. We are committed to ensuring strong management of
this complex cleanup work to secure safe and efficient progress that
protects the public, our workers, and the environment. We have shown we
can deliver meaningful results. Your continued support will allow us to
deliver results important for today, as well as for generations to come.

RISK REDUCTION RESULTS

Recently, we celebrated another success at the completion ceremonies for
the Fernald, Ashtabula and Columbus sites. It is the latest
demonstration of our progress following the earlier completion of
cleanup at Rocky Flats in Colorado, the Kansas City Plant in Missouri,
and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-Main Site in California.
All these completions should be recognized as results that have been
borne from partnerships founded on mutual respect and collaboration.

EM has also made other significant progress:

-   Stabilizing and packaging for disposition all plutonium residues,
    metals, and oxides (SRS and Hanford);

-   Producing well over 2,000 cans of vitrified high-level waste from
    radioactive tank liquid wastes;

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-   Retrieving and packaging for disposal over 2,100 metric tons of
    spent nuclear fuel from the K-Basins on the Hanford site to protect
    the Columbia River;

-   Characterizing, certifying, and shipping close to 37,000 cubic
    meters of TRU waste from numerous sites to WIPP for permanent
    disposal;

-   Disposing of more than 965,000 cubic meters of legacy low-level
    waste and mixed low-level waste (contaminated with hazardous
    chemicals); and

-   Eliminating 11 out of the 13 high-risk material access areas through
    material consolidation and cleanup.

In addition, on a site-specific level, we have:

-   Initiated pre-conceptual design of the Plutonium Disposition
    Facility at SRS;

-   Completed disposal at WIPP of all legacy drummed TRU waste from SRS;

-   Completed demolition of the 232-Z facility at Hanford;

-   Completed cleanup at the Melton Valley area; and

-   Completed the first remote-handled TRU waste shipments to the WIPP
    from INL.

SOLVING THE CHALLENGES

One challenge this committee has shown interest in is the Department's
plans for special nuclear material (SNM) consolidation. Currently, the
Department is still in the process of its nuclear material review. An
implementation plan was recently completed and makes recommendations to
the Secretary regarding proposed consolidation and disposition of
plutonium-239. These recommendations address the removal of
plutonium-239 from the Hanford Site, which is the most urgent nuclear
material consolidation issue currently facing the Department.
Recommendations regarding proposed consolidation of other high-risk
materials including highly enriched uranium and plutonium-238 are also
being developed.

Cost savings associated with proposed nuclear material consolidation are
substantial. For example, transferring plutonium currently at Hanford
would avoid the one-time capital expenditure of about \$200 million at
Hanford for security upgrades to comply with the 2005 Design Basis
Threat (DBT) guidance as well as tens of millions of dollars more each
year for security and monitoring if the plutonium continued to be stored
at Hanford. The FY 2008 budget request supports consolidation of
plutonium-239.

This is one of many instances where EM is focusing its cleanup efforts
on the reduction of high-risk issues to most efficiently invest the
Department's FY 2008 funding request. We intend to overcome these
challenges in collaboration with our partners, dealing openly with any
impacts to previously predicted cost, schedule and performance. I want
to assure you that we will meet these challenges with the energy and
dedication that have demonstrated our steadfastness to our mission and
our commitment to the public.

First and foremost, safety is our top priority. We will continue to
maintain and demand the highest safety performance. We have taken
measures to fully integrate safety into our project designs at an
earlier stage while assuring our line project teams have the necessary
experience, expertise, and training. Safety will remain a cornerstone in
the execution of our mission objectives.

We are actively engaged, both within the Department and externally with
our regulators and stakeholders, in identifying issues that impact our
mission objectives. We have been challenged by lower than expected
performance levels, increased scope, and unrealized planning
assumptions. As we identify issues that could affect future performance
and regulatory commitments, we are taking significant steps to improve
our operations in planning and executing our work. We are applying
lessons learned to help prevent future occurrences that will impact our
planning and commitments.

One of my goals as Assistant Secretary is that at least 90 percent of
our "projectized" portfolio will meet or exceed our cost and schedule
targets. We have begun the process of integrating our management tools
into our business processes. Over the past year, I have personally
conducted Quarterly Performance Reviews of all EM projects with our
leadership team. I report to you that we have showed progress, but we
have yet to realize the full potential of implementing our management
systems and better applying risk management principles---that is,
identifying project uncertainties and developing mitigation measures.
Some of our projects have fallen short of expected performance, but we
are engaging our field management contractors with state-of-the-practice
project management methods.

Over the last year, it has become apparent that we have not yet attained
our full potential in our procurements, and in our execution of
projects. We have instituted measures to strengthen our emphasis on
program execution. This multi-year objective already is producing
results that should provide more effective management in the future.
This initiative is being coupled with additional training for federal
managers and staff to enhance project management and acquisition skills.
This integrated approach will deliver dividends for our managers in the
long term.

We are improving our ability to ensure that proper procurement vehicles
are available to meet our acquisition strategies. We are taking a new
look at contract types and fee structures within our contracts. EM must
acquire the best services including those of small business, to meet our
business objectives and to become a top-performing organization.

I have asked my senior leadership at Headquarters and in the field to
take immediate actions to ensure that everyday operating processes
reflect lessons learned. Lastly, in conjunction with the National
Academy of Public Administration, EM has undertaken a review of our
organization and its associated functions and authorities. To date, the
process has identified areas for improvement, along with some
refinements of our organizational alignment. During the next few months,
EM will be implementing the resulting recommendations to ensure we have
an organizational structure that will enhance our ability to respond to
the needs of the mission.

THE FY 2008 BUDGET REQUEST

The Department's FY 2008 budget request for defense EM activities totals
\$5,364 million. The FY 2008 budget request reflects safety as its
utmost priority. EM is committed to our safety principles and to
maintaining the highest safety performance to protect the workers, the
public and the environment.

The budget request reflects prioritizing program work to balance the
goals of risk reduction; completing ongoing work to achieve completion
at sites; and meeting our environmental commitments. For FY 2008, EM's
funding priorities are listed in order of risk, to best address our
cleanup challenges:

-   Requisite safety, security, and services across EM cleanup sites;

-   Radioactive tank waste storage, treatment, and disposal;

-   Spent nuclear fuel storage, receipt, and remediation;

-   Other transuranic, low-level, and mixed low-level wastes treatment,
    storage, and disposal;

-   Special nuclear materials storage, processing, and disposition;

-   Soil and groundwater remediation; and

-   D&D of contaminated facilities.

Examples of milestones and planned activities for FY 2008 by
site-specific categories are:

[Hanford]{.underline}

Richland

-   *Consolidate, package, and remove spent nuclear fuel and other
    radioactively-contaminated materials within the K Basins (K-East and
    K-West).*

> The K Basins project is a high priority, risk reduction activity due
> to its close proximity to the Columbia River. The goal of this project
> is removal of all spent nuclear fuel, radioactive sludge, contaminated
> K Basin water, and radioactive debris from the K Basins. The endpoint
> of the K Basins cleanup will mean the removal of more than 55 million
> curies of radioactivity that pose a threat of leakage to the
> surrounding environment, including the Columbia River.

-   *Amplify River Corridor remediation activities for Reactor Areas D,
    F, and H.*

> The River Corridor Closure Project will complete remediation of
> contaminated waste sites; the D&D and demolition of facilities that
> are adjacent to the Columbia River; and placement of eight reactors
> into an interim safe storage condition. The work performed within the
> River Corridor Closure Project includes digging up contaminated soil,
> constructing interim safe storage (cocooning) of the reactors,
> demolishing facilities in the old reactor complexes and facilities in
> the 300 Area, disposing of waste in the Environmental Restoration
> Disposal Facility, and constructing surface barriers or caps over
> contaminated sites.

-   *Continue retrieval of contact-handled suspect transuranic waste and
    scheduled shipments to WIPP.*

> The Hanford Site contains thousands of containers of suspect
> transuranic waste, low-level, and mixed low-level wastes. The end
> point of this project will include the retrieval of contact-handled
> suspect transuranic waste in the low-level burial grounds, the
> treatment of mixed low-level waste, the disposal of low-level waste,
> and certification and shipment of transuranic waste to WIPP.

-   *Continues groundwater/vadose zone remediation activities.*

> Due to forty years of weapon production processes, Hanford's
> groundwater has been contaminated with carbon tetrachloride, chromium,
> technetium-99, strontium, and uranium plumes. EM is dedicated to
> preventing the potential for contaminates reaching the groundwater by:
> decommissioning an additional 100 unused groundwater wells; monitoring
> 700-plus wells for contaminants of concern above drinking water
> standards; and, commencing design of final remediation actions to
> address carbon tetrachloride and technetium plumes.

Office of River Protection

-   *Sustain tank farm closure processes and maintain the tanks in a
    safe and compliant condition.*

> The radioactive waste stored in Hanford tank farms has been
> accumulating since 1944. Due to the age of the tanks, a number have
> leaked in the past into surrounding soil and groundwater. In order to
> reduce the risk of future tank leaks into the environment, the overall
> objectives of this project include the stabilization of radioactive
> waste stored underground in tanks, including retrieval, treatment,
> disposal, and closure of the facilities.

-   *Progress on path forward for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization
    Plant.*

> The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) is critical to the
> completion of the Hanford tank waste program by providing the primary
> facility to immobilize (vitrify) the radioactive tank waste at the
> Hanford Site. The WTP complex includes five facilities: the
> Pretreatment Facility, the High-Level Waste Facility, the Low-Activity
> Waste Facility, the Balance of Facilities, and the Analytical
> Laboratory. In FY 2008, the WTP project team plans to complete:
> close-in of the Annex building in the Low-Activity Waste Facility;
> installation of roofing and completion of the building shell for the
> Analytical Laboratory; construction of the water treatment building in
> the Balance of Facilities; and renewal of construction for the
> High-Level Waste Facility and the Pretreatment Facility.

[Idaho]{.underline}

-   *Transfer spent nuclear fuel from wet to secure dry storage.*

> Promote the safe and secure receipt, dry storage, and packaging and
> future transfer of the spent nuclear fuel to a Federal geologic
> repository.

-   *Continue shipments of transuranic waste to the WIPP.*

> Maintain program activities that support waste characterization,
> packaging, and transportation of remote-handled transuranic waste to
> WIPP that lead to reduced surveillance and operation costs.

-   *Pursue ongoing sodium-bearing waste treatment facility
    construction, including efforts to gain necessary regulatory
    approvals for sodium bearing waste treatment and disposal.*

> The overall objective of this project is treatment and disposal of the
> sodium-bearing tank wastes, closure of the tank farm tanks, and
> performance of initial tank soils remediation work. Construction and
> operation of the sodium-bearing waste facility will reduce potential
> risk to human health and the environment by preventing the potential
> migration of contamination into the Snake River Plain Aquifer, which
> is a sole-source aquifer for the people of Southeastern Idaho.

[LANL]{.underline}

-   *Characterize, certify, and ship above-grade transuranic waste
    inventory.*

> The Solid Waste Stabilization and Disposition Project includes the
> treatment, storage, and disposal of legacy transuranic and mixed
> low-level waste generated between 1970 and 1999 at LANL. Final
> disposal of the legacy transuranic waste from LANL will reduce risk to
> workers, as well as reduce security costs associated with transuranic
> waste.

-   *Promote soil and water remediation and monitoring.*

> The LANL Soil and Water Remediation Project's objective is to
> identify, investigate and remediate, when necessary, areas with
> chemical or radiological contamination attributable to past Laboratory
> operations.
>
> In FY 2008, in order to fulfill the objective of protecting and
> monitoring the regional aquifer, as well as long-term surveillance and
> monitoring to provide necessary safeguards and protection for surface
> and ground waters, the following activities are planned:

-   Perform groundwater monitoring at all major watersheds: LA/Pueblo;
    Mortandad; Canon de Valle; Sandia; and in close proximity to the
    major waste sites;

-   Conduct stormwater sampling and implement erosion control measures;

-   Install and monitor four wells in Pajarito and Bayo canyons; and

-   Complete construction of 260 Outfall Corrective Measures for
    alluvial and surface water treatment system.

[Oak Ridge]{.underline}

-   *Continue design of U-233 down-blending project and begin Building
    3019 modifications*

> Down-blending the Building 3019 inventory for disposition is in
> accordance with the national non-proliferation goals by making the
> U-233 material unsuitable for use in weapons and reducing security
> costs at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

-   *Ship contact-handled transuranic waste to WIPP.*

> Process 250 cubic meters of contact-handled transuranic debris and 170
> cubic meters of remote-handled transuranic debris with shipments to
> the WIPP; and continue to dispose of low-level/mixed low-level waste
> at the NTS.

-   *Complete the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment fuel salt removal
    remediation project.*

> Upon completion of active remediation, surveillance and maintenance
> activities of the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment facility will be
> provided until decontamination and decommissioning of the site has
> occurred.

[Savannah River Site]{.underline}

-   *Consolidate on-site Plutonium to K Area.*

> In order to meet the Department's Design Basis Threat criteria,
> plutonium at SRS is being consolidated into one Category 1 Special
> Nuclear Materials Storage Facility. The receipt, storage, and
> disposition of these special nuclear materials at the SRS allows for
> de-inventory and shutdown of other DOE complex sites, while providing
> substantial risk reduction and significant mortgage reduction savings
> to the Department.

-   *Ship all legacy transuranic waste to WIPP and treat low-level waste
    and mixed low-level waste.*

> In FY 2008, SRS plans to dispose of transuranic waste previously
> characterized as mixed low-level waste; dispose of low-level waste and
> newly generated waste, including soil, groundwater and decontamination
> and decommissioning wastes; dispose of mixed low-level waste inventory
> and newly generated waste; and dispose of hazardous waste inventories,
> thus reducing potential exposure to project workers.
>
> The end-state for this project is the shipment of all legacy
> transuranic waste to the WIPP, the treatment of PUREX waste, and the
> elimination of all legacy inventories and disposition of newly
> generated low-level waste, mixed low-level waste, and hazardous waste.

-   *Continue groundwater corrective actions across the Site.*

> SRS is working to prevent the spread of contamination into adjoining
> groundwater aquifers and nearby surface waters. Existing contamination
> in vadose zones, groundwater and surface water sediments are currently
> being cleaned up, thereby reducing the risk to site workers, the
> public and the environment.

-   *Treat, stabilize, and dispose legacy radioactive waste stored in
    underground storage tanks.*

> The continuation of the design and construction of the Salt Waste
> Processing Facility will aid the Defense Waste Processing Facility in
> the process of safely disposing of the liquid tank wastes. The Salt
> Waste Processing Facility will separate the high-activity fraction
> from the low-activity fraction of the salt waste stored in the
> underground tanks at the SRS. The completion of the Salt Waste
> Processing Facility will support the mission of SRS in meeting its
> Federal Facilities Agreement commitments for waste tank disposition.

[WIPP]{.underline}

-   *Operate the WIPP in a safe manner to support disposal capabilities
    for transuranic waste.*

> The WIPP in Carlsbad, New Mexico, is the nation's only mined geologic
> repository for the permanent disposal of defense-generated transuranic
> waste. All of the defense-generated transuranic waste from eligible
> generator sites must come to WIPP for receipt, handling, and disposal.

CONCLUSION

The FY 2008 budget request enables risk reduction to continue.
Challenges lie ahead but we are focused on our objectives and our
strategy. Safety, performance, cleanup, and closure underpin our actions
and initiatives. We are committed to work with all interested parties to
resolve issues. We look forward to continuing to work with this
subcommittee and the Congress to address your concerns and interests.
Our success relies on our effective partnerships with our regulators,
the communities, and our contractors to produce progress in
accomplishing meaningful results for the American public.

I look forward to a continuing dialog with you and the subcommittee.
This concludes my formal statement for the record. I will be pleased to
answer any questions at this time.