U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

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99–012 2002

107th Congress, 2d Session – – – – – – – – – – – – House Document 107–255

REQUESTS FOR FY 2002 BUDGET AMENDMENTS

COMMUNICATION

FROM

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

TRANSMITTING

REQUESTS FOR FY 2003 BUDGET AMENDMENTS FOR THE 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

SEPTEMBER 4, 2002.—Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and 

ordered to be printed


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THE WHITE HOUSE, 

Washington, August 2, 2002. 

Hon. J. DENNIS HASTERT, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. SPEAKER: I ask the Congress to consider the enclosed 

requests for FY 2003 Budget amendments for the Department of 

Energy (DOE). Both requests satisfy commitments made in my FY 

2003 Budget. 

The first request supports reform of remediation projects at contaminated DOE sites. Currently, there are unacceptably long cleanup schedules and plans that appear wasteful and do not result in 

adequate protection of the public for decades. This request carries 

out the pledge that my Administration would support additional resources when they would lead to new cleanup agreements that result in efficient and accelerated protection of human health and the 

environment. 

The second request, for readying the Yucca Mountain site as a 

viable nuclear waste repository by 2010, fulfills my assurance that 

my Administration would seek additional funding to begin essential transportation-related activities and a long-term management 

and financing plan for the entire licensing and construction effort. 

My Administration is committed to ensuring the environmentally 

sound and safe disposal of the Nation’s radioactive waste. 

When my FY 2003 Budget was transmitted, we did not know the 

exact level of resources that would be required to support these 

commitments. These requests would increase the budgetary resources proposed in my FY 2003 Budget by $366.1 million. The details of these requests are set forth in the enclosed letter from the 

Director of the Office of Management and Budget. I concur with his 

comments and observations. 

Sincerely, 

GEORGE W. BUSH. 

Enclosure.

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[Estimate No. 19, 107th Cong., 2d Sess.] 

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, 

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, 

Washington, DC, August 1, 2002. 

The PRESIDENT, The White House. 

Submitted for your consideration are requests for FY 2003 budget amendments for the Department of Energy (DOE). These requests would increase the budgetary resources proposed in your FY 

2003 Budget by $366.1 million 

Environmental Management 

An increase of $300.0 million is requested to improve program effectiveness within DOE’s Environmental Management program. 

Your FY 2003 Budget proposed $6.7 billion for the Environmental 

Management program, including $800.0 million for program reforms at cleanup sites. This request would increase the funding 

available for program reforms to a total of $1.1 billion. The amendment would provide additional resources to the Secretary to implement reforms that would supersede less effective plans now in 

place, reforms that were specifically addressed on page 16 of the 

DOE Congressional Budget Justification for the Environmental 

Management program. 

DOE has made significant progress toward implementing these 

reforms and has signed and issued six letters of intent with regulators that provide the basic outline of revised cleanup approaches. 

Pursuant to these letters, the Department is working on detailed 

cleanup plans that will lead to revised cleanup agreements. The requested funds will be made available to each site only after the 

Secretary confirms that the following criteria have been met: • The Department completes a new multi-year, risk-based 

cleanup plan for the site that includes significant reform proposals; • The Department prepares multi-year estimates of required 

funding to implement the revised plan and demonstrates it will 

protect human health and the environment, accelerate completion schedules, and yield significant cost savings over existing 

baselines for the site; and 

• The Department and appropriate regulatory officials enter 

into an agreement committing to implementation of the revised 

cleanup plan and, as necessary, modify current compliance 

agreements. 

A critical factor in the success of this reform initiative is that the 

Secretary be provided the flexibility to allocate funding based on 

resources required to implement each agreement. These agreements take time, and any effort to allocate requested funding by 

site before these agreements are in place would be counterVerDate Sep 04 2002 06:28 Sep 07, 2002 Jkt 099012 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HD255.XXX HD255
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productive. Accordingly, it would be unacceptable for Congress to 

allocate this additional funding by site, thereby blocking the reform 

mission of the additional funds. 

Nuclear Waste Disposal 

Your FY 2003 Budget proposed a total of $527.0 million for 

DOE’s Civilian Radioactive Waste Management program, including $212.0 million for the Nuclear Waste Disposal account. This request would increase the funding available for the Nuclear Waste 

Disposal portion of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management 

program by $66.1 million, for a total of $278.1 million. 

The amendment would support timely completion of DOE’s application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a repository construction license for the Yucca Mountain site, accelerate development of a national system for transporting waste to Yucca 

Mountain, improve the safety of working conditions at the repository site, and support tests and studies that would increase public 

confidence in the project. This request fulfills your assurance, articulated on page 411 of the FY 2003 Budget Appendix, that the 

Administration will seek additional funding to begin essential 

transportation-related activities and provide a long-term management and financial plan for the entire licensing and construction 

effort. 

Without these additional funds, DOE would not be able to submit 

a license application to the NRC in 2004. Timely submittal of the 

application and subsequent NRC approval are crucial to achieving 

the Federal Government’s longstanding goal of beginning waste acceptance at the Yucca Mountain repository in 2010. DOE estimates 

that every year of delay beyond 2010 would cost $500.0 million in 

potential liabilities. 

Recommendation 

Transmission of these requests to the Congress reflect your commitment to provide DOE with the necessary additional resources 

for program reforms and project completion that will accelerate 

cleanup and waste repository development schedules, reduce costs, 

and better protect human health and the environment. 

I have carefully reviewed these proposals and am satisfied that 

they are necessary at this time. Therefore, I join the Secretary of 

Energy in recommending that you transmit the amendments to the 

Congress. 

Sincerely, 

MITCHELL E. DANIELS, Jr., 

Director. 

Enclosures.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER DEFENSE ACTIVITIES

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT CLEANUP REFORM

FY 2003 Budget Appendix Page: 392

FY 2003 Pending Request: $800,000,000

Proposed Amendment: $300,000,000

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Revised Request: $1,100,000,000

This proposal would increase the pending request by $300.0 million for the Environmental Management Cleanup Reform account. 

The change is consistent with the Administration’s commitment to 

propose additional resources above the pending FY 2003 request of 

$800.0 million for this account to implement program reforms at 

additional cleanup sites. 

The Environmental Management program is responsible for 

cleaning up the legacy of waste and contamination from nuclear 

weapons production. Under the program, the Department of Energy (DOE) enters into cleanup agreements with State and Federal 

regulators at sites managed by DOE. The FY 2003 Budget proposed a new reform strategy geared toward the development of alternative cleanup strategies to accelerate risk reduction and cleanup timetables through innovative technologies and processes, and 

reduce total project costs. 

This amendment would increase FY 2003 outlays by $210.0 million. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

ENERGY PROGRAMS

NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL

FY 2003 Budget Appendix Page: 410

FY 2003 Pending Request: $212,045,000

Proposed Amendment: $66,100,000

Revised Request: $278,145,000

This proposal would increase the pending FY 2003 request by 

$66.1 million for the Nuclear Waste Disposal account. The change 

is consistent with the Administration’s commitment to propose additional resources to ensure submittal of a license application to 

the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for construction of a nuclear 

waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in 2004 and readiness for operation in 2010 of the repository and associated national 

waste transportation system. 

The amendment would fund an electronic database required by 

the NRC to compile information on the project; accelerate planning 

for a major rail spur in Nevada; increase public involvement in the 

planning; upgrade equipment in the repository’s underground tunnel to enhance worker safety; and, fund a number of other necessary activities. This amendment would increase FY 2003 outlays by $33.0 million.

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