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[House Document 107-255]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

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
                                           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.
                [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 counterproductive. 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
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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