Recap: Federal officials and communities discuss 2020 outlook at ECA’s annual conference

WASHINGTON, DC — ECA held its annual conference from January 30-31 in Washington, DC, with a focus on upcoming trends and priorities across the nuclear complex for 2020. More than 125 attendees included local government officials, intergovernmental organizations, senior DOE and NNSA leaders, and industry insiders.

The conference began with a panel featuring Mason Baker (UAMPS) and John Kotek (Nuclear Energy Institute) focusing on the development of first small modular reactor in the country by UAMPS and priorities for the nuclear energy industry in 2020. Additionally, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy Dr. Rita Baranwal spoke about the future role of nuclear energy, stating, "Nuclear can and will play a major role in providing the U.S. and the world with clean, reliable energy for decades to come."

Senior Advisor for Environmental Management (EM) Ike White recapped cleanup progress made in 2019 and highlighted key upcoming priorities such as new contract awards and the future of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

A panel featuring top House and Senate appropriations committee staff provided insight into the Fiscal Year 2021 budget process, which is expected to see even more hurdles than usual. The political environment in the second year of a budget deal (when funding is either flat or decreased), combined with the politics of a presidential election, means Congress will likely pass a continuing resolution (CR) until at least after November. The good news, if operating under a CR with FY 2020 funding levels, is that the DOE budget is currently funded at relatively high levels–a record high NNSA budget and increased EM, NE, Legacy Management, and Science budgets.

The president is expected to release the administration's budget request on February 10, which the Congressional staff predict will feature flat or decreased funding for all agencies except the Department of Defense.

Other panels on the first day of ECA's annual meeting featured a discussion about steps local governments can take to help lead to successful DOE missions, and a discussion about recommendations for transitioning to a new site contract. Those panels included ECA members representing Oak Ridge, Hanford, and Los Alamos.

The second day of the meeting included a panel focusing on risk communication between DOE, communities, and contractors; another panel focused on the priorities and challenges for sender and receiver sites in 2020. Finally, ECA's Director of Nuclear Energy Programs Kara Colton facilitated a discussion with Doug Tonkay, Director of the Office of Waste Disposal, regarding recent waste management efforts.

ECA thanks the sponsors of the conference: Longenecker & Associates; BWX Technologies, Inc.; Atkins; Fluor; Jacobs; Bechtel; Veolia; and AECOM.