A detailed look at the President’s FY 2022 budget request, and what it means for DOE’s sites
Great – Large increases in Cleanup, Defense and Energy
Bad – Cut to community funding at Hanford and Savannah River Site
Photo credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times
President Joe Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget request was unveiled in late May, and additional details about proposed funding for the Department of Energy (DOE) were released over the last week, which show significant requested increases for sites across the nuclear complex. ECA members were perplexed that at the same time the Administration is providing support for schools and emergency response around the country due to the impacts by the pandemic – the Administration actually cut the long-term support for schools and emergency response to the local governments that support key national defense and environmental cleanup missions for thousands of DOE workers (these are DOE’s largest sites).
Overall, the President’s budget recommends a 16% increase for DOE spending, a total of $46.2 billion in FY 2022. According to documents released by the Department, the budget focuses on “advancing clean energy innovation, tackling the climate crisis, ensuring the Nation’s nuclear security and sustaining investment in environmental clean-up.”
Key highlights in the Administration’s budget request include:
Office of Environmental Management (EM): $8 billion, a 5.6% increase above FY 2021 enacted (but zero out the payment to support schools and emergency response (payment in lieu of taxes) for Hanford and Savannah River Site communities)
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA): $19.7 billion, a .05% increase;
Office of Nuclear Energy (NE): $1.9 billion, a 22.7% increase;
Office of Science: $7.4 billion, a 5.9% increase;
Office of Legacy Management (LM): $429 million, a 163% increase
Significant increase for Environmental Management budget
In its record-high EM budget request, DOE plans to “maintain and build upon the momentum generated through recent cleanup successes.”
Within the $6.8 billion Defense Environmental Cleanup budget, the President proposes increases for portions of Hanford, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Savannah River Site, and Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The budget would decrease cleanup funding for Idaho and Oak Ridge.
Millions of dollars of Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding would be eliminated for communities surrounding the Hanford and Savannah River sites in the FY 2022 EM budget request. Last week, ECA sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to request an explanation and ask that the Department support adding back in those funds in the upcoming spending legislation. PILT funds are used to support vital local government functions such as school and hospital districts, roads and other critical infrastructure, and emergency services such as police and fire departments. ECA’s full letter to DOE is available here.
For Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup, the budget requests slight funding increases for Paducah, Portsmouth, and West Valley Demonstration Project.
23% boost for Office of Nuclear Energy
The budget recommends a $343 million increase for NE, which DOE says will “extend the impact of Research, Development, Demonstration & Deployment (RDD&D) funding by leveraging funding mechanisms - such as competitions, technical assistance, and programs targeted to small businesses.” The proposal states, “Nuclear Energy (NE) is a key element of the Administration’s plan to put the United States (U.S.) on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050.”
Included in the all-around increases for NE are $240 million for Reactor Concepts RD&D; $370 million for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program; and $145 million for the Versatile Test Reactor Project.
While the Department did not request any funds for licensing of the Yucca Mountain repository, the NE budget proposes some funds for “critical, foundational planning and development actions required to lay the groundwork for effective, environmentally-just implementation of consent-based siting for interim storage of the nation’s used nuclear fuel.”
NNSA budget remains roughly the same
The FY 2022 budget request for NNSA also remains at a record high, proposing an $11 million increase for a total of $19.7 billion, which includes increases for Weapons Activities, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, and Naval Reactors.
Within the NNSA budget request, the agency notes the expansion of plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site could be delayed. The request explains, “NNSA has determined that achieving the required 50 war reserve ppy production rate at the Savannah River Site in 2030 is not likely…” and that the final stages might not be reached until sometime between 2031 and 2035.
The request would increase Los Alamos Plutonium Modernization (where pits are currently produced) to $1 billion in FY 2022.
Regarding the nuclear workforce, the budget request notes, NNSA will “use partnerships with academic alliances to grow the workforce with early identification and recruitment of top science, technology, engineering, and math talent. NNSA’s recruitment and hiring actions will continue to support the Administration goals of promoting racial and economic equity while promoting science and research and development.” The President requested $35 million for the Minority Serving Institution Partnership and $5 million for the Tribal Education Partnership Program, the same amounts as the FY 2021 levels.
New climate office: ARPA-C
With the Administration’s focus on climate, the DOE budget request includes $200 million to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Climate (ARPA-C) “to identify and promote research with the potential to make revolutionary advances in breakthrough sciences, to translate scientific discoveries and cutting-edge inventions into technological innovations, and to accelerate transformational technological advances in areas that industry by itself will not support because of technical and financial risk and uncertainty.” ARPA-C will also “invest in climate-related innovations necessary to enable adaptation, increase resilience, and achieve net zero non-energy emissions by 2050,” signaling that the new agency may be another avenue for funding of nuclear energy innovations.
Legacy Management
The FY 2022 budget request for Legacy Management also remains at a record high, proposing an $429 million. This is $266 million over the FY 2021 enacted budget, a 163% increase. By the end of FY 2022, LM will be responsible for long-term stewardship at 103 sites. LM’s core focus is on its enduring mission to address the Department’s environmental, legal, regulatory, and community commitments of the Cold War nuclear legacy. Long-term management of closed sites by LM enables other DOE Programs to focus on risk reduction at contaminated sites and their efficient and effective cleanup In the FY 2022 Department of Interior budget request, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park received a $300,000 request.
Office of Science
The FY 2022 budget request for the Office of Science proposes $7.4 billion. This is $414 million over the FY 2021 enacted budget, a 5.9% increase. One of the components handled by the Office of Science is isotope research and production.
During the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop, one of the main discussions will center around what local government officials from host communities and contractors can expect from the FY 2022 budget request and the future enacted budget.
You can register for the Cleanup Workshop here.
What’s next?
Over the next few months, Congress will begin developing the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act and energy appropriations legislation. With the Administration and Capitol Hill still focused on negotiations over major infrastructure legislation, the possibility of a continuing resolution (CR) has arisen, which would hold over the FY 2021 levels of funding for a short period.
Follow ECA’s budget tracker online, which will update as the House and Senate propose and advance their versions of the appropriations bills in the coming months.