FY2005 Budget Update

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

The following budget request summary is from the Energy Communities
Alliance (ECA).
__________________________________________________________________


The Deparment of Energy (DOE) has released the details of the FY 2005
Budget request.  ECA has provided a quick summary of budget highlights
below.  A more detailed breakdown will be available in the upcoming ECA
Bulletin. If you are interested in reading the full text of the budget
please visit:



The DOE website for the text of Secretary Abrahams presentation, DOE
press release and budget materials:

http://www.doe.gov/engine/content.do?PUBLIC_ID=11860&BT_CODE=DOEHOME&TT_CODE=SPOTLIGHTDOCUMENT



The OMB website for budget materials:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/pdf/appendix/doe.pdf





DOE FY 2005 Budget at a Glance



Environmental Management  $7.4 billion



The FY 2005 budget request totals $7.4 billion, an increase of 6 percent
from the comparable

FY 2004 appropriation. This budget request continues the initiatives
undertaken by this Administration to transform and revitalize the
cleanup program.



The budget request will allow the program to continue to protect
workers, public health and safety, and the environment; continue
surveillance, maintenance, and support activities needed to maintain
waste, materials, facilities, and sites in a safe and stable condition;
and protect nuclear materials from unauthorized activities. It will also
keep the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology site in Colorado, the
Fernald site in Ohio, and the Mound site in Ohio on schedule for closure
in 2006; increase the number of shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant, critical to meeting cleanup and closure goals; and continue to
make
progress in completing cleanup projects in accordance with applicable
laws and regulatory agreements.

Consistent with the reforms undertaken by the program, the EM budget
reflects the transition of program activities that are not part of the
core risk reduction and closure mission to other DOE elements. This
includes transfer of the management of spent nuclear fuel in interim
storage at the Idaho National Laboratory and other facilities, the
National Spent Nuclear Fuel program and responsibility to coordinate and
transport domestic and foreign research reactor fuel to the Office of
Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. In addition, the Offsite Source
Recovery Project will transfer to the National Nuclear Security
Administration; responsibility for the oversight and day-to-day
operation of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will transfer to
the Office of Science; and other functions, such as Environmental
Justice, will transfer to the Office of Legacy Management.

Defense Site Acceleration Completion? $6.0 billion

            2006 Accelerated Completions?$1.2 billion

            2012 Accelerated Completions?$2.1 billion

            2035 Accelerated Completions?$1.9 billion

            Safeguards and Security???...$264 million



Defense Environmental Services?$982 million

     Non-Closure Environmental Activities?$187.9 million



Office of Legacy Management  $ 66 million



The Office of Legacy Management did not request funding for Community
Reuse Organizations.  DOE estimates that it has regenerated 30,000 of
the 50,000 lost jobs throughout the complex.



Legacy Management?$ 31.1 million

Worker and Community Transition?$ 2.5 million



National Nuclear Security Administration  $6.6 billion



Nuclear Weapons Incident Response?$99 million "First-responder
programs."  These programs deploy teams of highly specialized scientists
and technical personnel anywhere they are needed to address immediate
threats from weapons of mass destruction. These teams work with the
Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
making available the Department of Energy's nuclear expertise in
response to suspected nuclear emergencies.



International Nuclear and Radiological Cleanout programs?$45 million.
These programs, in conjunction with Russia, the IAEA, and various other
foreign governments, are designed to secure and remove dangerous
materials from vulnerable sites in countries like Egypt, Libya, and
Vietnam.



$265 million to secure nuclear materials at cleanup sites.  $73 million
to support the continued safeguards and security activities at our
scientific laboratories and facilities.



Civilian Radioactive Waste Management  $907 million

The FY 2005 budget request for nuclear waste disposal is $907 million,
$303 million above last year.  The funding allows DOE to shift the
near-term approach in managing radioactive waste by focusing resources
to meet the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) licensing criteria
specifications.



Because substantial resources will be required to complete the
application process and construct the repository, DOE is proposing
legislation in the FY 2005 budget to address these large long-term
funding needs estimated at $1.3 billion per year from the Nuclear Waste
Fund and the Defense Nuclear Waste appropriation from FY 2005 to FY
2010.  The proposal would reclassify the fees received from utilities
for the Nuclear Waste Fund to allow them to offset the request for
repository construction.



Office of Future Liabilities $8 million



New in the FY 2005 budget is the creation of the Office of Future
Liabilities.  This office will be funded by two appropriations, between
the energy supply appropriation at $3 million and the other defense
appropriation at $5 million.  This office will fund and manage
environmental liabilities not assigned to the Office of Environmental
Management or other organizations within the Department.  The mission of
this office is to address the following activities at sites with
continuing missions: the decontamination and decommissioning of
facilities, cleanup of contamination, disposition of excess nuclear and
hazardous materials and management of waste treatment and disposal
facilities.

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