Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to have the opportunity to discuss two major segments of the Department's nuclear energy programs--our Remedial Action and Waste Technology program, including efforts on low-level waste, and our Uranium Enrichment activities. Answers to the questions on uranium enrichment posed in your January 22, 1986, letter of invitation have been provided to the Subcommittee. To place this discussion in perspective, the following table shows our * Revenues in excess of outlays of approximately $110 million will accrue to the Treasury in FY 1986. 1,360.6 1,286.4 189.8 OVERVIEW As noted in the above table, our funding request in FY 1987 for Nuclear Energy Supply R&D is $626.8 million in budget authority, as compared to $607.4 million estimated in FY 1986. The FY 1986 figures in this and subsequent tables reflect appropriated totals reduced by sequestrations responsive to Public Law 99-177 (the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Act), management initiatives, and other general reductions. The FY 1987 Uranium Enrichment request reflects both planned partial payback of prior Government investment and offsetting revenues, resulting in a net zero appropriation for that activity. This past year has been one of significant change and hard choices for many of our nuclear energy programs. Primarily, these changes have been prompted by fiscal constraint. We place high priority on ensuring that nuclear energy continues to contribute to a strong, stable, and secure national energy base to meet both civilian and military requirements. Nuclear energy, along with fossil and renewable energy sources, are essential elements to achieving that goal at reasonable cost. The Department's commitment to nuclear energy remains strong; our execution of a reliable, competitive, and businesslike uranium enrichment enterprise is an integral part of our commitment. The Department also remains strongly committed to protecting public health and safety and to assuring a safe and clean environment in connection with its activities. Our remedial action and waste technology efforts are an integral part of that commitment. While the FY 1987 budget request for Nuclear Energy Supply Research and Development programs increases slightly from our FY 1986 estimate, there have been several shifts in emphasis within that budget. Within that essentially level budget, our funding request for nuclear energy research and development (R&D) has decreased by about $46 million dollars, while funding for Remedial Actions and Waste Technology has increased by some $64 million dollars compared to FY 1986. Key factors that influenced the shifts in program priorities and our budget request include: First, the Department is fully committed to support the bipartisan effort to control and reduce the Federal deficit. In this necessary environment of fiscal constraint, we are constantly faced with difficult choices among deserving programs. Although it may appear to some that worthwhile R&D elements have been eliminated or significantly reduced, we believe that each of our programs is sharply focused to make optimum use of limited resources. Second, space and defense nuclear energy needs are increasing, particularly those associated with the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Some of our activities in this area have progressed from the design and screening phase into the more funding-intensive hardware phase. These activities are an essential part of a top national priority. Accordingly, our funding request for these efforts in our nuclear energy R&D programs have increased in FY 1987. Certain benefits derived from the nuclear energy R&D work to support these national security requirements will be applied to future civilian reactor development efforts and some complementary base technology activities will continue. Third, the currently anticipated timing for the commercial introduction of innovative reactor technologies beyond light water reactors has been stretched out. Accordingly, our funding request for civilian advanced reactor development activities has been reduced in FY 1987, consistent with this stretched-out timing and other nearer-term priorities including space and defense activities. Last year, we testified to our conviction that the institutional impediments to the near-term deployment of Light Water Reactors (LWRs) must be overcome before there would be any chance to realize the potential of advanced reactors. This conviction is reflected in the priorities within the funds available for reactor research and development. Our Light Water Reactor R&D program is more sharply focused on safety and related programs, including continued evaluation of the Three Mile Island accident, that would enable implementation of the needed reforms and help lead to the completion and certification of advanced, state-of-the-art LWR designs. Fourth, the Remedial Actions and Waste Technology budget request increases by $64.1 million compared to the FY 1986 estimate. The program objectives can be achieved at this level of funding by extending the authorization period for the Department's Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Program from March 1990 until the end of FY 1993, consistent with the guidance provided in House Report No. 99-195 accompanying the FY 1986 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act (Public Law 99-141). We will formally request such an extension later this year. Emphasis in all remedial action programs will concentrate on cleanup activities at highest priority sites and the continued protection of the public and the environment at all sites. Finally, the Uranium Enrichment budget request reflects several strategic decisions made by the Department during the past year. Chief among these are placing of the Oak Ridge (Tennessee) Gaseous Diffusion Plant in standby, termination of the GCEP project, and selection of the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) process as the advanced uranium enrichment technology for the U.S. in the 21st Century. During FY 1986, the Department will initiate an effort to transfer development and ultimate deployment of the AVLIS technology to the private sector. The FY 1987 budget request reflects these decisions. More detailed discussion of these factors and the scope, status, and budget request for our programs is contained in the sections that follow. REMEDIAL ACTION AND WASTE TECHNOLOGY The objectives of the Remedial Action and Waste Technology Program are to treat or stabilize radioactive wastes and perform decontamination and decommissioning at contaminated DOE and legislatively-directed nongovernment facilities and sites; help facilitate development of a reliable national system for managing low-level radioactive wastes; and develop acceptable technologies for the treatment and immobilization of all types of nuclear wastes. The major Remedial Action and Waste Technology activities are: (1) the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Project (FUSRAP); (2) remedial action at Grand Junction, Colorado (Public Law 92-314 as amended); (3) the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project (UMTRAP) for inactive uranium mill tailing sites (Public Law 95-604); (4) the Surplus Facilities |