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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BUDGET
REQUEST FOR FISCAL YEAR 1988

GRECORD ONLY:

OVERSIGHT HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON

ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON

INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDREDTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BUDGET REQUEST FOR FISCAL
YEAR 1988

HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC

FEBRUARY 5, 1987

Serial No. 100-24

Printed for the use of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs

JONSSO

STANFORD UNIVERSIT

NOV 1988

83-277

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON 1988

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office
U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402

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COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MORRIS K. UDALL, Arizona, Chairman

GEORGE MILLER, California
PHILIP R. SHARP, Indiana
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
AUSTIN J. MURPHY, Pennsylvania
NICK JOE RAHALL II, West Virginia
BRUCE F. VENTO, Minnesota
JERRY HUCKABY, Louisiana
DALE E. KILDEE, Michigan
TONY COELHO, California
BEVERLY B. BYRON, Maryland
RON DE LUGO, Virgin Islands
SAM GEJDENSON, Connecticut
PETER H. KOSTMAYER, Pennsylvania
RICHARD H. LEHMAN, California
BILL RICHARDSON, New Mexico
FOFO I.F. SUNIA, American Samoa
GEORGE (BUDDY) DARDEN, Georgia
PETER J. VISCLOSKY, Indiana
JAIME B. FUSTER, Puerto Rico
MEL LEVINE, California

JAMES MCCLURE CLARKE, North Carolina
WAYNE OWENS, Utah

JOHN LEWIS, Georgia

BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado PETER DEFAZIO, Oregon

DON YOUNG, Alaska,

Ranking Republican Member MANUEL LUJAN, JR., New Mexico

ROBERT J. LAGOMARSINO, California RON MARLENEE, Montana

DICK CHENEY, Wyoming

CHARLES PASHAYAN, JR., California

LARRY CRAIG, Idaho

DENNY SMITH, Oregon

JAMES V. HANSEN, Utah

BILL EMERSON, Missouri

BARBARA F. VUCANOVICH, Nevada

BEN BLAZ, Guam

JOHN J. RHODES III, Arizona

ELTON GALLEGLY, California RICHARD H. BAKER, Louisiana

STANLEY SCOVILLE, Staff Director and Counsel
ROY JONES, Associate Staff Director and Counsel
LEE MCELVAIN, General Counsel
HENRY MYERS, Science Adviser
RICHARD A. AGNEW, Chief Minority Counsel

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

MORRIS K. UDALL, Arizona, Chairman

GEORGE MILLER, California
PHILIP R. SHARP, Indiana
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
AUSTIN J. MURPHY, Pennsylvania
NICK JOE RAHALL II, West Virginia
JERRY HUCKABY, Louisiana
SAM GEJDENSON, Connecticut
GEORGE (BUDDY) DARDEN, Georgia
JAMIE B. FUSTER, Puerto Rico
MEL LEVINE, California

JAMES MCCLURE CLARKE, North Carolina
WAYNE OWENS, Utah

MANUAL LUJAN, JR., New Mexico
DON YOUNG, Alaska

RON MARLENEE, Montana

CHARLES PASHAYAN, JR., California LARRY CRAIG, Idaho

BARBARA F. VUCANOVICH, Nevada
BEN BLAZ, Guam

JOHN J. RHODES III, Arizona
RICHARD H. BAKER, Louisiana

SAM E. FOWLER, Counsel

ELIZABETH MCMILLAN, Clerk

TIMOTHY W. GLIDDEN, Minority Legislative Counsel

NOTE: The first listed minority member is counterpart to the subcommittee chairman.

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BUDGET REQUEST FOR FISCAL YEAR 1988

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1987

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT,

COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS,
Washington, DC.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m., in room 1324, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Morris K. Udall (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. The subcommittee will be in session.

This is the first meeting of the "congregation" this year-undoubtly not the last-but we gather together today to address matters pertinent to the NRC budget request for fiscal year 1988. The Commission has submitted a 1988 budget of almost $428 million, which represents about a 4-percent increase over 1987.

The largest chunk of the request-almost $120 million-is for NRC's research program. I want to look closely at this program to ensure that these research dollars are being well spent. I would especially like to hear the Commissioners' response to the criticism of NRC's current research program outlined in the recent National Research Council study on nuclear safety research. I would also like to discuss the Commission's concern that cuts in the research program may compromise plant safety.

Chairman Zech indicated in his prepared testimony that lack of information from safety research could force shutdowns of operating plants or delay licensing others. I would hope the chairman will be specific as to his concerns and tell us what the problems are and which reactors might be impacted.

In the context of the 1988 budget, I would also like to discuss the concept of user fees in the hope that we might come up with a fair and practical method of imposing and collecting such fees. I note that the Commission has changed its position on how to calculate these fees since last July. At that time the Commission urged Congress to adopt a statutory, uniform fee based on plant capacity. Now I understand the Commission is recommending that it be allowed to set the amount of the fee based upon the amount of resources the Commission expends on each plant. Along these same lines I also want to explore the possibility of recouping at least part of the NRC's waste program expenses from the Nuclear Waste Fund as Commissioner Asselstine proposed last year.

In addition to looking at the budget, I hope we might examine some of the regulatory issues of current concern, including the

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