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“BILL TO INCREASE LIKELIHOOD OF COMPLETING CLEANUP AND CLOSURE OF ROCKY FLATS SITE BY 2006” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E816-E817 on May 16, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
BILL TO INCREASE LIKELIHOOD OF COMPLETING CLEANUP AND CLOSURE OF ROCKY
FLATS SITE BY 2006
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HON. MARK UDALL
of colorado
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, May 15, 2002
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I am today introducing a bill dealing with the cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats, a Department of Energy (DOE) site just 15 miles from downtown Denver, Colorado.
Rocky Flats once produced vital components of nuclear weapons. But now production there has ended, and the site is being cleaned up and readied for closure--after which, under legislation enacted last year, it will become a National Wildlife Refuge.
Cleanup at Rocky Flats is proceeding under a plan agreed to by DOE, EPA, and the State of Colorado. DOE's goal is to complete cleanup and close the site on or before December 15, 2006.
Closure of Rocky Flats will mean increased greater safety for Coloradans. But it will also mean reduced demands for funds for security and maintenance of the site as well as for cleanup work. And that can make additional funds available to meet the needs of other nuclear-weapons sites, including sites in Washington, Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina, Idaho, New Mexico, and other States.
As a crucial part of the cleanup, DOE intends to relocate several tons of plutonium and other radioactive materials from Rocky Flats. The previous Administration planned to ship the plutonium to the Savannah River site, in South Carolina. There, some of it was to be used to create mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for commercial nuclear reactors and some was to be immobilized for disposal elsewhere.
This plan was developed to implement an international agreement under which both the United States and Russia agreed to reduce stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium, This is an important part of our efforts to prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons, which of course is so vital an aspect of our foreign and defense policies. It is also important to our national security to consolidate this surplus plutonium in one location so that it can be effectively guarded and efficiently managed--and since Rocky Flats is slated for closure, it does not make sense to keep the plutonium there.
However, the Bush Administration now has adopted a new plutonium-
disposition strategy that does not include immobilization. In turn, that has prompted the Governor of South Carolina to raise objections to having plutonium shipped to that State. The Governor has gone into federal court to prevent that from happening--and as a result, shipments of plutonium from Rocky Flats have been delayed.
Other legislation has been introduced that addresses issues raised in that lawsuit, and the bill I am introducing today does not focus on them--it focuses only on the cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats.
That is because while Coloradans may differ about some things, we all agree that a prompt and effective cleanup and closure of the Rocky Flats site is a matter of highest priority for our state--and we are all concerned that the shipments of plutonium, originally scheduled to begin last fall, are not yet underway. We are worried that unless those shipments begin soon the DOE will be unable to achieve its goal of completing the cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats by 2006.
That is why I was disappointed last week when the House's Republican leadership refused to even allow consideration of including in the defense authorization bill a simple statement of the importance of a timely cleanup. That is why I think it is now essential to act to protect Colorado's interests in case DOE does not soon overcome obstacles to removal of the Rocky Flats plutonium. And that is the purpose of the bill I am introducing today.
The bill is intended to make it more likely that DOE will have the ability and the incentive to meet the 2006 cleanup goal. It provides that if shipments of the Rocky Flats plutonium under the current disposition plan have not begun by July 1 of this year, DOE will be required to examine alternative plans and to report on those alternatives within 6 months. And if shipments have not been completed by November 1 of next year, as called for in current cleanup plans, DOE would be required to compensate Colorado at the rate of $1 million per day--up to $100 million per year--until all the Rocky Flats plutonium has been removed.
These deadlines were not selected arbitrarily. It is essential that the plutonium now stored at Rocky Flats be removed by the fall of next year so DOE can accomplish other essential cleanup work that must be done in order to achieve a 2006 closure. If the plutonium stays at Rocky Flats too long, DOE runs the risk of missing other cleanup and closure milestones and of failing to live up to its commitments to Colorado. That is also why there is an immediate need to explore other alternative locations to which the plutonium can be sent. DOE did look at other alternatives before selecting the South Carolina site, so I think a new examination of alternatives would not take very long, but it must be done soon for DOE to stay on schedule at Rocky Flats.
Admittedly, this is strong medicine. But I think strong medicine is required in this case, because this is a matter of such great importance to the country and particularly to Colorado.
In drafting this bill, I cannot claim great originality. The requirement for a consideration of alternatives is based on legislation that Senator Wayne Allard, Colorado's junior Senator has proposed, and the idea of a $1 million-per-day incentive is based on legislation introduced by our colleague, Representative Lindsey Graham to protect the interests of South Carolina. My purpose in shaping this proposal was not to be innovative, but to develop legislation that would protect Colorado's interests and advance the national interest in reducing our stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium.
Mr. Speaker, I have supported DOE's efforts to achieve an effective cleanup of Rocky Flats, closure of the site, and its transformation into a National Wildlife Refuge before the end of 2006. I have done so because I have considered that to be in the national interest as well as the interests of all Coloradans--and of that I am still convinced. The bill I am introducing today reflects my continuing determination to do all I can to see that DOE will continue to press forward to achieve those goals.
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