DOE Admission: Foreign Clients Do Not Pay Full Cost of Processing their Nuclear Waste in H-Canyon at SRS
At today’s House Energy & Water Development Subcommittee hearing on the DOE’s budget, Representative Jeff Fortenberry asked of Mark Whitney, Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management, who pays for reprocessing of foreign nuclear waste in the aging H-Canyon reprocessing plant at SRS.
Mr. Whitney initially stated that foreign clients, such as Canada and Germany, pay. Representative Fortenberry pressed and Whitney then admitted that clients don’t pay fixed costs for the H-Canyon and only pay “variable” costs. Fortenberry pushed further as to why foreign clients didn’t pay full costs and Whitney put off the Nebraska Republican and said he’d be glad to talk about the issue later.
When it comes to processing of Canadian liquid high-level waste and commercial German spent fuel now under review for reprocessing and dumping in the SRS waste tanks, we congratulate Mr. Whitney for stating that such clients do not pay all costs for reprocessing. And, it appears that the U.S. is saddled with much of the cost for the foreign nuclear waste dumping that is taking place.
When will more fiscal conservatives like Rep. Fortenberry require foreign clients to pay all costs for waste dumping at SRS, including both the immediate processing and handling costs and long-term waste disposal costs? Thanks to Representative Fortenberry for his line of questioning, which shows he’s monitoring H-Canyon issues.
Link to March 18 hearing hearing webcast
Stay tuned for release of the “draft Environmental Assessment” on the scheme to dump German commercial spent fuel at SRS – coming in April, followed by a 45-day commnet period and public meeting.