Energy Communities Allaince ECA Update December 4, 2020

 

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ECA UPDATE Dec 4, 2020

FEATURED LEGISLATION   Final defense bill released Politico | 12/4/2020   Final defense policy legislation unveiled Thursday would spur the renaming of Army bases that honor Confederates and place guardrails on President Donald Trump's plans to pull troops from Germany and Afghanistan.   House and Senate Armed Services leaders from both parties clinched a final deal on the National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday. The $741 billion bill H.R. 6395 (116) is slated for votes in the House and Senate in the coming days, but the measure faces an uncertain fate amid a White House veto threat.   Trump has twice threatened to veto the bill. The first came over the summer over base renaming provisions, and the second came on Tuesday over his insistence that the legislation repeal social media legal protections.   Lawmakers didn't include a repeal of the online shield law, known as Section 230, in the final bill. It's unclear whether Republicans will buck Trump and override a veto; both the House and Senate passed their original bills with veto-proof majorities.   Within the budget topline, the bill authorizes $635.5 billion for the base Pentagon budget and $26.6 billion for nuclear programs under the Energy Department. Another $69 billion goes toward the war-related Overseas Contingency Operations account.   When’s the vote? Aides say they expect the House to go first with a vote Monday or Tuesday and for the Senate to follow.   What's cut: The bill removed a host of energy-related measures the Senate previously included in its version of the bill. Those included bipartisan bills like the USE IT Act, S. 383 (116), which would increase carbon utilization and direct air capture research, and the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act, S. 903 (116), which would fund innovation in the nuclear industry.   No nuke testing: The final bill stripped a provision that was in the Senate version to set aside at least $10 million to prepare for a resumption of live nuclear tests, which the U.S. has not conducted in three decades. But it also left out a House provision that would bar any funds from being used for the purpose.   The whole report should be read and the items not accepted are as interesting as those accepted.   Further reading: Bill text | Joint explanatory statement | HASC summary   Continue reading >> Follow the latest DOE budget updates with ECA's budget tracker Monitor DOE spending bills, detailed site budgets, and more. Find everything you need to know about the DOE budget here! NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT   Conference report includes several important defense environmental cleanup matters ECA Staff | 12/4/2020   The FY 2021 NDAA conference report explains differences between the House and Senate bills, and how those provisions compare to the final language. The full report includes additional policies and authorizations related to nuclear energy and NNSA. The "legislative provisions not adopted" sections are also key, as they explain how Congress prioritizes which items should or should not be included.   Public statement of environmental liabilities for facilities undergoing defense environmental cleanup (sec. 3121) The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 3141) that would require the Secretary of Energy to annually make public a statement of environmental liabilities for each defense nuclear facility currently undergoing environmental cleanup activities. The House bill contained no similar provision. The House recedes. Inclusion of missed milestones in future-years defense environmental cleanup plan (sec. 3122) The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 3142) that would require the future-years defense environmental cleanup plan to include, for each site, details about any missed milestones in cleanup and remediation agreements. The House bill contained no similar provision. The House recedes. Classification of defense environmental cleanup as capital asset projects or operations activities (sec. 3123) The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 3143) that would require the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management (EM) to establish a requirement for the classification of defense EM projects as capital asset projects or operations activities. The provision would also require the Assistant Secretary to submit a report to the congressional defense committees no later than March 1, 2021, on the established requirement along with an assessment of whether any ongoing projects should be reclassified. The House bill contained no similar provision. The House recedes. Extension of limitation relating to reclassification of high-level waste (sec. 3124) The House bill contained a provision (sec. 3113) that would extend by 1 year the prohibition on the reclassification of high-level waste in the state of Washington by the Department of Energy. The Senate amendment contained no similar provision. The Senate recedes. Continued analysis of approaches for supplemental treatment of low-activity waste at Hanford Nuclear Reservation (sec. 3125) The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 3144) that would require the Secretary of Energy to enter into a contract with a federally funded research and development center to conduct a follow-on study of the analysis required by section 3134 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328) on approaches to treating low-activity waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in eastern Washington. The provision would require the Secretary to submit this study, along with a review conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, to the congressional defense committees not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. The House bill contained no similar provision. The House recedes with an amendment that would modify the timeline for the provision and include an additional element for the required analysis. Reporting on penetrations of networks of contractors and subcontractors (sec. 3131) The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 3131) that would update section 2651 of title 50, United States Code, to establish a reporting requirement when covered National Nuclear Security Administration contractor and subcontractor networks are successfully penetrated by unauthorized entities. The House bill contained no similar provision. The House recedes.   Continue reading >> LEGISLATION   Pelosi eyes combining Covid aid with mammoth spending deal Politico | 12/4/2020   House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she wants to attach a coronavirus relief bill to a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package that would avert a government shutdown later this month, raising the prospects of long-stalled stimulus relief finally being signed into law.   The California Democrat said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed with her about combining the annual spending measures with coronavirus relief during their conversation Thursday, the first time in weeks the two leaders have discussed moving a relief bill.   Continue reading >> UPCOMING EVENTS Dec. 16, 2020 New Nuclear Webinar; Virtual Sept. 8-10 National Cleanup Workshop 2021 ECA PUBLICATIONS Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation   Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation. ECA's Key Points on DOE HLW Interpretation ECA's FAQs on DOE HLW Interpretation Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications ECA BULLETIN Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World   Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.    View current and previous editions of the ECA Bulletin at www.energyca.org/bulletin DOE SITE PROFILES  Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles   ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments.    Access your community's profile by visiting: www.energyca.org/site-profiles

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