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Savannah River Site receives $3 billion from 2023 NDAA,
The failed Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site will be repurposed into a plutonium pit production facility. Construction work on the conversion is expected to begin by the end of hte year. (Matthew Christian/Aiken Standard) The Savannah River Site will receive nearly $3 billion from the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act but plutonium pit production is not included. The Senate voted 83-11 Thursday evening to approve a compromise version of the 2023 James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act, sending the bill to President Joe Biden for a signature. The National Defense Authorization Act is one component of how the Department of Defense receives its funding. The act serves to recommend funding levels and establishes policies for spending. It alternately originates in the House or the Senate. This year, it was introduced by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith and referred to his committee. Funding decisions are made in budget bills or continuing resolutions. U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., were among the yes votes. Graham tweeted that the bill authorizes pay increases for the military, upgrades national defense, and eliminates the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. “The amendment to reinstate those discharged with back pay failed, but I will continue the fight and believe over time we will be successful,” Graham said. “Overall, today is a good day for our nation’s men and women in uniform.” Scott said he was proud to have fought for a robust increase to military funding in this year’s NDAA, including a pay raise for our troops for the fourth year in a row. “As the world’s fiercest defender of democracy, we must take seriously our responsibility to modernize in order to compete and win against adversaries around the globe,” Scott said in a news release. “Investing in a strong national defense means American families can sleep easier at night knowing our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to keep us safe.” The House passed the bill by a 350-80 Dec. 8. U.S. Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., also voted to approve. The Savannah River Site receives nearly $3 billion including
But funding for plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site and Los Alamos National Laboratory was not included in the bill. Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman Jack Reed, R-R.I., Ranking Member Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Ranking Member Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said in a joint statement they are concerned the National Nuclear Security Administration will be unable to meet the statutory requirement to produce 80 plutonium pits per year by 2030. Plutonium pits are the part of a nuclear weapon into which a neutron is injected to start an uncontrolled reaction. “While we recognize the progress NNSA has made in maturing and advancing the current two-site solution, and appreciate NNSA’s stated commitment to produce no fewer than 80 war reserve plutonium pits per year as close to 2030 as possible, we remain deeply concerned that these projects are not expected to meet statutory requirements,” Reed, Inhofe, Smith and Rogers said. Admiral Charles Richard, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, said it is known that 80 plutonium pits per year by 2030 won’t happen. Also, the first step toward producing plutonium pits at the Savannah River Site says that production won’t begin before 2036, six years after the deadline to produce 80 plutonium pits per year. Reed, Inhofe, Smith and Rogers asked the NNSA and the Nuclear Weapons Council for information that includes a high confidence level timeframe for the production of plutonium pits. Specifically, they ask Jill Hruby, as administrator of nuclear security, and as chairwoman of the Nuclear Weapons Council, to develop a report with a preferred option and any alternatives for the production of 80 plutonium pits per year including achievable deadlines at 70% and 90% confidence levels. They also ask for preferred options and alternatives to extend the life of the nuclear stockpile until plutonium pit production can begin. Plutonium pits have to be replaced from time to time due to the age and decaying of the plutonium and other factors including new weapons designs and safety and security advancements. The United States has been without a plutonium pit production facility since 1989. From 1953 until 1989, plutonium pits were made at the Rocky Flats Plant near Denver. A combination of environmental mismanagement – the EPA and the FBI raided the facility in 1989 after receiving reports of numerous environmental violations from employees – and the end of the Cold War stopped pit production at that facility. The report is due by March 31, 2023. Hruby is also required to brief the Congressional defense committees by March 1, 2023, on the progress of reaching the next critical decision for plutonium pit production at Savannah River Site and Los Alamos National Laboratory. She is also required to brief the congressional defense committees by June 1, 2023 with opportunities to partner with private industry to mitigate supply chain risks related to the production of plutonium pits including the production and integration of glove boxes. The House passed an earlier version of the National Defense Authorization Act July 14 that did include full funding for the plan to produce 50 pits per year at the Savannah River Site and 30 pits per year at Los Alamos National Laboratory by 2030. An earlier Senate version of the bill limited funding for pit production until a plan and certain reports on pit production are made. Neither the language of the House bill nor the language of the Senate bill made the compromise version. |
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