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115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-697
======================================================================
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2019
_______
May 21, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Simpson, from the Committee on Appropriations,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 5895]
The Committee on Appropriations submits the following
report in explanation of the accompanying bill making
appropriations for energy and water development for the fiscal
year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.
INDEX TO BILL AND REPORT
Page Number
Bill Report
Introduction...............................................
5
I. Department of Defense--Civil: 2
10
Corps of Engineers--Civil.......................... 2
10
Investigations............................. 2
18
Construction............................... 3
23
Mississippi River and Tributaries.......... 4
31
Operation and Maintenance.................. 5
34
Regulatory Program......................... 6
58
Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action
Program................................ 7
59
Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies...... 7
59
Expenses................................... 7
60
Office of the Assistant Secretary of the
Army (Civil Works)..................... 8
61
General Provisions................................. 9
61
II. Department of the Interior: 13
62
Central Utah Project............................... 13
62
Central Utah Project Completion Account.... 13
62
Bureau of Reclamation: 14
62
Water and Related Resources................ 14
64
Central Valley Project Restoration Fund.... 15
75
California Bay-Delta Restoration........... 16
76
Policy and Administration.................. 16
76
General Provisions................................. 17
77
III. Department of Energy: 21
77
Introduction.......................................
77
Committee Recommendations..........................
82
Energy Programs: 21
82
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy..... 21
82
Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and
Emergency Response..................... 21
88
Electricity Delivery....................... 21
89
Nuclear Energy............................. 22
91
Fossil Energy Research and Development..... 23
93
Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves..... 24
96
Strategic Petroleum Reserve................ 24
96
SPR Petroleum Account...................... 25
97
Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve......... 25
97
Energy Information Administration.......... 25
97
Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup.......... 25
98
Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and
Decommissioning Fund................... 26
98
Science.................................... 26
98
Nuclear Waste Disposal..................... 27
102
Advanced Research Projects Agency--Energy.. 29
103
Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan
Guarantee Program...................... 30
103
Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing
Loan Program........................... 31
104
Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program....... 31
104
Departmental Administration................ 31
104
Office of the Inspector General............ 32
106
Atomic Energy Defense Activities: 32
106
National Nuclear Security Administration: 32
106
Weapons Activities......................... 32
107
Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation........... 33
113
Naval Reactors............................. 33
115
Federal Salaries and Expenses.............. 34
116
Environmental and Other Defense Activities......... 34
116
Defense Environmental Cleanup.............. 34
116
Other Defense Activities................... 35
119
Defense Nuclear Waste Disposal............. 35
119
Power Marketing Administrations: 36
119
Bonneville Power Administration............ 36
120
Southeastern Power Administration.......... 36
121
Southwestern Power Administration.......... 36
121
Western Area Power Administration.......... 39
121
Falcon and Amistad Operating and
Maintenance Fund....................... 40
122
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission............... 42
122
Committee Recommendation...........................
123
General Provisions................................. 43
158
IV. Independent Agencies: 51
159
Appalachian Regional Commission.................... 51
159
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board............ 52
159
Delta Regional Authority........................... 52
160
Denali Commission.................................. 52
160
Northern Border Regional Commission................ 53
160
Southeast Crescent Regional Commission............. 54
161
Nuclear Regulatory Commission...................... 55
161
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board............... 56
164
General Provisions................................. 56
164
V. General Provisions 58
165
House of Representatives Report Requirements...............
165
Minority Views.............................................
195
SUMMARY OF ESTIMATES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee has considered budget estimates, which are
contained in the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal
Year 2019. The following table summarizes appropriations for
fiscal year 2018, the budget estimates, and amounts recommended
in the bill for fiscal year 2019.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
INTRODUCTION
The Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill for
fiscal year 2019 totals $44,700,000,000, $1,500,000,000 above
the amount appropriated in fiscal year 2018 and $8,173,568,000
above the budget request. Total defense funding is
$22,300,000,000, $500,000,000 above the amount appropriated in
fiscal year 2018 and $408,100,000 above the budget request.
Total non-defense funding is $22,400,000,000, $1,000,000,000
above the amount appropriated in fiscal year 2018 and
$7,765,468,000 above the budget request.
Title I of the bill provides $7,278,000,000 for the Civil
Works programs of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
$451,000,000 above fiscal year 2018 and $2,493,417,000 above
the budget request. Total funding for activities eligible for
reimbursement from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund is
estimated at $1,600,000,000, which is an increase of
$200,000,000 above fiscal year 2018 and $635,000,000 above the
budget request. The bill makes use of all estimated annual
revenues from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.
Title II provides $1,555,000,000 for the Department of the
Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation, $75,000,000 above
fiscal year 2018 and $497,992,000 above the budget request. The
Committee recommends $1,540,000,000 for the Bureau of
Reclamation, $70,500,000 above fiscal year 2018 and
$492,975,000 above the budget request. The Committee recommends
$15,000,000 for the Central Utah Project, $4,500,000 above
fiscal year 2018 and $7,017,000 above the budget request.
Title III provides $35,494,251,000 for the Department of
Energy, $974,202,000 above fiscal year 2018 and $5,348,180,000
above the budget request. Funding for the National Nuclear
Security Administration (NNSA), which includes nuclear weapons
activities, defense nuclear nonproliferation, naval reactors,
and federal salaries and expenses, is $15,313,147,000,
$644,195,000 above fiscal year 2018 and $222,097,000 above the
budget request.
Funding for energy programs within the Department of
Energy, which includes basic science research and the applied
energy programs, is $13,421,584,000, $503,535,000 above fiscal
year 2018 and $4,909,080,000 above the budget request.
Environmental management activities--non-defense
environmental cleanup, uranium enrichment decontamination and
decommissioning, and defense environmental cleanup--are funded
at $6,869,220,000, $257,228,000 below fiscal year 2018 and
$267,854,000 above the budget request.
The net amount appropriated for the Power Marketing
Administrations is provided at the requested levels.
Title IV provides $423,757,000 for several Independent
Agencies, $32,302,000 above fiscal year 2018 and $70,979,000
above the budget request. Net funding for the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission is $191,664,000, $60,059,000 above fiscal
year 2018 and $36,379,000 above the budget request.
Overview of the Recommendation
The Committee recommendation prioritizes the most critical
inherently federal responsibilities of this bill: the national
defense, the maintenance of our nation's waterways, and
ensuring the resilience and security of our electricity
infrastructure. Strong support is included for basic science
programs, which provide the foundation for the new energy
technologies that are vital to maintaining our global
competitiveness and ensuring our country's long-term
prosperity, but that are often too high-risk to receive the
attention of the private sector. The recommendation provides
targeted resources for applied energy research and development
activities to improve and extend the performance of existing
energy sources and accelerate the adoption of new technologies.
The recommendation also recognizes the importance of the
federal government's responsibility to dispose of nuclear waste
and clean up the legacy of five decades of nuclear weapons
production and government-sponsored nuclear energy research.
National Defense Programs
As in previous years, the Committee considers the national
defense programs run by the National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA) to be the Department of Energy's top
priority. The recommendation strongly supports the Department's
proposals to modernize the nuclear weapons stockpile, increase
investment in the NNSA's infrastructure, prevent the
proliferation of nuclear materials, and provide for the needs
of the naval nuclear propulsion program.
Investments in Infrastructure
The water resource infrastructure funded by the
recommendation is a critical component of ensuring a robust
national economy and of supporting American competitiveness in
international markets. The Corps is responsible for keeping our
federal waterways open for business. The Corps also has been
instrumental in reducing the risk of flooding for public
safety, businesses, and much of this country's food-producing
lands. The Bureau of Reclamation supplies reliable water to
approximately ten percent of the country's population and to
much of its fertile agricultural lands. Both agencies make
significant contributions to national electricity production
through hydropower facilities.
The U.S. marine transportation industry supports
$2,000,000,000,000 in commerce and creates employment for more
than 13 million people. As the agency responsible for our
nation's federal waterways, the Corps maintains 1,067 harbors
and 25,000 miles of commercial channels serving 40 states. The
maintenance of these commercial waterways is directly tied to
the ability of this country to ship its manufactured and bulk
products, as well as to compete with the ports of neighboring
countries for the business of ships arriving from around the
world. As a primary supporter of America's waterway
infrastructure, the Corps is ensuring that the nation has the
tools to maintain a competitive edge in the global market. This
recommendation makes key changes to the budget request to
ensure that the Corps has the resources to continue to support
America's shipping infrastructure.
The flood protection infrastructure that the Corps builds
or maintains reduces the risk of flooding to people,
businesses, and other public infrastructure investments. In
fact, the average annual damages prevented by Corps projects
over fiscal years 2007-2016 was $67,600,000,000. Between 1928
and 2016, each inflation-adjusted dollar invested in these
projects prevented $8.91 in damages. The properties and
investments protected by the Corps infrastructure would often
be flooded without that infrastructure, destroying homes,
businesses, and many valuable acres of cropland.
The Bureau of Reclamation's water infrastructure is a
critical component of the agricultural productivity of this
country. These facilities deliver water to one of every five
western farmers resulting in approximately 10 million acres of
irrigated land that produces 60 percent of the nation's
vegetables and 25 percent of its fruits and nuts. Additionally,
these facilities deliver water to more than 31 million people
for municipal, rural, and industrial uses. Without these dams
and water supply facilities, American agricultural producers in
the West would not be able to access reliable, safe water for
their families and their businesses and many municipal and
industrial users would face critical water shortages.
The Corps and Reclamation are the nation's largest and
second largest producers of hydropower, respectively. Combined
these federal hydropower facilities generate approximately 115
billion kilowatt-hours annually. Gross revenues from the sale
of this power reach nearly $6,000,000,000 annually.
National Energy Policy
The Department of Energy and its National Laboratory system
have helped to lay the foundation for the technological
advances driving the energy market today. Production
breakthroughs for every energy generation source can trace
their origins back to research and development supported by the
Department. As the energy market continues to change, the
Department's support for research and development in all energy
sources remains critical.
The Committee provides funding in support of an ``all of
the above'' energy strategy designed to take advantage and
utilize all sources of American-made energy. Funding for fossil
and nuclear sources, which provide 83 percent of all
electricity generated in the nation, is targeted to ensure the
safe and efficient use of the nation's critical base load
energy generation sources. Funding for renewable energy
sources, which provide 17 percent of the nation's electricity,
supports continued investments in research and development to
advance technological innovations. This strategy provides the
correct balance to enable full use of our nation's abundant
fossil resources while laying the foundation for developing
future energy sources.
The success of these innovations depends on a reliable and
resilient electric grid infrastructure. The nation's electric
grid was built to handle a different energy reality than the
one we face today. Weather events, cyberattacks, and an
increasing diversity of energy sources must be addressed to
guarantee the continued operation of the electric grid. The
Committee provides strong support to ensure the nation's
electric grid remains secure.
The Committee continues its long-standing support for the
investment of taxpayer funds across the spectrum of all energy
technologies. A national energy policy can only be successful
if it maintains stability while planning for long-term
strategic goals of energy security, independence, and
prosperity for the nation. The Committee makes strategic
choices, recommending a balanced approach to advancing research
and development in all energy technologies and supporting a
robust electric grid.
Congressional Direction
Program, Project, or Activity.--The term ``program,
project, or activity'' shall include the most specific level of
budget items identified in the Energy and Water Development and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019 and the Committee
report accompanying this Act.
Performance Measures.--The Committee directs each of the
agencies funded by this Act to comply with title 31 of the
United States Code, including the development of their
organizational priority goals and outcomes such as performance
outcome measures, output measures, efficiency measures, and
customer service measures.
Offsetting Collections.--The Committee directs each of the
agencies funded by this Act to continue to report any funds
derived by the agency from non-federal sources, including user
charges and fines that are authorized by law, to be retained
and used by the agency or credited as an offset in annual
budget submissions.
Regional Councils.--The Committee encourages all federal
agencies to consider including regional councils and councils
of government as eligible entities in competitions for federal
funding when local governments or non-profit agencies are
eligible.
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act.--The Committee
supports the requirements of the Digital Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2014 as identified in the budget request.
Committee Oversight Initiatives
The highest priority mission of any federal agency is to be
an effective steward of taxpayer dollars. Any waste, fraud, or
abuse of taxpayer dollars is unacceptable. The Committee uses
hearings, reviews by the Government Accountability Office, the
Committee on Appropriations' Surveys and Investigations staff,
and its annual appropriations Act, including the accompanying
report, to promote strong oversight of the agencies under its
jurisdiction, with an emphasis on the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of
Energy.
The recommendation continues the Committee's responsibility
to conduct in-depth oversight into all activities funded in
this bill. Each agency shall designate a specific point of
contact to track each report required in the bill and ensure
its timely production and delivery.
A summary of the major oversight efforts in the bill is
provided below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agency/Account Requirement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy and Water....................... Direction on performance
measures
Army Corps of Engineers................ Guidance on budget structure
Army Corps of Engineers................ Guidance on apportionment
Army Corps of Engineers................ Direction on Principles and
Guidelines
Army Corps of Engineers................ Direction on 2019 work plan
submission
Army Corps of Engineers................ Direction on new starts
Army Corps of Engineers................ Direction on work related to
Asian Carp
Army Corps of Engineers/Investigations. Guidance on specific studies
Army Corps of Engineers/Investigations. Guidance on allocating
additional funding
Army Corps of Engineers/Construction... Guidance on allocating
additional funding
Army Corps of Engineers/Construction... Direction on management of the
Continuing Authorities Program
Army Corps of Engineers/Construction... Direction on funding of pilot
projects
Army Corps of Engineers/Mississippi Guidance on allocating
River and Tributaries. additional funding
Army Corps of Engineers/Operation and Guidance on specific projects
Maintenance.
Army Corps of Engineers/Operation and Guidance on allocating
Maintenance. additional funding
Army Corps of Engineers/Operation and Direction on levee safety
Maintenance. initiatives
Army Corps of Engineers/Operation and Briefing on certain
Maintenance. nonoperational locks
Army Corps of Engineers/FUSRAP......... Guidance on investigation and
study at former Sylvania site
Army Corps of Engineers/Expenses....... Direction on alternative
financing
Army Corps of Engineers/General Reprogramming requirements
Provisions.
Army Corps of Engineers/General Restriction on use of
Provisions. continuing contracts
Army Corps of Engineers/General Restriction on requiring
Provisions. permits for the discharge of
dredged or fill material for
certain agricultural
activities
Army Corps of Engineers/General Direction on a rule regarding
Provisions. federal jurisdiction under the
Clean Water Act
Army Corps of Engineers/General Restriction on funding for a
Provisions. new hopper dredge
Bureau of Reclamation.................. Direction on reconsultation
activities under the
Endangered Species Act
Bureau of Reclamation/Water and Related Guidance on allocating
Resources. additional funding
Bureau of Reclamation/General Reprogramming requirements
Provisions.
Department of Energy................... Guidance on research and
development policy
Department of Energy................... Guidance on Electricity
Delivery and Energy
Reliability reorganization
Department of Energy................... Direction on Working Capital
Fund
Department of Energy................... Report on alleviation of
poverty
Department of Energy................... Direction on workplace
diversity
Department of Energy................... Direction on Public Access Plan
Department of Energy................... GAO investigation of improper
payment reporting
Department of Energy................... Plan for GAO High Risk List
removal
Department of Energy................... Direction on commonly recycled
paper
Department of Energy................... Direction on educational
activities
Department of Energy................... Report on General Plant
Projects
Department of Energy................... Direction on budget requests
for General Plant Projects
Department of Energy................... Direction on reprogrammings and
transfers
Department of Energy/Energy Efficiency. Direction on a zero emissions
energy credit report
Department of Energy/Energy Efficiency. Guidance on Energy Star
Department of Energy/Energy Efficiency. Report on hyperloop
transportation systems
Department of Energy/Energy Efficiency. Direction on the distribution
of Weatherization Assistance
Program funds
Department of Energy/Electricity Report on battery technologies
Delivery.
Department of Energy/Electricity Guidance on the Grid
Delivery. Modernization Laboratory
Consortium
Department of Energy/Electricity Report on transmission
Delivery. congestion management
Department of Energy/Nuclear........... Report on technology use in
nuclear waste remediation
Department of Energy/Fossil............ Direction on coal research and
development
Department of Energy/Fossil............ Direction on NETL sites
Department of Energy/Fossil............ Report on the Solid Oxide Fuel
Cell Program
Department of Energy/Fossil............ Direction on crude oil by rail
Department of Energy/UED&D.............; Prohibition on uranium
bartering for cleanup
Department of Energy/Science........... Report on SBIR and STTR grants
Department of Energy/Science........... Report on exascale deployment
plan
Department of Energy/Nuclear Waste Direction on Yucca Mountain
Disposal. licensing process
Department of Energy/ARPA-E............ Direction on disbursement of
funds
Department of Energy/Departmental Direction on scructure of
Administration. future budget requests
Department of Energy/Departmental Study on available resources
Administration.
Department of Energy/Departmental Direction on radium
Administration. contamination
NNSA................................... Prohibition on Institutional
Plant Projects
NNSA................................... Report on certain personnel
costs
NNSA/Weapons........................... Guidance on budget requests for
new nuclear weapons
NNSA/Weapons........................... Report on plutonium
infrastructure
NNSA/Weapons........................... Report on low-yield warhead
NNSA/Weapons........................... Report on comparative warhead
program costs
NNSA/Weapons........................... Direction on MIE project
reporting
NNSA/Weapons........................... Direction on full cost recovery
for ICF
NNSA/Weapons........................... Direction on budgeting for high
performance computing
NNSA/Weapons........................... Direction on incremental
facility operating costs
NNSA/Weapons........................... Plan to expedite Mobile Guard
Transporter
NNSA/Nonproliferation.................. Direction on new
nonproliferation projects in
Russia
NNSA/Nonproliferation.................. Direction on nonproliferation
R&D; budget structure
NNSA/Nonproliferation.................. Prohibition on funding for ATR
and HFIR conversion
NNSA/Federal Salaries.................. Direction on personnel and
potential consolidation
Department of Energy/Defense Cleanup... Requirement for construction
project data sheet submission
Department of Energy/Defense Cleanup... Report on tank waste
demonstration project
Department of Energy/Defense Cleanup... Direction on nuclear quality
assurance programs
Department of Energy/Defense Cleanup... Direction on resuming
construction project
activities
Department of Energy/Defense Cleanup... Direction on Waste Treatment
Plant budget structure
Department of Energy/Defense Cleanup... Guidance on cost sharing
arrangements at Savannah River
Department of Energy/Defense Cleanup... Reporting on security system
upgrade project details
Department of Energy/Other Defense Direction on nuclear facilities
Activities. seismic research activities
Department of Energy/Power Marketing Guidance on organizational
Administrations. reporting
Department of Energy/Federal Energy Report on electric transmission
Regulatory Commission. system resiliency
Department of Energy/General Provisions Reprogramming requirements
Department of Energy/General Provisions Requirement for oversight of
high hazard nuclear facilities
construction
Department of Energy/General Provisions Prohibition on funds without
independent cost estimates
Department of Energy/General Provisions Restriction of certain
activities in the Russian
Federation
Department of Energy/General Provisions Guidance on Strategic Petroleum
Reserve activities
Department of Energy/General Provisions Prohibition on use of MOX funds
and notification requirements
Department of Energy/General Provisions Requirements for releases from
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Department of Energy/General Provisions Report on spent nuclear fuel
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.......... Guidance on reporting of
salaries and expenses
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.......... Guidance on regulatory
framework
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.......... Report on accident tolerant
fuel
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.......... Report on transition to digital
systems
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.......... Direction on rulemaking process
and activities
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.......... Report on licensing goals and
right-sizing commitments
Independent Agencies/General Provisions Requirement for NRC to comply
with Congressional requests
Independent Agencies/General Provisions Reprogramming requirements for
the NRC
General Provisions..................... Prohibition on funds to
influence congressional action
General Provisions..................... Consolidation of transfer
authorities
General Provisions..................... Prohibition of funds in
contravention of Executive
Order 12898
General Provisions..................... Prohibition of funds for
computer networks that don't
block pornography
General Provisions..................... Prohibition of funds to further
implement EO 13547
General Provisions..................... Prohibition of funds related to
operation of certain
hydroelectric dams
General Provisions..................... Prohibition of funds to remove
or close federally owned or
operated dams
General Provisions..................... Prohibition of funds to close
Yucca Mountain application
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TITLE I--CORPS OF ENGINEERS--CIVIL
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
Corps of Engineers--Civil
INTRODUCTION
The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act funds
the Civil Works missions of the Army Corps of Engineers
(Corps). This program is responsible for activities in support
of coastal and inland navigation, flood and coastal storm
damage reduction, environmental protection and restoration,
hydropower, recreation, water supply, and disaster preparedness
and response. The Corps also performs regulatory oversight of
navigable waters. Approximately 22,000 civilians and almost 300
military personnel located in eight Division offices and 38
District offices work to carry out the Civil Works program.
BUDGET STRUCTURE CHANGES
The fiscal year 2019 budget request for the Corps of
Engineers proposed numerous structure changes, including
creation of two new accounts (Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and
Inland Waterways Trust Fund) and the shifting of a variety of
studies and projects from one account to another. The Committee
rejects all such proposed changes and instead funds all
activities in the accounts in which funding has traditionally
been provided. All projects remain at the funding levels
included in the budget request, just in different accounts than
proposed. In particular:
Projects proposed for funding in the Harbor
Maintenance Trust Fund account in the budget request
have been transferred to the Construction, Mississippi
River and Tributaries, and Operation and Maintenance
accounts, as appropriate;
Projects proposed for funding in the Inland
Waterways Trust Fund account in the budget request have
been transferred to the Construction account;
Dredged material management plans, proposed
in the Investigations account in the budget request,
have been transferred to the Operation and Maintenance
account;
Dam safety modification studies, proposed in
the Investigations account in the budget request, have
been transferred to the Dam Safety and Seepage/
Stability Correction Program within the Construction
account;
Dam Safety and Seepage/Stability Correction
Program management costs, proposed in the Expenses
account in the budget request, have been transferred to
the Program within the Construction account; and
Sand mitigation projects, proposed in the
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund account in the budget
request, have been transferred to the Construction
account.
Additionally, the Poplar Island, Maryland, beneficial use
of dredged material project has been re-categorized as within
the environmental restoration business line as is appropriate
and as was the case in previous years.
For any fiscal year, if the Corps proposes budget structure
changes, the proposal shall be accompanied by a display of the
funding request in the traditional budget structure.
APPORTIONMENT UNDER A CONTINUING RESOLUTION
For the purposes of the continuing resolutions to start
fiscal year 2018, the Office of Management and Budget changed
the long-standing policy by which funding is apportioned to the
Civil Works program of the Corps of Engineers. Under the new
policy, funding within an individual account was apportioned
separately for amounts from the general fund of the Treasury
and from various trust funds.
The Committee has long intended the Corps to have the
flexibility to address projects most in need of funding under a
continuing resolution. The creation of artificial accounting
distinctions has the potential to cause serious impediments to
the efficient and effective implementation of the Civil Works
program. For example, work on many navigation projects is
limited by environmental or other regulatory windows. Further
limitations imposed by separately apportioning Harbor
Maintenance Trust Fund monies could cause serious disruptions
to the economic activity that depends on these navigation
channels.
For these reasons, the Committee rejects the change in
apportionment policy and directs the Administration to follow
the previous policy during any continuing resolutions that may
occur in future fiscal years.
DEEP-DRAFT NAVIGATION
The Committee remains mindful of the evolving
infrastructure needs of the nation's ports. Meeting these
needs--including deeper drafts to accommodate the move towards
larger ships--will be essential if the nation is to remain
competitive in international markets and to continue advancing
economic development and job creation domestically.
Investigations and construction of port projects, including
the deepening of existing projects, are cost-shared between the
federal government and non-federal sponsors, often local or
regional port authorities. The operation and maintenance of
these projects are federal responsibilities and are funded as
reimbursements from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF),
which is supported by an ad valorem tax on the value of
imported and domestic cargo. Expenditures from the trust fund
are subject to annual appropriations. The balance in the HMTF
at the beginning of fiscal year 2019 is estimated to be
approximately $9,416,000,000.
The Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of
2014 included target annual appropriations levels for use of
HMTF receipts and the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of
2016 amended those levels. The Committee remains committed to
providing the maximum practicable amount of funding for HMTF-
reimbursable activities consistent with annual allocations and
after evaluating funding requirements for other priority
activities within the Civil Works program.
For fiscal year 2019, the Committee provides an estimated
$1,600,000,000 for HMTF-related activities, $200,000,000 more
than fiscal year 2018, $635,000,000 above the budget request,
and $160,000,000 above the annual target. This funding will
enable the Corps to make significant progress on the backlog of
dredging needs.
INLAND WATERWAYS SYSTEM
The nation's inland waterways system--consisting of
approximately 12,000 miles of commercially navigable channels
and 239 lock chambers--also is essential to supporting the
national economy. Freight transported on the inland waterways
system includes a significant portion of the nation's grain
exports, domestic petroleum and petroleum products, and coal
used in electricity generation. Much of the physical
infrastructure of the system is aging, however, and in need of
improvements. For example, commercial navigation locks
typically have a design life of 50 years, yet nearly 60 percent
of these locks in the United States are more than 50 years old,
with the average age at almost 60 years old.
Capital improvements to the inland waterways system
generally are funded 50 percent from the General Treasury and
50 percent from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF), while
operation and maintenance costs are funded 100 percent from the
General Treasury. The IWTF is supported by a tax on barge fuel.
In recent years, the increasing rehabilitation and
reconstruction needs and the escalating costs of those projects
have far outstripped available revenues in the IWTF. Two
statutory changes enacted in fiscal year 2015, however, will
lead to the availability of additional revenues to stand as the
required cost-share for some additional work on the inland
waterways system. These changes were the reduction in the
portion of the costs of the Olmsted Locks and Dam project that
is to be derived from the IWTF to 15 percent and the increase
in the fuel tax to $0.29 per gallon from $0.20 per gallon.
The Corps is directed to take the preparatory steps
necessary to ensure that new construction projects can be
initiated as soon as can be supported under the larger capital
program (i.e., as ongoing projects approach completion). For
fiscal year 2019, the Committee provides appropriations making
use of all estimated annual revenues from the IWTF. The final
program level will depend on project-specific allocations to be
made by the Corps. The Committee also allocates $50,000,000
above the budget request for additional operation and
maintenance activities on the inland waterways.
PRINCIPLES AND REQUIREMENTS
Concerns persist that the effort to update the Water
Resources Principles and Guidelines did not proceed consistent
with the language or intent of section 2031 of the Water
Resources Development Act of 2007. No funds provided to the
Corps of Engineers shall be used to develop or implement rules
or guidance to support implementation of the final Principles
and Requirements for Federal Investments in Water Resources
released in March 2013 or the final Interagency Guidelines
released in December 2014. The Corps shall continue to use the
document dated March 10, 1983, and entitled ``Economic and
Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related
Land Resources Implementation Studies'' during the fiscal year
period covered by the Energy and Water Development
Appropriations Act for 2019.
FORMAT OF FUNDING PRIORITIES
Traditionally, the President requested and the Congress
appropriated funds for the Civil Works program on a project-
level basis. Taken together, however, these funding decisions
indicated programmatic priorities and policy preferences. As
with non-project-based programs, the Congress at times
disagreed with the priorities stated in the President's budget
request and made its priorities known in appropriations bills.
Final federal government priorities were established in Acts
passed by both chambers of the Congress and signed by the
President.
Since the 112th Congress, congressional earmarks, as
defined in House rule XXI, have been prohibited. That
definition encompasses project-level funding not requested by
the President. As a result, the Committee reviewed the
historical format of appropriations for the Corps to see if
there was a more transparent way to highlight programmatic
priorities without abandoning congressional oversight
responsibilities. The fiscal year 2012 Act included a
modification to the format used in previous years, and that
format is continued for fiscal year 2019. As in previous years,
the Committee lists in report tables the studies, projects, and
activities within each account requested by the President along
with the Committee-recommended funding level. To advance its
programmatic priorities, the Committee has included additional
funding for certain categories of projects. Project-specific
allocations within these categories will be determined by the
Corps based on further direction provided in this report.
ADDITIONAL FUNDING
The recommendation includes funding in addition to the
budget request to ensure continued improvements to our national
economy, public safety, and environmental health that result
from water resources projects. This funding is for additional
work that either was not included in the budget request or was
inadequately budgeted.
The executive branch retains complete discretion over
project-specific allocation decisions within the additional
funds provided, subject to only the direction here and under
the heading ``Additional Funding'' or ``Additional Funding for
Ongoing Work'' within each of the Investigations, Construction,
Mississippi River and Tributaries, and Operation and
Maintenance accounts. A study or project may not be excluded
from consideration for funding for being ``inconsistent with
Administration policy.'' The Administration is reminded that
these funds are in addition to the budget request, and
Administration budget metrics shall not be a reason to
disqualify a study or project from being funded. Voluntary
funding in excess of legally required cost shares for studies
and projects is acceptable, but shall not be used as a
criterion for allocating the additional funding provided or for
the selection of new starts. It is expected that all of the
additional funding provided will be allocated to specific
programs, projects, or activities. The focus of the allocation
process shall favor the obligation, rather than expenditure, of
funds.
The Corps shall evaluate all studies and projects only
within accounts and categories consistent with previous
congressional funding. When allocating the additional funding
provided in this Act, the Corps shall consider eligibility and
implementation decisions under Public Law 115-123 so as to
maximize the reduction of risk to public safety and
infrastructure and the reduction of future damages from floods
and storms nationwide.
A project or study shall be eligible for additional funding
within the Investigations, Construction, and Mississippi River
and Tributaries accounts if: (1) it has received funding, other
than through a reprogramming, in at least one of the previous
three fiscal years; (2) it was previously funded and could
reach a significant milestone, complete a discrete element of
work, or produce significant outputs in fiscal year 2019; or
(3) as appropriate, it is selected as one of the new starts
allowed in accordance with this Act and the additional
direction provided below. Projects with executed Advanced
Project Partnership Agreements, or similar agreements, shall be
eligible for additional funding provided in this bill. None of
the additional funding in any account may be used for any item
where funding was specifically denied or for projects in the
Continuing Authorities Program. Funds shall be allocated
consistent with statutory cost share requirements.
Work Plan.--Not later than 60 days after the enactment of
this Act, the Corps shall provide to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a work plan including
the following information: (1) a detailed description of the
process and criteria used to evaluate studies and projects; (2)
delineation of how these funds are to be allocated; (3) a
summary of the work to be accomplished with each allocation,
including phase of work; and (4) a list of all studies and
projects that were considered eligible for funding but did not
receive funding, including an explanation of whether the study
or project could have used funds in fiscal year 2019 and the
specific reasons each study or project was considered as being
less competitive for an allocation of funds.
New Starts.--The recommendation includes six new starts in
the Investigations account and five new starts in the
Construction account to be distributed across the authorized
mission areas of the Corps. Of the new starts in
Investigations, two shall be for navigation studies, one shall
be for a flood and storm damage reduction study, one shall be
for an environmental restoration study, and two shall be for
navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, environmental
restoration, or multi-purpose studies. Of the new construction
starts, one shall be for a navigation project; one shall be for
a flood and storm damage reduction project; one shall be for an
additional navigation or flood and storm damage reduction
project; one shall be for an environmental restoration project;
and one shall be for a navigation, flood and storm damage
reduction, environmental restoration, or multi-purpose project.
No funding shall be used to initiate new programs, projects, or
activities in the Mississippi River and Tributaries or
Operation and Maintenance accounts.
The Corps is directed to propose a single group of new
starts as a part of the work plan. None of the funds may be
used for any item for which the Committee has specifically
denied funding. The Corps may not change or substitute the new
starts selected once the work plan has been provided to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress. Each
new start shall be funded from the appropriate additional
funding line item. Any project for which the new start
requirements are not met by the end of fiscal year 2019 shall
be treated as if the project had not been selected as a new
start; such a project shall be required to compete again for
new start funding in future years. As all new starts are to be
chosen by the Corps, all shall be considered of equal
importance, and the expectation is that future budget
submissions will include appropriate funding for all new starts
selected.
There continues to be confusion regarding the executive
branch's policies and guidelines regarding which studies and
projects require new start designations. Therefore, the Corps
is directed to notify the Committees on Appropriations of both
Houses of Congress at least 7 days prior to execution of an
agreement for construction of any project except environmental
infrastructure projects and projects under the Continuing
Authorities Program. Additionally, the Committee reiterates and
clarifies previous congressional direction as follows. Neither
study nor construction activities related to individual
projects authorized under section 1037 of the WRRDA of 2014
shall require a new start or new investment decision; these
activities shall be considered ongoing work. No new start or
new investment decision shall be required when moving from
feasibility to preconstruction engineering and design (PED). A
new start designation shall be required to initiate
construction of individually-authorized projects funded within
programmatic line items. No new start or new investment
decision shall be required to initiate work on a separable
element of a project when construction of one or more separable
elements of that project was initiated previously; it shall be
considered ongoing work. A new construction start shall not be
required for work undertaken to correct a design deficiency on
an existing federal project; it shall be considered ongoing
work.
In addition to the priority factors used to allocate all
additional funding provided in the Investigations account, the
Corps should give careful consideration to the out-year budget
impacts of the studies selected and to whether there appears to
be an identifiable local sponsor that will be ready and able to
provide, in a timely manner, the necessary cost share for the
feasibility and PED phases. The Corps is reminded that the
flood and storm damage reduction and the environmental
restoration mission areas can include instances where non-
federal sponsors are seeking assistance with flood control and
unauthorized discharges from permitted wastewater treatment
facilities and that the navigation mission area includes work
in remote and subsistence harbor areas.
In addition to the priority factors used to allocate all
additional funding provided in the Construction account, the
Corps also shall consider the out-year budget impacts of the
selected new starts; and the cost sharing sponsor's ability and
willingness to promptly provide the cash contribution (if any),
as well as required lands, easements, rights-of-way,
relocations, and disposal areas. When considering new
construction starts, only those that can execute a project cost
sharing agreement not later than August 31, 2019, shall be
chosen.
To ensure that the new construction starts are affordable
and will not unduly delay completion of any ongoing projects,
the Secretary is required to submit to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a realistic out-year
budget scenario prior to issuing a work allowance for a new
start. It is understood that specific budget decisions are made
on an annual basis and that this scenario is neither a request
for nor a guarantee of future funding for any project.
Nonetheless, this scenario shall include an estimate of annual
funding for each new start utilizing a realistic funding
scenario through completion of the project, as well as the
specific impacts of that estimated funding on the ability of
the Corps to make continued progress on each previously funded
construction project (including impacts to the optimum timeline
and funding requirements of the ongoing projects) and on the
ability to consider initiating new projects in the future. The
scenario shall assume a Construction account funding level at
the average of the past three budget requests.
ASIAN CARP
The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of
Engineers, shall make every effort to submit to Congress the
Report of the Chief of Engineers for the Brandon Road
feasibility study according to the original published schedule
of February 2019. The Corps is directed to provide quarterly
updates to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress on the progress and status of efforts to prevent the
further spread of Asian carp as well as the location and
density of carp populations, including the use of emergency
procedures. The Corps shall continue to collaborate with the
U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the State
of Illinois, and members of the Asian Carp Regional
Coordinating Committee to identify and evaluate whether
navigation protocols would be beneficial or effective in
reducing the risk of vessels inadvertently carrying aquatic
invasive species, including Asian carp, through the Brandon
Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, Illinois. Any findings of such an
evaluation shall be included in the quarterly briefings to the
Committees. The Corps is further directed to implement
protocols shown to be effective at reducing the risk of
entrainment without jeopardizing the safety of vessels and
crews. The Corps and other federal and state agencies are
conducting ongoing research on potential solutions.
AGING WATERWAY INFRASTRUCTURE
The Committee recognizes the extraordinary implications to
the local, regional, and national economy, as well as national
security due to aging waterway infrastructure. The Committee
urges the Corps to complete feasibility studies for ongoing
deep draft lock modernization or replacement projects. In these
studies, the Corps is encouraged to include national and
regional economic analyses, taking into account the unique
movement of the commodities and the value-added in the supply
chain.
CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTION AND REPROGRAMMING
To ensure that the expenditure of funds in fiscal year 2019
is consistent with congressional direction, to minimize the
movement of funds, and to improve overall budget execution, the
bill carries a legislative provision outlining the
circumstances under which the Corps may reprogram funds.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $7,278,000,000 for the Corps,
$451,000,000 above fiscal year 2018 and $2,493,417,000 above
the budget request.
A table summarizing the fiscal year 2018 enacted
appropriation, the fiscal year 2019 budget request, and the
Committee-recommended levels is provided below:
(Dollars in thousands)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2018 FY 2019
Account enacted request Cmte. rec.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investigations.................................................. $123,000 $82,000 $128,000
Construction.................................................... 2,085,000 871,733 2,323,000
Mississippi River and tributaries............................... 425,000 244,735 430,000
Operation and maintenance....................................... 3,630,000 2,076,733 3,820,000
Regulatory program.............................................. 200,000 200,000 200,000
FUSRAP.......................................................... 139,000 120,000 150,000
Flood control and coastal emergencies........................... 35,000 27,000 35,000
Expenses........................................................ 185,000 187,000 187,000
Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works... 5,000 5,000 5,000
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund................................... - - - 965,132 - - -
Inland Waterways Trust Fund..................................... - - - 5,250 - - -
-----------------------------------------------
Total, Corps of Engineers--Civil........................ 6,827,000 4,784,583 7,278,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTIGATIONS
Appropriation, 2018................................... $123,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 82,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 128,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +5,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +46,000,000
This appropriation funds studies to determine the need for,
the engineering and economic feasibility of, and the
environmental and social suitability of solutions to water and
related land resource problems; preconstruction engineering and
design; data collection; interagency coordination; and
research.
The budget request for this account and the approved
Committee allowance are shown on the following table:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Passaic River Basin Mainstem, New Jersey.--The Committee is
aware that flooding has long been a problem in the Passaic
River Basin. The Committee encourages the Corps to continue to
work in coordination with the non-federal sponsor on plans to
reduce flooding in the basin, including the reevaluation of the
Passaic River Basin Mainstem project. The Corps is directed to
brief the Committee not later than 30 days after the enactment
of this Act on the current status of this project.
Peckman River, New Jersey.--The Committee is aware of
repeated delays with the Peckman River Feasibility Study. The
Corps is directed to provide to the Committee quarterly
briefings on the current schedule to bring this study to
completion, with the first briefing to occur not later than 30
days after the enactment of this Act.
Rahway River Basin (Upper Basin), New Jersey.--The
Committee is aware of extended delays with the Rahway River
Basin Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study where flooding is
of acute concern to the affected communities. The Committee
encourages the Corps to continue to work with the non-federal
sponsor on plans to reduce flooding caused by the Rahway River
in affected areas. The Corps is directed to provide to the
Committee quarterly briefings on the current schedule to bring
this study to completion, with the first briefing to occur not
later than 30 days after the enactment of this Act.
Chacon Creek, Texas.--The Corps has multiple authorities to
provide technical assistance to non-federal entities. The
Committee encourages the Corps to review these authorities to
identify opportunities to help advance the Chacon Creek, Texas,
project, for which the Corps executed a feasibility cost
sharing agreement in 2004.
Additional Funding.--The Corps is expected to allocate the
additional funding provided in this account primarily to
specific feasibility and PED phases, rather than to Remaining
Items line items as has been the case in previous work plans.
When allocating the additional funding provided in this
account, the Corps shall consider giving priority to completing
or accelerating ongoing studies or to initiating new studies
that will enhance the nation's economic development, job
growth, and international competitiveness; are for projects
located in areas that have suffered recent natural disasters;
are for projects that protect life and property; or are for
projects to address legal requirements. The Corps shall use
these funds for additional work in both the feasibility and PED
phases. The agreement includes sufficient additional funding to
undertake a significant amount of feasibility and PED work. The
Administration is reminded that a project study is not complete
until the PED phase is complete. The Corps is reminded that
environmental restoration can include projects that address
degraded conditions due to prior flood protection work.
Research and Development.--Within available funds, the
Corps is encouraged to advance flood and coastal systems
research and development, as well as work to evaluate
conservation methods to restore riverine ecosystems, to
identify effective oyster reef restoration strategies, and to
support collaborative research into coastal resilience.
Disposition of Completed Projects.--The Committee supports
the budget request for disposition studies pursuant to
facilities that closed as a result of Public Law 113-121. The
Corps is directed to provide to the Committee copies of
disposition studies upon completion. For Corps facilities that
are deemed as excess, the Committee supports the disposal of
those facilities through the appropriate General Services
Administration process.
Water Resources Priorities Study.--No funding shall be used
for this study.
Impacts on Oyster Reefs.--The Committee supports Corps
efforts, when conducting or reviewing environmental assessments
or environmental impact statements for navigation or coastal
restoration projects in areas where oyster reefs exist, to
consider water quality and salinity impacts on those reefs and,
when appropriate, to mitigate any negative impacts.
Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway System.--
Beginning in 2005, more than $59,000,000 in appropriated funds
have been allocated for preconstruction engineering and design
of improved locks and ecosystem restoration throughout the
Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers for measures authorized
in Title VIII of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007.
Unfortunately, the Corps has determined that a Level 3 Economic
Re-Evaluation Report (ERR) shall occur before PED can continue.
While the Committee disagrees with this conclusion, if the
Corps decides to fund such an ERR, the Committee encourages the
Corps to complete it not later than January 1, 2020, so that
PED can resume in a timely fashion.
Upper Des Plaines River and Tributaries Project.--The
Committee is aware that the project area was flooded with
record high crests overflowing the Des Plaines River last
summer, resulting in damage to more than 3,200 residences. The
Committee urges the Corps to cooperate with the non-federal
sponsor as it prepares advance work on a number of flood
features under Section 204 of the Water Resources Development
Act of 1986, as amended.
Lake Cypress, Florida.--The Committee is aware that high
rain totals have created a significant sediment flow through
the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes resulting in a shoal that has
expanded in recent years, located at the end of the C-35 canal
in Lake Cypress, Florida. The Committee encourages the Corps to
cooperate with state and local officials on this issue.
Flood Control and Wastewater Treatment Facilities.--In
fiscal year 2017, the Corps was directed to provide a briefing
regarding activities to address concerns about flooding and
wastewater treatment facilities. The Committee may have
additional direction after that briefing occurs.
Public Law 115-123.--The Corps is encouraged to expedite
the completion of investigations undertaken with funds provided
pursuant to Public Law 115-123.
Section 1143 Study.--The Corps is encouraged to include in
future budget submissions the study of sediment sources
authorized in section 1143 of Public Law 114-322.
CONSTRUCTION
Appropriation, 2018................................... $2,085,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 871,733,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 2,323,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +238,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +1,451,267,000
This appropriation funds construction, major
rehabilitation, and related activities for water resource
projects whose principal purpose is to provide commercial
navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, or aquatic
ecosystem restoration benefits to the nation. Portions of this
account are funded from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and
the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.
The budget request for this account and the approved
Committee allowance are shown on the following table:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Murrieta Creek, California.--The Committee is aware that
the Corps has been working on a Validation Report to detail a
re-scoped project for a more cost-effective flood protection
solution while it proceeds with construction. The Committee
urges the Corps to finish the Report, as the Corps turns over
the completed elements of the project to the local sponsor and
constructs Phase IIB of the project.
Success Dam, California.--In the past, the Committee has
raised the importance of the Corps moving expeditiously on the
project to increase the reservoir capacity and complete the
necessary safety reviews of the dam. In a memo dated January
17, 2018, the Dam Senior Oversight Group concluded the Success
Reservoir Enlargement Project has negligible risk on the
current reservoir infrastructure and approved the project to
proceed. The Committee commends the Corps for its work on this
project and continues to strongly urge the Corps expeditiously
move ahead with the enlargement project, as detailed in House
Report 114-91.
South Florida Ecosystem Restoration, Florida.--As in
previous years, the Committee provides funding for all study
and construction authorities related to Everglades restoration
under the line item titled ``South Florida Ecosystem
Restoration, Florida''. This single line item allows the Corps
flexibility in implementing the numerous activities underway in
any given fiscal year.
Chesapeake Bay Oyster Recovery, Maryland and Virginia.--The
Committee urges the Corps to consider species selection for
disease resistance and survivability as part of oyster recovery
in the Chesapeake Bay and to support development of substrate
as a substitute for oyster shell, including competitively
awarded contracts for research and development, as appropriate.
New Jersey and New York Harbor Deepening Project.--The
Committee is encouraged by the work of the Corps and its local
partners to bring the construction of the New Jersey and New
York Harbor Deepening Project to completion. This project of
national significance is an example of how the Corps and its
partners can work together to enhance our national economy.
Cano Martin Pena, Puerto Rico.--The Committee maintains its
interest in the Cano Martin Pena environmental restoration
project in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and notes the environmental
degradation and persistent flooding that disadvantages
communities abutting the channel, as evidenced by Hurricanes
Irma and Maria. The Corps is encouraged to include appropriate
funding for this project in future budget requests. The Corps
is directed to report to the Committees on Appropriations of
both Houses of Congress not later than 90 days after enactment
of this Act on the status of this project.
Additional Funding.--The agreement includes additional
funds for projects and activities to enhance the nation's
economic growth and international competitiveness. Of the
additional funds provided in this account, the Corps shall
allocate not less than $5,495,000 to projects with riverfront
development components. Of the additional funding provided in
this account for flood and storm damage reduction and flood
control, the Corps shall allocate not less than $18,000,000 to
additional nonstructural flood control projects. Of the
additional funds provided in this account for flood and storm
damage reduction, navigation, and other authorized project
purposes, the Corps shall allocate not less than $15,000,000 to
authorized reimbursements for projects with executed project
cooperation agreements and that have completed construction or
where non-federal sponsors intend to use the funds for
additional water resources development activities. Of the
additional funding provided in this account for flood and storm
damage reduction and flood control, the Corps shall allocate
not less than $11,650,000 to continue construction of projects
that principally include improvements to rainfall drainage
systems that address flood damages. Of the additional funding
provided in this account for flood and storm damage reduction
and flood control, the Corps shall allocate not less than
$10,000,000 to ongoing projects where ongoing construction
would benefit from additional funds to avoid induced flooding
during construction.
The Corps is reminded that dam safety projects authorized
under section 5003 of the Water Resources Development Act of
2007 are eligible to compete for the additional funding
provided in this account.
Public Law 115-123 included funding within the Flood
Control and Coastal Emergencies account to restore authorized
shore protection projects to full project profile. That funding
is expected to address most of the current year capability.
Therefore, to ensure funding is not directed to where it cannot
be used, the agreement includes $60,000,000 for construction of
shore protection projects. The Corps is reminded that if
additional work can be done, these projects are also eligible
to compete for additional funding for flood and storm damage
reduction.
When allocating the additional funding provided in this
account, the Corps is encouraged to evaluate authorized
reimbursements in the same manner as if the projects were being
evaluated for new or ongoing construction and shall consider
giving priority to the following:
benefits of the funded work to the national
economy;
extent to which the work will enhance national,
regional, or local economic development;
number of jobs created directly and supported in
the supply chain by the funded activity;
significance to national security, including the
strategic significance of commodities;
ability to obligate the funds allocated within the
fiscal year, including consideration of the ability of the non-
federal sponsor to provide any required cost share;
ability to complete the project, separable
element, or project phase with the funds allocated;
legal requirements, including responsibilities to
Tribes;
for flood and storm damage reduction projects
(including authorized nonstructural measures and periodic beach
renourishments),
population, economic activity, or public
infrastructure at risk, as appropriate; and
the severity of risk of flooding or the
frequency with which an area has experienced flooding;
for shore protection projects, projects in areas
that have suffered severe beach erosion requiring additional
sand placement outside of the normal beach renourishment cycle
or in which the normal beach renourishment cycle has been
delayed;
for navigation projects, the number of jobs or
level of economic activity to be supported by completion of the
project, separable element, or project phase;
for projects cost shared with the Inland Waterways
Trust Fund (IWTF), the economic impact on the local, regional,
and national economy if the project is not funded, as well as
discrete elements of work that can be completed within the
funding provided in this line item;
for other authorized project purposes and
environmental restoration or compliance projects, to include
the beneficial use of dredged material; and
for environmental infrastructure projects,
projects with the greater economic impact, projects in rural
communities, projects in communities with significant shoreline
and instances of runoff, projects in or that benefit counties
or parishes with high poverty rates, projects in financially
distressed municipalities, projects that improve stormwater
capture capabilities, and projects that will provide
substantial benefits to water quality improvements.
The agreement provides funds making use of all estimated
annual revenues in the IWTF. The Corps shall allocate all funds
provided in the IWTF Revenues line item along with the
statutory cost share from funds provided in the Navigation line
item prior to allocating the remainder of funds in the
Navigation line item.
Aquatic Plant Control Program.--Of the funding provided,
$5,000,000 is for watercraft inspection stations, as authorized
by section 1039 of the Water Resources Reform and Development
Act of 2014, and $1,000,000 is for related monitoring.
Continuing Authorities Program (CAP).--The Committee
continues to support all sections of the Continuing Authorities
Program. Funding is provided for eight CAP sections at a total
of $72,000,000. This program provides a useful tool for the
Corps to undertake small localized projects without the lengthy
study and authorization process typical of larger Corps
projects. The management of the Continuing Authorities Program
should continue consistent with direction provided in previous
fiscal years.
Dam Safety and Seepage/Stability Correction Program.--The
Committee rejects the budget request proposal regarding Herbert
Hoover Dike, which would make funds provided in this program
available only if the State of Florida commits certain funds.
Consistent with long-standing congressional direction, the
Corps may not require funding in excess of legally required
cost shares for studies and projects as a criterion for funding
decisions. The Corps shall apply these funds to the highest
priority projects.
Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Pilot Program.--The
Committee supports implementation of the pilot program
authorized in section 1122 of the WIIN Act. To date, the Corps
has not identified how these pilots would be funded, however.
Therefore, the Corps is directed to fund these pilots, if
otherwise competitive, under the CAP section 204 line item and
the applicable additional funding line items in this account.
The Corps shall not use Operation and Maintenance funds
provided or allocated to the projects from which the dredged
material is generated for costs beyond the costs of the Federal
Standard. The Corps shall brief the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not later than 60
days after the enactment of this Act on the selection of pilot
projects, as well as the planned activities and cost estimates
for each selected pilot project.
Public Law 115-123.--The Corps is encouraged to expedite
the completion of projects undertaken with funds provided
pursuant to Public Law 115-123.
Public Law 115-123 (LERRDs).--The Corps has authority to
perform acquisition of required lands, easements, rights-of-
ways, relocations, and disposal areas (LERRDs) on behalf of a
non-federal sponsor under certain circumstances. The Committee
encourages the Corps to evaluate such requests from non-federal
sponsors of projects funded under Public Law 115-123.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $425,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 244,735,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 430,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +5,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +185,265,000
This appropriation funds planning, construction, and
operation and maintenance activities associated with projects
to reduce flood damage in the lower Mississippi River alluvial
valley below Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
The budget request for this account and the approved
Committee allowance are shown on the following table:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Lower Mississippi River Main Stem.--The budget request
proposes to consolidate several activities across multiple
states into one line item. The Committee does not support this
change and instead continues to fund these activities as
separate line items.
Additional Funding for Ongoing Work.--When allocating the
additional funding provided in this account, the Corps shall
consider giving priority to completing or accelerating ongoing
work that will enhance the nation's economic development, job
growth, and international competitiveness, or are for studies
or projects located in areas that have suffered recent natural
disasters. While this funding is shown under remaining items,
the Corps shall use these funds in investigations,
construction, and operation and maintenance, as applicable.
Mississippi River Commission.--No funding is provided for
this new line item. The Corps is directed to continue funding
the costs of the commission from within the funds provided for
activities within the Mississippi River and Tributaries
project.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
Appropriation, 2018................................... $3,630,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 2,076,733,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 3,820,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +190,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +1,743,267,000
This appropriation funds operation, maintenance, and
related activities at water resource projects the Corps
operates and maintains. Work to be accomplished consists of
dredging, repair, and operation of structures and other
facilities as authorized in various River and Harbor, Flood
Control, and Water Resources Development Acts. Related
activities include aquatic plant control, monitoring of
completed projects, removal of sunken vessels, and the
collection of domestic, waterborne commerce statistics.
Portions of this account are financed through the Harbor
Maintenance Trust Fund.
The budget request for this account and the approved
Committee allowance are shown on the following table:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Los Angeles County Drainage Area (LACDA), California.--The
Corps shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations of both
Houses of Congress not later than 120 days after enactment of
this Act a report on the outstanding maintenance and repair
needs within the Corps-maintained portion of the LACDA system.
The report shall identify opportunities for local agency
maintenance and collaboration of the Corps-maintained portion
of the LACDA system to more effectively utilize budgeted funds
in a manner that reduces flood risk, increases stormwater
capture, and enables a more sustainable local source of water.
Waco Lake, Texas.--In fiscal year 2018, the Committee
encouraged the Corps to work with local officials to determine
whether issues at the Corps project are the cause of damages to
the public road and what authorities and funding sources may be
available to assist the local community in repairing the road.
The Corps is directed to provide this information to the
Committee not later than 45 days after the enactment of this
Act.
Additional Funding for Ongoing Work.--When allocating the
additional funding provided in this account, the Corps shall
consider giving priority to the following:
ability to complete ongoing work maintaining
authorized depths and widths of harbors and shipping channels,
including where contaminated sediments are present;
ability to address critical maintenance backlog;
presence of the U.S. Coast Guard;
extent to which the work will enhance national,
regional, or local economic development, including domestic
manufacturing capacity;
extent to which the work will promote job growth
or international competitiveness;
number of jobs created directly by the funded
activity;
ability to obligate the funds allocated within the
fiscal year;
ability to complete the project, separable
element, project phase, or useful increment of work within the
funds allocated;
addressing hazardous barriers to navigation due to
shallow channels;
risk of imminent failure or closure of the
facility; and
for harbor maintenance activities,
total tonnage handled;
total exports;
total imports;
dollar value of cargo handled;
energy infrastructure and national
security needs served;
designation as strategic seaports;
lack of alternative means of freight
movement; and
savings over alternative means of
freight movement.
Additional funding provided for donor and energy transfer
ports shall be allocated in accordance with 33 U.S.C. 2238c.
The Corps is encouraged to include funding for this program in
future budget requests.
Aquatic Nuisance Research Program.--Within available funds,
the Corps is encouraged to support research that will identify
and develop improved strategies for early detection,
prevention, and management techniques and procedures to reduce
the occurrence and impacts of harmful algal blooms in our
nation's water resources.
Monitoring of Completed Navigation Projects.--The Committee
supports Corps efforts to improve aging critical infrastructure
projects, including post-tensioned anchorages at its locks and
dams. The Committee understands the Corps is exploring non-
destructive testing methods of inspection that are safer and
less costly, and encourages the Corps to continue to evaluate
the need for and benefit of such methods. The Corps is
encouraged to also consider the need for additional work on the
validation of technologies such as protective coatings. Funding
in addition to the budget request is included to support
continued efforts related to structural health monitoring,
asset management, and non-destructive testing, as appropriate.
The Corps is directed to brief the Committee not later than 90
days after the enactment of this Act on its planned activities
in each area, future funding requirements of ongoing efforts,
and the scope and effectiveness of programs at various annual
funding levels.
Water Operations Technical Support (WOTS).--Of the funding
provided, $5,000,000 is included to continue research into
atmospheric rivers first funded in fiscal year 2015. An
additional $2,500,000 is provided to expand this research
effort to other locations, as appropriate. Prior to obligating
funds for this expanded effort, however, the Corps shall brief
the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress on
the details of an expanded effort, including activities to be
undertaken, total and annual cost estimates, expected
transferability of tools developed or other results of the
research, as well as the likelihood of additional investment
being necessary.
Emerging Harbor Projects.--The recommendation includes
funding for individual projects defined as emerging harbor
projects (in section 210(f)(2) of the Water Resources
Development Act (WRDA) of 1986) that exceeds the funding levels
envisioned in section 210(c)(3) and 210(d)(1)(B)(ii) of WRDA
1986.
Great Lakes Navigation System.--The recommendation includes
funding for individual projects within this System that exceeds
the funding level envisioned in section 210(d)(1)(B)(ii) of
WRDA 1986.
Shoreline Management Policy.--The Committee is aware of
concerns regarding the new shoreline management policy for
Corps reservoirs within the South Atlantic Division. The Corps
is encouraged to continue working with affected local
communities and stakeholders to address these concerns,
including the use of non-potable water from reservoirs.
Hydropower.--The Committee recognizes that hydropower is an
important resource for the energy requirements of our states
and local communities. In some areas, such as the Summersville
Dam in West Virginia, the Corps works with non-federal partners
to provide reliable and affordable energy for the surrounding
community. The Committee encourages the Corps to review options
for expanded non-federal hydropower at appropriate sites
throughout the nation. The Committee anticipates that this
would include evaluations of seasonal pool levels and an
assessment of the impact of expanding hydropower on safety and
operations for the region.
Recreational Access.--The Committee is concerned about
reports of the Army Corps of Engineers closing recreational
access points and resistance to enhanced recreational proposals
including boat docks, handicap access ramps, and general land
access points.
Levee Safety.--The Committee notes that previous Water
Resources Development Acts have provided authorization for the
Corps to carry out certain levee safety initiatives. The Corps
shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations of both
Houses of Congress not later than 90 days after the enactment
of this Act a briefing on its efforts to implement these
initiatives.
Nonoperational locks.--The Committee has heard concerns
about the status of the Walter F. George and George W. Andrews
locks. The Corps is directed to brief the Committee not later
than 60 days after the enactment of this Act on the operating
status of these locks and what requirements are necessary to
return these locks to fully operational status.
REGULATORY PROGRAM
Appropriation, 2018................................... $200,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 200,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 200,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
This appropriation provides funds to administer laws
pertaining to the regulation of activities affecting U.S.
waters, including wetlands, in accordance with the Rivers and
Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, the Clean Water Act, and the
Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972.
Appropriated funds are used to review and process permit
applications, ensure compliance on permitted sites, protect
important aquatic resources, and support watershed planning
efforts in sensitive environmental areas in cooperation with
states and local communities.
Public Safety Projects.--The Committee continues to hear
that public safety infrastructure projects have been delayed
due to excessive and repeated reviews. Many communities depend
on these projects to protect their residents from natural
disasters. Considering the risk to life and other damages that
these disasters inflict upon communities, it is in the public
interest to have local governments mitigate for this harm.
Therefore, the Committee encourages the Corps to give the
public safety aspects of a project sufficient and appropriate
consideration when reviewing permit applications.
Timelines.--The Committee is concerned with the disparity
in permitting process timelines among the Corps districts, and
even more so with those districts whose timelines continue to
grow in length. The Committee urges the Corps to encourage
timely permitting in its districts, examine best practices
among those districts with the lowest permitting timelines, and
implement the same across other districts with lagging and
protracted timelines.
Additionally, the Committee is concerned that
infrastructure projects across the country are being impacted
by unnecessary and unlimited delays in the section 401 water
quality certification process. The Corps is encouraged to
consider providing districts with additional guidance on this
issue.
Chehalis Basin Process.--The Committee is pleased with the
Seattle District for working in a collaborative process with
the Chehalis Basin Process in Washington state for flood
protection in the nearby communities. The Committee encourages
the District to continue in this effort and further, to sync
the NEPA and SEPA processes to gain efficiencies and continue
moving the process forward in a timely manner.
Regional General Permits.--The Committee urges the Corps
and the National Marine Fisheries Service to continue to
evaluate appropriate mitigation options for Seattle District
Regional General Permits that take into consideration
improvements to existing structures.
Permitting Consultations.--The Committee is aware of
sometimes significant delays associated with consultation
requests received by the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) from the Army Corps of Engineers. The Committee urges
the Corps to work with NMFS to improve this process.
FORMERLY UTILIZED SITES REMEDIAL ACTION PROGRAM
Appropriation, 2018................................... $139,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 120,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 150,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +11,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +30,000,000
This appropriation funds the cleanup of certain low-level
radioactive materials and mixed wastes located at sites
contaminated as a result of the nation's early efforts to
develop atomic weapons.
The Congress transferred the Formerly Utilized Sites
Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) from the Department of Energy
to the Corps in fiscal year 1998. In appropriating FUSRAP funds
to the Corps, the Committee intended to transfer only the
responsibility for administration and execution of cleanup
activities at FUSRAP sites where the Department had not
completed cleanup. The Committee did not transfer to the Corps
ownership of and accountability for real property interests,
which remain with the Department. The Committee expects the
Department to continue to provide its institutional knowledge
and expertise to ensure the success of this program and to
serve the nation and the affected communities.
The Committee continues to support the prioritization of
sites, especially those that are nearing completion. Within the
funds provided in accordance with the budget request, the Corps
is directed to complete the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility
Study of the former Sylvania nuclear fuel site at Hicksville,
New York, and, as appropriate, to proceed expeditiously to a
Record of Decision and initiation of any necessary remediation
in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
FLOOD CONTROL AND COASTAL EMERGENCIES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $35,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 27,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 35,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +8,000,000
This appropriation funds planning, training, and other
measures that ensure the readiness of the Corps to respond to
floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters, and to support
emergency operations in response to such natural disasters,
including advance measures, flood fighting, emergency
operations, the provision of potable water on an emergency
basis, and the repair of certain flood and storm damage
reduction projects.
EXPENSES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $185,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 187,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 187,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +2,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
This appropriation funds the executive direction and
management of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, the
Division Offices, and certain research and statistical
functions of the Corps.
Alternative financing.--The Committee remains supportive of
public-private partnerships (P3) and other alternative
financing mechanisms. In fiscal year 2018, the Corps was
directed to submit to the Committee not later than 180 days
after enactment of the Act a policy on how proposals for
public-private partnerships will be considered by the Corps and
how these partnerships will be incorporated into the budget
policy and to discontinue certain such work until a policy is
submitted. The Corps is reminded of the Committee's long-
standing concerns that federal funding decisions not be biased
by non-federal decisions to construct projects in advance of
federal funding or to provide funding in excess of legally
required cost shares. The Committee looks forward to reviewing
the Corps' alternative financing policy once it has been
submitted.
The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA)
is another alternative financing tool that has received strong
support from many Members of Congress. The EPA's WIFIA program
was initiated in fiscal year 2015, but to date, the Corps has
not requested funding nor provided requested information on how
a corresponding program for the Civil Works program would be
implemented. Without such a plan, it is premature for the
Committee to provide funding. Therefore, the Corps again is
directed to provide to the Committees on Appropriations of both
Houses of Congress a detailed plan for how WIFIA would be
implemented, including an estimated schedule for when funding
could be used to provide loans.
Surplus Water.--The Committee urges the Corps to consider
adoption of the alternative definition of ``surplus water''
excluding ``natural flows'' from stored water in the Missouri
River mainstem reservoirs in its proposed rule entitled ``Use
of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Reservoir Projects for
Domestic, Municipal & Industrial Water Supply'' (82 F.R. 9555).
Materials.--The Committee notes that the Corps worked to
raise awareness of the potential for use of cross laminated
timber in Corps projects and urges the Corps to continue
activities to encourage the use of this innovative advanced
wood product, as appropriate.
OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY FOR CIVIL WORKS
Appropriation, 2018................................... $5,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 5,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 5,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
oversees the Civil Works budget and policy, whereas the Corps'
executive direction and management of the Civil Works program
are funded from the Expenses account.
The recommendation includes legislative language
restricting the availability of 75 percent of the funding
provided in this account until such time as at least 95 percent
of the additional funding provided in each account has been
allocated to specific programs, projects, or activities. This
restriction shall not affect the roles and responsibilities
established in previous fiscal years of the Office of the
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, the Corps
headquarters, the Corps field operating agencies, or any other
executive branch agency.
The Committee relies on a timely and accessible executive
branch in the course of fulfilling its constitutional role in
the appropriations process. The requesting and receiving of
basic, factual information, such as budget justification
materials, is vital in order to maintain a transparent and open
governing process. The Committee recognizes that some
discussions internal to the executive branch are pre-decisional
in nature and, therefore, not subject to disclosure. However,
the access to facts, figures, and statistics that inform these
decisions are not subject to this same sensitivity and are
critical to the budget process. The Administration needs to
ensure timely and complete responses to these inquiries.
GENERAL PROVISIONS--CORPS OF ENGINEERS--CIVIL
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
The bill continues a provision that prohibits the
obligation or expenditure of funds through a reprogramming of
funds in this title except in certain circumstances.
The bill continues a provision prohibiting the use of funds
in this Act to carry out any contract that commits funds beyond
the amounts appropriated for that program, project, or
activity.
The bill continues a provision authorizing the transfer of
funds to the Fish and Wildlife Service to mitigate for
fisheries lost due to Corps of Engineers projects.
The bill includes a provision regarding certain dredged
material disposal activities.
The bill includes a provision regarding acquisitions.
The bill includes a provision regarding reallocations at a
project.
The bill includes a provision prohibiting the use of funds
to require permits for the discharge of dredged or fill
material for certain agriculture activities.
The bill includes a provision regarding a rule under the
Clean Water Act.
The bill contains a provision allowing the possession of
firearms at water resources development projects under certain
circumstances.
The bill includes a provision prohibiting the obligation or
expenditure of funds on a new hopper dredge.
TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Central Utah Project
CENTRAL UTAH PROJECT COMPLETION ACCOUNT
Appropriation, 2018................................... $10,500,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 7,983,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 13,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +2,500,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +5,017,000
The Central Utah Project Completion Act (CUPCA) (titles II-
VI of P.L. 102-575) provides for the completion of the Central
Utah Project by the Central Utah Water Conservancy District.
The Act also authorizes the appropriation of funds for fish,
wildlife, and recreation mitigation and conservation;
establishes an account in the Treasury for the deposit of these
funds and of other contributions for mitigation and
conservation activities; and establishes a Utah Reclamation
Mitigation and Conservation Commission to administer funds in
that account. The Act further assigns responsibilities for
carrying out the Act to the Secretary of the Interior and
prohibits delegation of those responsibilities to the Bureau of
Reclamation.
The Committee recommendation includes a total of
$15,000,000 for the Central Utah Project Completion Account,
which includes $12,703,325 for Central Utah Project
construction, $898,000 for transfer to the Utah Reclamation
Mitigation and Conservation Account for use by the Utah
Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, and
$1,398,675 for necessary expenses of the Secretary of the
Interior.
Bureau of Reclamation
INTRODUCTION
The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is
to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in
an environmentally and economically sound manner in the
interest of the American public. Since its establishment by the
Reclamation Act of 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation has
developed water supply facilities that have contributed to
sustained economic growth and an enhanced quality of life in
the western states. Lands and communities served by Reclamation
projects have been developed to meet agricultural, tribal,
urban, and industrial needs. Reclamation continues to develop
authorized facilities to store and convey new water supplies
and is the largest supplier and manager of water in the 17
western states. Reclamation maintains 338 reservoirs with the
capacity to store 245 million acre-feet of water.
As Reclamation's large impoundments and appurtenant
facilities reach their design life, the projected cost of
operating, maintaining, and rehabilitating Reclamation
infrastructure continues to grow, yet Reclamation has not
budgeted funding sufficient to implement a comprehensive
program to reduce its maintenance backlog. At the same time,
Reclamation is increasingly relied upon to provide water supply
to federally-recognized Indian Tribes through water
settlements, rural communities through its Title I Rural Water
Program, and municipalities through its Title XVI Water
Reclamation and Reuse Program. Balancing these competing
priorities will be challenging and requires active
participation and leadership on the part of Reclamation and its
technical staff.
Reconsultation.--The Committee is aware that the Bureau of
Reclamation initiated reconsultation on the biological opinions
regarding the coordinated operations of the Central Valley
Project and the California State Water Project. The Committee
directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the
Commissioner of Reclamation, in conjunction with the Director
of the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Secretary of
Commerce, and the Administrator of the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS), to ensure completion of the
biological opinions by May 31, 2020, consistent with Section
4004 of the WIIN Act. Furthermore, the Committee requests the
Secretary of the Interior submit to Congress a timeline and
plan for the deployment of resources and staff to ensure the
biological opinions are completed by the above date, as well as
regular subsequent updates until the biological opinions are
finalized. In addition, given the complexities surrounding this
issue, the Committee strongly encourages the Secretary of the
Interior to work with the Secretary of Commerce to develop a
joint biological opinion, to the extent practicable, to
minimize conflicts between potential reasonable and prudent
alternatives/measures imposed by a biological opinion issued by
FWS and a biological opinion imposed by NMFS.
In its notice of intent dated December 29, 2017, the Bureau
of Reclamation stated the purpose of this reconsultation is
``to evaluate alternatives that maximize water deliveries and
optimize marketable power generation consistent with applicable
laws, contractual obligations, and agreements; and to augment
operational flexibility by addressing the status of listed
species.'' The Committee supports these objectives.
FISCAL YEAR 2019 BUDGET REQUEST AND COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The fiscal year 2019 budget request for the Bureau of
Reclamation totals $1,049,025,000. The Committee recommendation
totals $1,540,000,000, $70,500,000 above fiscal year 2018 and
$490,975,000 above the budget request.
A table summarizing the fiscal year 2018 enacted
appropriation, the fiscal year 2019 budget request, and the
Committee recommendation is provided below:
(Dollars in thousands)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2018 FY 2019
Account enacted request Cmte rec.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Water and Related Resources...... $1,332,124 $891,017 $1,381,992
Central Valley Project 41,376 62,008 62,008
Restoration Fund................
California Bay-Delta Restoration. 37,000 35,000 35,000
Policy and Administration........ 59,000 61,000 61,000
--------------------------------------
Total, Bureau of Reclamation. 1,469,500 1,049,025 1,540,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WATER AND RELATED RESOURCES
(INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)
Appropriation, 2018................................... $1,332,124,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 891,017,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 1,381,992,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +49,868,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +490,975,000
The Water and Related Resources account supports the
development, construction, management, and restoration of water
and related natural resources in the 17 western states. The
account includes funds for operating and maintaining existing
facilities to obtain the greatest overall levels of benefits,
to protect public safety, and to conduct studies on ways to
improve the use of water and related natural resources.
The budget request for this account and the approved
Committee allowance are shown on the following table:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Central Valley Project, San Luis Unit, California.--The
Committee is aware that Reclamation and the Western Area Power
Administration are evaluating the possible construction of a
transmission line to directly serve the San Luis Unit from the
Central Valley Project system as an alternative to receiving
service under the California Independent System Operator's
Tariff. The agencies are encouraged to continue to work
together and with the affected Central Valley Project water
contractors to ensure the most efficient and cost-effective
process for implementation.
Salton Sea, California.--The Committee supports the
Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Department of
the Interior and the California Natural Resources Agency to
support management activities at the Salton Sea.
Tualatin Project, Scoggins Dam, Oregon.--The Committee
supports the budget request for preconstruction activities at
Scoggins Dam under the Safety of Dams program. Consistent with
existing authorities, the Committee encourages Reclamation to
evaluate alternatives, including new or supplementary works, to
address dam safety modifications and increased storage capacity
provided that safety remains the paramount consideration.
Considering the high risk associated with Scoggins Dam, the
Committee urges Reclamation to work with local stakeholders and
repayment contractors on this joint project, including
feasibility and environmental review of the preferred
alternative. The Committee has been told that a replacement
structure downstream could significantly reduce project costs
for both the federal government and local stakeholders.
Reclamation may accept contributed funds from non-federal
contractors to expedite completion of any level of review.
Mni Wiconi Project, South Dakota.--Reclamation is directed
to continue working with the Tribes and relevant federal
agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture, the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
the Indian Health Service, and the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, to coordinate use of all existing
authorities and funding sources to finish needed community
system upgrades and connections, as well as any transfers of
those systems, as quickly as possible. The Administration is
encouraged to include appropriate funding for upgrades in
future budget requests.
Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project Integrated
Plan, Washington.--The Committee is aware of the Integrated
Plan that has been developed by the Yakima River Basin Water
Enhancement Project Working Group, including the Bureau of
Reclamation, to address water storage and water supply needs
for agriculture, fish, and municipalities within the Yakima
River Basin in Central Washington. The Committee is supportive
of the Plan and encourages the Bureau to move forward on
implementing authorized components of the Plan.
Additional Funding for Water and Related Resources Work.--
The recommendation includes funds in addition to the budget
request for Water and Related Resources studies, projects, and
activities. Priority in allocating these funds should be given
to advance and complete ongoing work, including preconstruction
activities and where environmental compliance has been
completed; improve water supply reliability; improve water
deliveries; enhance national, regional, or local economic
development; promote job growth; advance tribal and nontribal
water settlement studies and activities; or address critical
backlog maintenance and rehabilitation activities. Of the
additional funding provided under the heading ``Water
Conservation and Delivery'', $134,000,000 shall be for water
storage projects as authorized in section 4007 of Public Law
114-322.
Not later than 45 days after the enactment of this Act,
Reclamation shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations
of both Houses of Congress a report delineating how these funds
are to be distributed, in which phase the work is to be
accomplished, and an explanation of the criteria and rankings
used to justify each allocation.
Reclamation is reminded that activities authorized under
Indian Water Rights Settlements and under section 206 of Public
Law 113-235 are eligible to compete for the additional funding
provided under ``Water Conservation and Delivery''.
Research and Development: Desalination and Water
Purification Program.--Of the funding provided for this
program, $12,000,000 shall be for desalination projects as
authorized in section 4009(a) of Public Law 114-322.
WaterSMART Program: Title XVI Water Reclamation & Reuse
Program.--Of the funding provided for this program, $20,000,000
shall be for water recycling and reuse projects as authorized
in section 4009(c) of Public Law 114-322.
Hydroelectric Dams.--The Committee has heard concerns about
potential impacts to rural communities from proposals to remove
hydropower-producing dams. The Committee directs that where
Reclamation has a role in funding, carrying out, or approving
the removal of a hydropower-producing dam, Reclamation shall,
prior to taking any such action, study the environmental and
fiscal impact of dam removal on the county or counties where
the dams are located.
WIIN Act Studies.--The Committee encourages Reclamation to
continue to make progress on studies authorized in the WIIN
Act.
CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT RESTORATION FUND
Appropriation, 2018................................... $41,376,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 62,008,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 62,008,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +20,632,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
This fund was established to carry out the provisions of
the Central Valley Project Improvement Act and to provide
funding for habitat restoration, improvement and acquisition,
and other fish and wildlife restoration activities in the
Central Valley area of California. Resources are derived from
donations, revenues from voluntary water transfers and tiered
water pricing, and Friant Division surcharges. The account also
is financed through additional mitigation and restoration
payments collected on an annual basis from project
beneficiaries.
Within available funds, the Committee provides funding for
programs and activities according to the Administration's
request. The Committee notes that the increase for this account
in the budget request and recommendation is based on a three-
year rolling average of collections, in accordance with the
authorizing statute.
Anadromous Fish Screen Program.--The Committee has heard
concerns about a potential disconnect between funding levels
requested and ultimately allocated for the Anadromous Fish
Screen Program. Reclamation is directed to submit to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not
later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act, an account
of the Anadromous Fish Screen Program funding level requested,
allocated, and obligated, including specification of any
administrative costs, from each funding source in each of the
previous five fiscal years. The Committee encourages
Reclamation to continue its focus on screening of the remaining
high priority diversions from within funds made available under
the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund in future budget
requests.
CALIFORNIA BAY-DELTA RESTORATION
(INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)
Appropriation, 2018................................... $37,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 35,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 35,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -2,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The California Bay-Delta Restoration account funds the
federal share of water supply and reliability improvements,
ecosystem improvements, and other activities being developed
for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and associated watersheds
by a state and federal partnership (CALFED). Federal
participation in this program was initially authorized in the
California Bay-Delta Environmental and Water Security Act
enacted in 1996.
POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION
Appropriation, 2018................................... $59,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 61,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 61,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +2,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Policy and Administration account provides for the
executive direction and management of all Reclamation
activities, as performed by the Commissioner's office in
Washington, D.C.; the Technical Service Center in Denver,
Colorado; and in five regional offices. The Denver and regional
offices charge individual projects or activities for direct
beneficial services and related administrative and technical
costs. These charges are covered under other appropriations.
The Committee recommends that Reclamation work with all
Reclamation states to ensure that counties and municipalities
are aware of relevant programs and funding opportunities.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION
The bill includes an administrative provision allowing for
the purchase of passenger motor vehicles.
GENERAL PROVISIONS--DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
The bill continues a provision regarding the circumstances
in which the Bureau of Reclamation may reprogram funds.
The bill continues a provision regarding the San Luis Unit
and Kesterson Reservoir in California.
The bill makes permanent a provision regarding aquifer
recharge.
The bill continues a provision regarding a feasibility
study.
The bill includes a provision regarding the San Joaquin
River Restoration program.
The bill continues a provision regarding instream flows.
The bill includes a provision regarding pumped storage
hydropower development.
TITLE III--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Introduction
Funds recommended in Title III provide for all Department
of Energy (DOE) programs, including Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy; Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency
Response; Electricity Delivery; Nuclear Energy; Fossil Energy
Research and Development; Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale
Reserves; the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; SPR Petroleum
Account; the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve; the Energy
Information Administration; Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup;
the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning
Fund; Science; Nuclear Waste Disposal; Advanced Research
Projects Agency---Energy; Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee
Program; Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loans
Program; Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program; Departmental
Administration; Office of the Inspector General; the National
Nuclear Security Administration (Weapons Activities, Defense
Nuclear Nonproliferation, Naval Reactors, and Federal Salaries
and Expenses); Defense Environmental Cleanup; Other Defense
Activities; Defense Nuclear Waste Disposal; the Power Marketing
Administrations; and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Committee Recommendation
The Department of Energy has requested a total budget of
$30,146,071,000 in fiscal year 2019 to fund programs in its
four primary mission areas: science, energy, environment, and
national security. The Department of Energy budget request is
$4,373,978,000 below the fiscal year 2018 enacted level.
Research and Development Policy.--The President's budget
request proposes to refocus the Department on an early-stage
research and development mission. Early-stage research and
development has an appropriate place in a balanced research
portfolio. However, the Committee believes that a focus on only
early-stage activities will forego the nation's scientific
capabilities in medium- and later-stage research and
development and may not fully realize the technological
advancements possible under the Department's applied energy
activities. The Committee provides funding to support a more
comprehensive approach that includes medium and later-stage
research, development, deployment, and demonstration
activities. The Department is expected to follow this
comprehensive approach and expend funding in an expeditious
manner, to include the issuance of funding opportunity
announcements and awards of funds.
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.--The Committee
notes that the budget request proposed to split the Electricity
Delivery and Energy Reliability program into two new accounts:
``Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response'' and
``Electricity Delivery''. The Committee accepts this new
account structure. The ``Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and
Emergency Response'' account includes the subprograms
``Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems'' and
``Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration''. The
``Electricity Delivery'' account contains all other subprograms
that were previously funded as part of the Electricity Delivery
and Energy Reliability program. In addition, each account
contains separate Program Direction funding.
CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTION
Article I, section 9 of the United States Constitution
states, ``No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in
consequence of Appropriations made by law.''
The Committee continues the Department's reprogramming
authority in statute to ensure that the Department carries out
its programs consistent with congressional direction. This
reprogramming authority is established at the program, project,
or activity level, whichever is the most specific level of
budget items identified in this Act and the Committee report
accompanying the Act. The Committee also prohibits new starts
through the use of reprogramming and includes other direction
to improve public oversight of the Department's actions. In
addition, the recommendation continues a general provision
specifying which transfer authorities may be used for accounts
funded by this Act. The Committee recommendation includes a
general provision that specifies the amount of funding that may
be transferred from the Department's accounts to the DOE
working capital fund in aggregate, consistent with the
authorities provided by section 653 of the Department of Energy
Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7263).
FINANCIAL REPORTING AND MANAGEMENT
The Department still is not in compliance with its
statutory requirement to submit to Congress, at the time that
the President's budget request is submitted, a future-years
energy program that covers the fiscal year of the budget
submission and the four succeeding years, as directed in the
fiscal year 2012 Act. In addition, the Department has an
outstanding requirement to submit a plan to become fully
compliant with this requirement.
Working Capital Fund.--The Committee recommends
$274,833,000, the same as fiscal year 2018, for transfers to
the fund in fiscal year 2019, after accounting for the shift of
CyberOne activities to Departmental Administration. Guidelines
for the Department's working capital fund are provided in 42
U.S.C. 7263, which authorizes the use of the working capital
fund for expenses necessary for the maintenance and operation
of common administrative services. The use of the fund for
cybersecurity is not specifically authorized and is not
appropriate considering direct funding is also requested and
appropriated within funds for the Chief Information Officer
within Departmental Administration. The Department shall
include all funding required for CyberOne and other related
cybersecurity needs in its budget request for Departmental
Administration in future budget requests.
Alleviation of Poverty.--In its fiscal year 2016 report,
the Committee directed the Department to provide a report
detailing all domestic and international projects and programs
within its jurisdiction that contribute to the alleviation of
poverty. The Department is encouraged to provide this report
not later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act.
Workplace Diversity.--The Committee recognizes the
importance of workplace diversity in the Department of Energy's
national laboratories. The Committee encourages the Department
to continue to develop and broaden partnerships with minority
serving institutions, including Hispanic Serving Institutions,
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Asian and Pacific
Islander Serving Institutions, Predominantly Black
Institutions, Tribal Colleges, and other Minority Serving
Institutions. The Committee notes that the fiscal year 2017 Act
directed the Department to provide a detailed plan outlining
efforts to recruit and retain diverse talent from the
institutions mentioned above. The Department is encouraged to
provide this plan not later than 90 days after the enactment of
this Act.
Public Access Plan.--The Committee appreciates the
Department issuing its Public Access Plan on July 24, 2014. The
Committee urges the Department to continue efforts towards full
implementation of the plan and expects an update on progress be
included in the fiscal year 2020 budget request.
Improper Payments.--The Committee continues to be concerned
that the Department is failing in its responsibility to ensure
that its maintenance and operating contracts with incurred
costs valued at billions of dollars per year are being audited
appropriately and in a timely manner. The Department was
directed in the fiscal year 2015 Act to carry out a plan to
improve its cost audit coverage, but has not reported any
progress on issues identified by the DOE Inspector General (IG)
associated with the Department's cost audit coverage. The DOE
IG continues to track nearly a billion dollars in potentially
unallowable and unresolved amounts on DOE contracts. In May
2017, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that DOE
does not use leading practices for managing fraud risks, such
as data analytics, that can help agencies detect fraudulent
spending or other improper payments. The GAO made six
recommendations that remain open. Nevertheless, the Department
claims that it had an industry leading low improper payment
rate of 0.07% for fiscal year 2015, far below the government-
wide improper payment rate of 4.8%. In claiming this figure,
the Department is clearly not accounting for payments that it
has simply failed to audit and resolve. It is also not evident
that the Department is capturing data on payments made to its
contractors that are later determined to be an unallowable
cost. The Committee directs the Comptroller General to
investigate the Department's system of tracking unallowable,
disputed, or improper payments and provide recommendations to
improve the Department's methodology for reporting accurate,
representative, and meaningful data on improper payments.
Furthermore, the Department is directed to provide to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not
later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act a plan for
removing the Department of Energy from the GAO's High Risk List
for Fraud, Waste, and Abuse for its maintenance and operating
contracts. This plan shall include actions to improve contract
auditing and the tracking of meaningful data for fraud, waste,
and abuse in its contracts.
Supporting Information.--The Committee relies on a timely
and accessible executive branch in the course of fulfilling its
constitutional role in the appropriations process. The
requesting and receiving of basic, factual information is vital
in order to maintain a transparent and open governing process.
The Committee recognizes that some discussions internal to the
executive branch are pre-decisional in nature and, therefore,
not subject to disclosure. However, access to facts, figures,
and statistics that inform these decisions are not subject to
this same sensitivity and are critical to the budget process.
The Administration needs to ensure timely and complete
responses to these inquiries.
MANAGEMENT OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND DEFENSE WASTE
The Committee fully supports the Administration's position
to move forward with Yucca Mountain. The Department, together
with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), has repeatedly
confirmed over the years that Yucca Mountain is a safe and
secure location to permanently store the nation's spent nuclear
fuel and high-level radioactive waste. However, many more steps
remain before Yucca Mountain begins to accept waste. The
Department's request restarts this process and brings the
Department closer to fulfilling its legal obligation to take
responsibility for storing the nation's nuclear waste. The
Committee appreciates the Department's focus on Yucca Mountain
and provides additional funds above the budget request to
accelerate progress toward meeting the Department's goals.
To restart the adjudication of the Yucca Mountain license
application, the Committee provides a total of $267,700,000, an
increase of $100,000,000 above the budget request. Funding for
Yucca is provided in the following three accounts: $190,000,000
for Nuclear Waste Disposal, $30,000,000 for Defense Nuclear
Waste Disposal, and $47,700,000 within the NRC.
COMMONLY RECYCLED PAPER
The Department shall not expend funds for projects that
knowingly use as a feedstock commonly recycled paper that is
segregated from municipal solid waste or collected as part of a
collection system that commingles commonly recycled paper with
other solid waste at any point from the time of collection
through materials recovery.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
The Department is prohibited from funding fellowship and
scholarship programs in fiscal year 2019 unless the programs
were explicitly included in the budget justification or funded
within this recommendation. Any new or ongoing programs that
the Department chooses to fund in fiscal year 2019 must be
detailed in the fiscal year 2019 budget justifications.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The Committee notes that the Department is not meeting its
statutory annual reporting requirements for its general plant
projects. In addition, the Department has not been consistently
reporting the details of its general plant projects across
Departmental programs in its budget request. Not later than 60
days after the enactment of this Act, the Department shall
provide to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress a report on all general plant projects funded in
fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019. The Department shall ensure
that all general plant projects are clearly identified in the
appropriate sections of its fiscal year 2020 budget request and
that a full description with total costs is included for each
project.
REPROGRAMMING AND TRANSFER GUIDELINES
The Committee requires the Department to inform the
Committee promptly when a change in program execution and
funding is required during the fiscal year. The Department's
reprogramming requirements are detailed in statute. To assist
the Department in this effort, the following guidance is
provided for programs and activities.
Definition.--A reprogramming includes the reallocation of
funds from one activity to another within an appropriation. The
recommendation includes a general provision providing internal
reprogramming authority to the Department, as long as no
program, project, or activity is increased or decreased by more
than $5,000,000 or 10 percent, whichever is less, compared to
the levels in the table detailing the Committee's
recommendations for the Department's various accounts. For
construction projects, a reprogramming constitutes the
reallocation of funds from one construction project to another
project or a change of $2,000,000 or 10 percent, whichever is
less, in the scope of an approved project.
Criteria for Reprogramming.--A reprogramming should be made
only when an unforeseen situation arises, and then only if
delay of the project or activity until the next fiscal year
would result in a detrimental impact to an agency program or
priority. A reprogramming may also be considered if the
Department can show that significant cost savings can accrue by
increasing funding for an activity. Mere convenience or
preference should not be a factor for consideration. A
reprogramming may not be employed to initiate new programs or
to change program, project, or activity allocations
specifically denied, limited, or increased by the Congress in
the Act or report.
Reporting and Approval Procedures.--In recognition of the
security missions of the Department, the legislative guidelines
allow the Secretary and the Administrator of the National
Nuclear Security Administration jointly to waive the
reprogramming restriction by certifying to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress that it is in the
nation's security interest to do so. The Department shall not
deviate from the levels for activities specified in the report
that are below the level of the detail table, except through
the regular notification procedures of the Committee. No funds
may be added to programs for which funding has been denied. Any
reallocation of new or prior-year budget authority or prior-
year de-obligations, or any request to implement a
reorganization that includes moving previous appropriations
between appropriations accounts must be submitted to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress in
writing and may not be implemented prior to approval by the
Committees.
Transfers.--As in fiscal year 2018, funding actions into or
out of accounts funded by this Act may only be made by transfer
authorities provided by this or other appropriations Acts.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee's recommendations for Department of Energy
programs in fiscal year 2019 are described in the following
sections. A detailed funding table is included at the end of
this title.
ENERGY PROGRAMS
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Appropriation, 2018................................... $2,321,778,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 695,610,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 2,078,640,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -243,138,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +1,383,030,000
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) programs
include research, development, demonstration, and deployment
activities advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy
technologies, as well as federal energy assistance programs.
The EERE program is divided into three portfolios: sustainable
transportation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. The
sustainable transportation portfolio, which consists of the
vehicles, bioenergy, and hydrogen and fuel cell programs,
advances the development of plug-in electric and other
alternative fuel vehicles, high-efficiency advanced combustion
engines, and the replacement of oil with clean domestic
transportation fuels. The renewable energy portfolio, which
consists of the solar, wind, water, and geothermal programs,
aims to develop innovative technologies to make renewable
electricity generation cost competitive with traditional
sources of energy. The energy efficiency portfolio, which
consists of the advanced manufacturing, buildings, and federal
energy assistance programs, seeks cost-effective solutions to
reduce energy consumption in plants, buildings, and homes.
The Committee encourages EERE to offer technical and other
programmatic assistance to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to
support investment in innovative technologies to effectively
reduce power system emissions, efficiently treat wastewater,
produce biofuels, and generate power from solid waste. In
addition, the Committee also encourages EERE to assist Puerto
Rico in assessing the viability and implementation of a subsea
electric cable interconnection and the use of micro grids in
order to reduce electricity rates.
The Committee recognizes the importance of the Department's
work on the Energy-Water Nexus and as part of that effort, the
Committee encourages the Department to enter into an
interdepartmental agreement with the Department of Agriculture
for research that explores how to integrate ongoing research
projects at the various national laboratories and the
Agricultural Research Service to develop effective, deployable,
energy- and water-efficient food production platforms,
beginning in food-insecure communities across the country. By
working together, DOE and the Department of Agriculture can
bring respective strengths and resources to designing the most
desirable low-cost and efficient production system.
Zero Emissions Energy Credit.--The Committee notes that in
the fiscal year 2018 Act the Department was directed to produce
a report to evaluate the effects of a Zero Emissions Energy
Credit. The Committee expects a timely delivery of the report.
Energy Star.--The Committee supports the Department's
ongoing role in the Energy Star program and its current
structure. In November 2017, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) requested feedback from Energy Star program
stakeholders about how to improve the program by developing
updated standard operating procedures (SOPs). The Department is
directed to support the EPA's efforts to reexamine Energy Star
guidelines and SOPs to ensure transparency, predictability, and
consistency for all stakeholders.
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION
The Vehicle, Bioenergy, and Hydrogen and Fuel Cell
Technologies programs fund activities that can reduce American
exposure to future high oil prices. Research into cutting-edge
technologies that will increase the fuel economy of gasoline
and diesel fuel vehicles--the vast majority of today's fleet
will allow Americans to spend less on fuel while traveling the
same distance. Research into next-generation automotive and
fuel cell technologies that power vehicles with domestic energy
sources such as natural gas, electricity, biofuels, and
hydrogen can likewise dramatically lower the impact of future
high gas prices on Americans.
Vehicle Technologies.--Within available funds, the
recommendation includes $130,000,000 for Batteries and Electric
Drive Technology, of which $7,000,000 is to enable extreme fast
charging and advanced battery analytics; $25,000,000 for Energy
Efficient Mobility Systems; $25,000,000 for Materials
Technology; $2,500,000 for Advanced Vehicle Competitions; and
$20,000,000 to continue the SuperTruck II program to further
improve the efficiency of heavy-duty class 8 long- and
regional-haul vehicles. The Committee also supports research
and development to lower the cost of batteries for electric
vehicles through cobalt-free materials and roll-to-roll
manufacturing.
The Committee directs the Department to continue to support
the Clean Cities program, including providing competitive
grants to support alternative fuel, infrastructure, and vehicle
deployment activities. Within available funds, the
recommendation provides $34,000,000 for Deployment through the
Clean Cities Program. When issuing competitive grants in
support of these activities, the Department is encouraged to
focus on awards that range from $500,000 to $1,000,000 each and
include at least one Clean Cities coalition partner. The
Committee encourages the Department to ensure balance in the
award of funds to achieve varied aims in fostering broader
adoption of clean vehicles and installation of supporting
infrastructure.
Within available funds, the recommendation includes up to
$15,000,000 for medium- and heavy-duty on-road natural gas
engine research and development, including energy efficiency
improvements, emission after-treatment technologies, fuel
system enhancements, and new engine development. The
recommendation also includes, within available funds, up to
$10,000,000 to continue to support improving the energy
efficiency of commercial off-road vehicles, including fluid
power systems.
The Committee is aware of the efforts to develop hyperloop
transportation systems around the country, which have the
potential to increase the energy efficiency of our nation's
transportation system. The Committee directs the Department to
provide to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress not later than 180 days after the enactment of this
Act a report that models the demands on the electric grid and
the overall energy consumption of the transportation sector of
varying levels of network penetration of an interconnected
hyperloop system. The report should include information about
how these systems could be integrated into the electric grid
and identify any technological constraints of the grid that
must be addressed to allow the broad adoption of hyperloop
technologies.
Bioenergy Technologies.--Within available funds,
$27,000,000 is for feedstock supply and logistics, of which
$14,000,000 is for the national lab consortium and $5,000,000
is for upgrades at the Biomass Feedstock National User Facility
to extend its capabilities and maximize benefits. The
recommendation provides $32,000,000 for algal biofuels, of
which $2,000,000 is for further research and development
activities to support carbon capture from the atmosphere
(ambient air) using algae-to-energy technologies.
Within available funds for Conversion Technologies, the
recommendation provides $20,000,000 to continue the Agile
Biology Foundry and $5,000,000 to improve the efficiency of
community and smaller digesters that accept both farm and food
wastes.
The Committee is appreciative of research the Bioenergy
Technologies Office has supported regarding wet and gaseous
waste streams in waste-to-energy projects. The Committee is
interested in understanding how further research and
development activities can support baseload power generation
using municipal solid waste-to-energy technologies. The
Department is reminded that the fiscal year 2018 Act required,
not later than 180 days after the enactment of that Act, a
report on research and development activities that can improve
the economic viability of municipal solid waste-to-energy
facilities.
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies.--Within available
funds, $2,000,000 is for the EERE share of the integrated
hybrid energy systems work with the Office of Nuclear Energy
and $7,000,000 is to enable integrated energy systems using
high and low temperature electrolyzers with the intent of
advancing the [email protected] concept.
The Committee recognizes the progress of the program and
continues support for stationary, vehicle, motive, and portable
power applications of this technology. The Department is
encouraged to explore technologies that advance novel onboard
hydrogen tank systems and trailer delivery systems, and that
reduce the cost and improve the performance of hydrogen
generation and storage systems. The Department is encouraged to
work with the Department of Transportation on coordinating
supporting hydrogen fueling infrastructure.
The Committee recognizes the need to support the
development of alternative fueling infrastructure for U.S.
consumers. Accordingly, the Department is encouraged to
collaborate with the National Institute of Standards and
Technology to allow accurate measurement of hydrogen at fueling
stations.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
The Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Water Power, and Geothermal
Technologies programs fund applied research, development, and
demonstration to reduce the cost of renewable energy to
economically competitive levels. Research into innovative
technologies, such as photovoltaic and concentrating solar
technologies, offshore wind, hydropower, and ground heat, can
expand energy production from our domestic resources and reduce
our dependence on foreign oil.
Solar Energy.--The Committee encourages the Department to
research high efficiency thin-film photovoltaics and processes
for high-speed, low-cost processing to produce stable materials
on flexible substrates that can be used in residential and
commercial power and be integrated into buildings, vehicles,
and food production. Research programs are encouraged to
include cooperation between industry and academia and to
include advanced optical characterization that enables
development of strong correlations between materials, cell
optical properties, and the photovoltaic power performance of
the working solar cells. The Committee also encourages the
Department to find ways to expand access to solar energy to
residences and businesses in low-income communities.
The Committee encourages the Department to prioritize
research that seeks to improve photovoltaic cell technologies,
overcome grid integration challenges, and reduce the costs of
solar adoption.
Wind Energy.--Within available funds, the recommendation
provides up to $5,000,000 for LCOE reduction, domestic
manufacturing, and lowering market barriers for distributed
wind systems, including small wind for rural homes and farms.
The recommendation provides $1,000,000 for the Wind for Schools
program.
The Committee supports wind energy research, development,
and testing activities at the Department and recommends not
less than $7,000,000 for these activities. The Department is
encouraged to allocate this funding to perform experimental
testing, including aeroacoustics, and any required equipment
and instrumentation, to validate high-fidelity wind plant
models, and to develop wind plant controls in support of the
Department's Atmosphere to Electrons (A2e) initiative. The
Department is encouraged to leverage existing partnerships and
expand research collaboration with industry, national
laboratories, and academia, especially in the areas of hybrid
wind system control and optimization, wind turbine capability
enhancement to increase grid reliability and resilience, and
R&D; activities, including cyber security, under the guidance of
the Grid Modernization Initiative.
The Committee continues to support wind activities with
large generation potential. As such, the Committee urges the
Department to prioritize offshore wind technologies that
address the unique opportunities and issues across the nation's
waterways, such as high winds, icing, and deep water. In
addition, the Committee encourages the Department to continue
its work in advancing innovative technologies for offshore wind
development, including freshwater, deepwater, shallow water,
and transitional depth installations.
The Committee supports the efforts by the Department to
establish an offshore wind research and development consortium.
Water Power.--Within available funds, the recommendation
provides $59,000,000 for marine and hydrokinetic technology
research, development, and deployment activities, including
research into mitigation of marine ecosystem impacts of these
technologies. The Committee directs the Department to continue
development of the open-water wave energy test facility with
previously provided funds. The Committee directs the Department
to continue competitive solicitations to increase energy
capture, reliability, and survivability at lower costs for a
balanced portfolio of wave and current (ocean, river, tidal)
energy conversion systems and components. The Committee expects
the Department to continue to support collaborations between
the previously designated Marine Renewable Energy Centers and
the national laboratories, including personnel exchanges, to
support research, development, and deployment of marine energy
components and systems. In addition, the Department is directed
to continue its coordination with the U.S. Navy on marine
energy technology development for national security
applications at the Wave Energy Test Site and other locations.
The recommendation provides $26,000,000 for conventional
hydropower, of which $6,600,000 is for the purposes of section
242 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Within available funds
for hydropower, $10,000,000 is recommended for a competitive
funding opportunity for industry-led research, development and
deployment of cross-cutting energy converter technologies for
run-of-river and tailrace applications to better utilize
underdeveloped low-head and other hydropower resources.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
The Advanced Manufacturing, Building Technologies, Federal
Energy Management, and Weatherization and Intergovernmental
programs advance cost-effective solutions to reduce energy
consumption through increased efficiency. Research into
cutting-edge technologies that enhance manufacturing processes;
develop advanced materials; and reduce energy use in buildings,
homes, and factories can serve the national interest by greatly
reducing our energy needs, while also giving American
manufacturers an advantage to compete in the global
marketplace.
The Committee encourages the Department to plan a workshop
to explore ways to improve the adoption rate of energy
efficient technologies.
Advanced Manufacturing.--Within available funds, the
recommendation provides $80,000,000 for Advanced Manufacturing
Research and Development Projects; not less than $4,205,000 for
improvements in the steel industry; $20,000,000 for process
informed science, design, and engineering of materials and
devices operating in harsh environments; $5,000,000 for
research into the materials and manufacturing process
development of high-strength, light-weight nano-crystalline
metal alloys; and $5,000,000 for process-informed catalyst
science to direct chemical reactions in full-scale industrial
manufacturing processes and to develop new industrial product
applications.
The recommendation provides $56,000,000 for four Clean
Energy Manufacturing Innovation (CEMI) Institutes, $25,000,000
for the Critical Materials Institute, and $20,000,000 for the
Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) and the Carbon Fiber
Test Facility. Within available funds for the MDF, up to
$5,000,000 is for the development of additive systems and
automation technologies that have the potential to deposit
multiple materials allowing for hybrid material solutions. In
addition, the Committee supports the Department's ongoing
efforts to work on bio-based composites, bio-derived materials,
and nano/microcellulose research. The Committee supports the
budget request for Research and Development Consortia to
conduct early-stage research and development in high priority
areas and also supports early-stage research in materials,
process knowledge, and applications of modeling and simulation
relevant to energy in manufacturing. The recommendation
provides no funding for the Energy-Water Desalination Hub.
The Committee notes that drying processes consume
approximately 10 percent of the process energy used in the
manufacturing sector. The recommendation provides up to
$10,000,000 to support research and development efforts to
improve the efficiency of drying processes.
Building Technologies.--The Committee encourages the
Department to continue work on transactive controls for the
integration of buildings, the grid, and renewable energy
assets, including photovoltaics, and encourages the
continuation of this work. Within available funds, the
recommendation includes up to $25,000,000 for transactive
controls research and development, of which $5,000,000 is to
continue promoting regional demonstrations of new, utility-led
residential connected communities for advancing smart grid
systems; $28,000,000 for Commercial Buildings Integration;
$23,000,000 for Residential Buildings Integration; and
$25,000,000 for solid state lighting. If the Secretary finds
solid-state lighting technology eligible for the twenty-first
century lamp prize, specified under section 655 of the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007, $5,000,000 is provided
in addition to funds recommended for lighting research and
development.
Within the Residential Buildings Integration program, the
Committee encourages the Department to support industry teams
to facilitate research, demonstrate and test new systems, and
facilitate widespread deployment through direct engagement with
builders, the construction trades, equipment manufacturers,
smart grid technology and systems suppliers, integrators, and
State and local governments.
The Committee appreciates the Department's work in the area
of mass composite timber technology and high performance
building insulation and sensor technologies.
The Committee notes that natural gas plays an important
role in meeting the energy needs of U.S. homes and commercial
buildings. The Committee encourages the Department to explore
research and development that can advance future natural gas
systems and appliances to meet consumer demand for high
efficiency and environmentally friendly products.
The Committee recommends up to $20,000,000 for research,
development, and market transformation programs on energy
efficiency efforts related to the direct use of natural gas in
residential applications, including gas heat pump heating and
water heating, on-site combined heat and power, and natural gas
appliance venting.
The Committee urges the Department to examine how on-site
renewable generation and energy efficiency measures can combine
to meet state energy code objectives.
Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs.--The
Committee directs the Department to prioritize a timely
distribution of Weatherization Assistance Program funds. The
Committee recognizes that many individuals who would otherwise
be eligible for the Weatherization Assistance Program have
homes with structural deficiencies which preclude them from
participating. The Department is directed to provide to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a
briefing on the kinds of information that is collected from
grantees and the potential for collecting additional
information that discusses the kinds of structural deficiencies
that make homes ineligible for the program.
CORPORATE SUPPORT
The Program Direction, Strategic Programs, and Facilities
and Infrastructure budgets provide the necessary resources for
program and project management across all of EERE's technology
programs, for the adoption of technologies to market, and for
the operation and upkeep of the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory.
Strategic Programs.--The Department is encouraged to work
with 2-year, public community and technical colleges on job
training programs that lead to an industry-recognized
credential in the energy workforce.
Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response
Appropriation, 2018................................... $- - -
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 95,800,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 146,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +146,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +50,200,000
The Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response
program leads the Department's efforts to secure the nation's
energy infrastructure against all hazards, reduce the risks of
and impacts from cyber events, and assist with restoration
activities. A reliable and resilient power grid is critical to
the nation's economic competitiveness and leadership.
After adjusting for the account structure changes proposed
in the President's request, the recommendation is $49,971,000
above the fiscal year 2018 enacted level for these activities.
The Committee places a high priority on ensuring the
protection of the grid against cyberattacks and extreme weather
events. The Committee appreciates the Department's enhanced
focus on these activities. Many different actors, governmental
and private, play a role in preventing and responding to
threats to the nation's energy infrastructure. The Committee
expects the Department to continue coordinating its efforts
with all stakeholders to ensure the highest priority areas are
being addressed effectively in its ongoing efforts to protect
the grid.
Within available funds for Cybersecurity for Energy
Delivery Systems, $10,000,000 is for research and development
on concepts to simplify and isolate automated systems and
remove vulnerabilities that could allow unauthorized access to
the grid through digital software systems.
Electricity Delivery
Appropriation, 2018................................... $- - -
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 61,309,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 175,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +175,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +113,691,000
The Electricity Delivery program advances technologies and
provides operational support to increase the efficiency and
technological advancement of the nation's electricity delivery
system. The power grid employs aging technologies at a time
when power demands and the deployment of new intermittent
technologies are imposing new stresses on the system. The
Electricity Delivery program aims to develop a modern power
grid by advancing resilient power distribution systems,
intelligent and high-efficiency grid components, and energy
storage systems.
After adjusting for the account structure changes proposed
in the President's request, the recommendation is $22,700,000
above the fiscal year 2018 enacted level for these activities.
Within available funds for Resilient Distribution Systems,
$7,000,000 is provided for university-based research and
development of sensing, intelligent machines in the Internet of
Things and their integration into the utility grid. The
Committee supports investments to bring together the national
laboratories' micro grid capabilities to provide the most
advanced set of micro grid research, development, and
experimentation capabilities for developing grid solutions from
fundamental research to evaluation, design, and decision
support.
The Committee supports energy storage projects that fully
assess and demonstrate a portfolio of energy storage systems at
grid relevant scales and maximize the value stream of these
technologies to deliver tangible benefits across the
operations, energy delivery, environmental, and financial
sectors of the utility industry.
Within available funds for Energy Storage, the Department
is encouraged to launch a new initiative aimed at aggressively
driving down costs and improving the performance of a diverse
set of grid-scale storage technologies. The program will build
off the Department's prior research and development efforts in
storage; include a suite of technologies capable of providing
storage-like functions; and focus R&D; efforts on technical,
regulatory, and market issues necessary to achieve both
existing grid-scale storage cost and performance targets, as
well as targets for increased grid reliability, resiliency, or
others as appropriate. The Electricity Delivery program is
urged to coordinate its efforts with the Office of Science and
EERE to ensure this new initiative best leverages the storage
work being conducted within the Basic Energy Sciences program
of the Office of Science and programs within EERE where
appropriate. Low cost grid-scale energy storage technologies
are critical to improving grid resiliency, reliability,
security, and the successful integration of a broad range of
generation sources.
The Committee notes the potential benefits that high power,
high capacity batteries can provide for increased energy
resilience in the face of adverse events and increasing
deployments of intermittent technologies. The Department is
directed to provide to the Committees on Appropriations of both
Houses of Congress not later than 180 days after the enactment
of this Act a report on the potential use of next generation,
high capacity and high power batteries in our energy system.
The Department is directed to continue the ongoing work
between the national laboratories, industry, and universities
to improve grid reliability and resiliency through the
strategic goals of the Grid Modernization Initiative. The
Committee encourages the Department to include all applied
energy programs to ensure broad energy system resilience and
modernization. In addition, the Committee supports the
strategic goals of the Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium
and supports continued implementation of the Grid Multi-year
Program Plan. The plan should include an emphasis on national
grid resilience modeling and improved grid cyber resilience.
The Committee is supportive of establishing a shared
platform for understanding the interconnectedness of the North
American grid, but lacks details on cost estimates for these
efforts. The Department is directed to provide to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not
later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act a report
describing the activities and costs necessary to achieve a
North American grid model. Within available funds the
Department may build upon existing tools and modeling work done
at the Department to explore a shared modeling platform across
the national laboratories.
The Committee supports the Department's involvement in the
grid restoration effort in Puerto Rico and encourages the
Department to continue to provide technical assistance as
Puerto Rico works to rebuild its energy infrastructure. In
addition, the Electricity Delivery program is encouraged to
collaborate with EERE to offer assistance in assessing the
viability and implementation of a subsea electric cable
interconnection and the use of micro grids in order to reduce
electricity rates.
The Department is directed to provide to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not later than 180
days after the enactment of this Act a report on the potential
of dynamic line rating systems to address transmission
congestion management and improve grid reliability and
resiliency. The report should contain an analysis of the
technologies needed to support dynamic line rating and any
generation technologies that may benefit or be disadvantaged by
implementing a dynamic line rating scheme.
Nuclear Energy
Appropriation, 2018................................... $1,205,056,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 757,090,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 1,346,090,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +141,034,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +589,000,000
Nuclear power generates approximately one-fifth of the
nation's electricity and will continue to be an important base-
load energy source in the future. The Department of Energy's
Nuclear Energy (NE) program invests in research, development,
and demonstration activities that develop the next generation
of clean and safe reactors, further improve the safety of our
current reactor fleet, and contribute to the nation's long-term
leadership in the global nuclear power industry.
NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies.--Within available
funds, $50,000,000 is for Crosscutting Technology Development,
of which $10,000,000 is for work on advanced sensors and
instrumentation and $10,000,000 is for hybrid energy systems;
$50,000,000 is for the Nuclear Science User Facilities, of
which $10,000,000 is for nuclear energy computation system and
support; $40,000,000 is for Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling
and Simulation, of which $6,000,000 is for MW-scale reactor
modeling and simulation; and $24,300,000 is for the Energy
Innovation Hub. The Department is directed to continue to treat
the Energy Innovation Hub and the Nuclear Energy Advanced
Modeling and Simulation programs as separate funding
activities.
Integrated University Program.--The Committee recommends
$5,000,000 to continue the Integrated University Program, which
is critical to ensuring the nation's nuclear science and
engineering workforce in future years.
Reactor Concepts Research, Development, and
Demonstration.--Within available funds, $100,000,000 is for
Advanced Small Modular Reactor Research and Development to
support technical, first-of-its-kind engineering and design and
regulatory development of next generation light water and non-
light water small modular reactors, including $10,000,000 for
seismic analysis; $155,000,000 is for Advanced Reactor
Technologies, of which $34,000,000 is for fuel and graphite
qualification, $22,000,000 is to complete the federal share of
the two performance-based advanced reactor concepts, and
$20,000,000 is for MW-scale reactor research and development;
and $65,000,000 is for research and development to support
efforts to develop a versatile fast test reactor. In support of
the current fleet of reactors as they continue to ensure safe
and reliable operations, the Committee includes $50,000,000 for
the Light Water Reactor Sustainability program.
The Department is encouraged to build upon the success of
the advanced reactor concepts program and explore ways to
support research and development that would enable non-light
water reactor demonstrations by the mid to late 2020s.
The Department shall continue to work with the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to ensure an
adequate supply of plutonium-238 is available for future NASA
space exploration missions.
Fuel Cycle Research and Development.--Within available
funds, the recommendation provides $128,559,000 for the
Advanced Fuels Program, of which not less than $55,600,000 is
to continue the participation of three industry-led teams of
the cost shared research and development program on Accident
Tolerant Fuels; not less than $20,000,000 is to support
accident tolerant fuels development at the national
laboratories and other facilities, including at the Advanced
Test Reactor, the Transient Reactor Test Facility, and the
Halden reactor; $3,000,000 is to continue research on ceramic
cladding; and $15,000,000 is for additional support of
capability development of transient testing, including test
design, modeling, and simulation. The Committee notes that
continued operation of the Advanced Test Reactor, the Transient
Reactor Test Facility, and the Halden Reactor are critical to
the success of the Accident Tolerant Fuels program and should
be preserved. Within available funds, the recommendation
provides $50,000,000 for Material Recovery and Waste Form
Development, of which $7,000,000 is for joint fuel cycle
studies and up to $20,000,000 is for highly enriched uranium
recovery preparation and testing to support needs for high
assay low enriched uranium.
The recommendation provides $62,500,000 to continue generic
Used Nuclear Fuel Disposition research and development
activities. The Department is directed to provide to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a
report on how electromagnetic technologies can be used to
remediate nuclear waste. The report shall evaluate the
scientific basis for these technologies, the effects on nuclear
waste and storage in the United States, the benefit to the
nuclear power industry, and the implications for national
security. The Committee is aware of the Department's ongoing
research and development efforts regarding the safe
transportation of spent nuclear fuel and encourages the
Department to continue this important work to ensure that this
fuel can be safely moved at the earliest opportunity.
IDAHO FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
INL Operations and Infrastructure.--Within available funds,
the recommendation includes $300,000,000 for INL Operations and
Infrastructure to support the MFC and ATR Five-Year Plan to
increase reliability and sustainability.
IDAHO SITEWIDE SAFEGUARDS AND SECURITY
Idaho Sitewide Safeguards and Security.--Within available
funds, the recommendation includes $10,000,000 to construct a
protective forces building at the ATR complex that will meet
the needs for expanded protective force and security operations
under the Department's new Design Basis Threat but that will
not exceed a total project cost of $10,000,000.
Fossil Energy Research and Development
Appropriation, 2018................................... $726,817,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 502,070,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 785,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +58,183,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +282,930,000
Fossil energy resources, such as coal, oil, and natural
gas, generate approximately 63 percent of the nation's
electricity and will continue to provide for the majority of
our needs for the foreseeable future. The Fossil Energy
Research and Development program funds research, development,
and demonstration activities to improve existing technologies
and to develop next-generation systems in the full spectrum of
fossil energy areas. At a time when fossil fuel power
generation is expanding around the globe, the activities funded
within this program advance our nation's position as a leader
in fossil energy technologies and ensure that we use the full
extent of our domestic resources safely and efficiently.
COAL--CCS AND POWER SYSTEMS
The Department is directed to use funds from Coal CCS and
Power Systems for both coal and natural gas research and
development as it determines to be merited, as long as such
research does not occur at the expense of coal research and
development.
The recommendation provides $25,000,000 to continue to
support the solicitation for two large-scale pilots that focus
on transformational coal technologies that represent a new way
to convert energy to enable a step change in performance,
efficiency, and the cost of electricity compared to today's
technologies. Such technologies include thermodynamic
improvements in energy conversion and heat transfer, such as
pressurized oxygen combustion and chemical looping, and
improvements in carbon capture systems technology. In making
the awards for large-scale pilots, the Department should
prioritize entities that have previously received funding for
these technologies at the lab and bench scale.
Within available funds for Coal CCS and Power Systems, the
Committee supports new solicitations for Front-End Engineering
and Design studies on projects that generate emissions suitable
for utilization or storage. In addition, the Committee
recommends research and development, as well as pilot scale
activities, that will improve the performance, reliability, and
efficiency of both new and existing fossil fuel fired power
plants.
Consistent with direction provided in fiscal year 2018, the
Committee does not support the closure of any National Energy
Technology Laboratory (NETL) site and provides no funds to
plan, develop, implement, or pursue the consolidation or
closure of any of the NETL sites.
The Committee supports the integrated carbon and energy
management activities of NE and EERE and provides $2,000,000
for Hybrid Carbon Conversion activities within Fossil Energy.
Carbon Capture.--The Department is directed to explore
carrying out a prize competition to advance the research,
development, or commercialization of technologies that capture,
sequester, or utilize carbon from coal. The Committee
encourages the Department to focus its efforts on improving the
efficiency and decreasing the costs of carbon capture
technologies, demonstrating carbon capture technologies, and
identifying how these technologies can be integrated with
business models and operations. This focus includes small- and
large-scale pilot testing of technologies moving through the
program pipeline and retrofit activities on the existing fleet.
Carbon Storage.--The Committee supports the past work of
the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) in
advancing future technologies for enhanced oil recovery,
mineral resource extraction, and gaining deep subsurface
knowledge through continued research. The Committee believes
the Department should undertake measures to preserve, share,
and advance the state of knowledge gained through these
programs, which will provide the necessary information to
strengthen platforms for industry adoption. Within available
funds for Storage Infrastructure, the Committee provides up to
$30,000,000 to support the CarbonSAFE initiative in which the
RCSPs are eligible to participate. The Department is encouraged
to continue activities that promote the use and reuse of
captured carbon from both the power and industrial sectors. In
addition, the Committee encourages the Department to support
non-geologic utilization activities within the Carbon Use and
Reuse program, including biological utilization by algae and
other microorganisms.
Advanced Energy Systems.--Within available funds,
$30,000,000 is for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells to focus on hydrogen
production and storage as well as research and development to
enable efficient, cost-effective electricity generation with
minimal use of water and the use of abundant domestic coal and
natural gas resources with near-zero atmospheric emissions of
CO2 and pollutants. Moreover, central power generation
applications of solid oxide fuel cells can be integrated with
carbon capture and storage efforts to contribute to a secure
energy future. The Department is directed to provide to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not
later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act a report on
the status of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Program. The report
shall include a discussion of the technological achievements of
the program, including lessons learned, and a discussion of the
technical requirements to achieve the remaining goals of the
program.
The Committee urges the Department to fund research and
development activities to improve the efficiency of gas
turbines used in power generation systems, working
cooperatively with industry, universities, and other
appropriate parties. The Committee recognizes the abundance of
domestic coal and its potential to be a significant primary
energy source for the production of liquid fuels. Within
available funds, the Department is directed to support research
and development that focuses on expanding the Department's
external agency activities to develop and test advanced concept
coal to liquid fuels technologies. Within available funds,
$37,000,000 is for transformative power generation to improve
the efficiency, reliability, and flexible operations of both
new and existing plants. The Department is directed to focus on
advanced coal technologies that are applicable to retrofit
technologies and modular coal technologies that are capable of
distributed generation, represent maximum efficiency
improvements over the current average fleet, incorporate
advanced emissions control systems, and are economically
competitive.
Crosscutting Research.--Within available funds, the
recommendation provides up to $2,500,000 to research low-
temperature microwave plasma technology that converts domestic
coal into high-performance carbon materials, and $20,000,000
for the Advanced Ultrasupercritical Program to fabricate,
qualify, and develop domestic suppliers capable of producing
components from high temperature materials.
NETL Coal Research and Development.--The recommendation
includes $20,000,000 for the Department to continue its ongoing
external agency activities to develop and test advanced
separation technologies and accelerate the advancement of
commercially viable technologies for the recovery of rare earth
elements and minerals from U.S. coal and coal byproduct
sources. The Committee expects research to support pilot-scale
and experimental activities for near-term application.
Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP)
Generation.--Within available funds, the recommendation
provides $16,700,000, consistent with the original scope of
work, to fully fund the Department's cost share portion to
design, construct, and operate a 10-MW pilot. The
recommendation provides an additional $5,730,000 for
competitively-awarded research and development activities,
coordinated with EERE and NE, to advance the use of
supercritical power cycles.
NATURAL GAS TECHNOLOGIES
Research.--Within available funds, the recommendation
provides $9,000,000 for Environmentally Prudent Development and
$5,200,000 for the Risk Based Data Management System. The
Department is encouraged to explore technologies that curtail
methane gas emissions from flaring and venting in shale
formations.
UNCONVENTIONAL FOSSIL ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES
The Committee supports the Department's continued
investment into research and development on unconventional
fossil energy technologies. These investments will help the
United States maximize the benefits of its abundant
unconventional natural gas liquids production.
The Committee recognizes the Department's ongoing efforts
to support research into the exploration for and development of
emerging unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. The Committee
encourages continued efforts to characterize emerging
unconventional reservoirs and to emphasize geographic areas
where geological conditions are optimal for the generation and
accumulation of economically significant amounts of oil or gas
in the geological formations being studied. The Committee
further encourages a focus of available resources on potential
unconventional reservoirs for which there exist limited amounts
of data rather than well-known existing reservoirs.
The Committee provides $15,000,000 for Unconventional Field
Test Sites.
The Committee is pleased with the Department's progress to
date on studying the volatility of crude oil from the Bakken
Shale in North Dakota and accurately assessing and
characterizing volatility before transporting. The Committee
directs the Department to continue this research in partnership
with the Department of Transportation to improve the safety of
crude oil transported by rail in this country.
NETL INFRASTRUCTURE
Within available funds, the recommendation provides
$5,500,000 for NETL's Supercomputer, Joule.
Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves
Appropriation, 2018................................... $4,900,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 10,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 10,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +5,100,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves no longer serve
the national defense purpose envisioned in the early 1900's,
and consequently the National Defense Authorization Act for
fiscal year 1996 required the sale of the Government's interest
in the Naval Petroleum Reserve 1 (NPR-1). To comply with this
requirement, the Elk Hills field in California was sold to
Occidental Petroleum Corporation in 1998. Following the sale of
Elk Hills, the transfer of the oil shale reserves, and transfer
of administrative jurisdiction and environmental remediation of
the Naval Petroleum Reserve 2 (NPR-2) to the Department of the
Interior, the Department retained one Naval Petroleum Reserve
property, the Naval Petroleum Reserve 3 (NPR-3) in Wyoming
(Teapot Dome field). The Department issued a disposition plan
for NPR-3 in June 2013 and began implementation of the plan in
fiscal year 2014. Transfer of NPR-3 to a new owner occurred in
fiscal year 2015.
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Appropriation, 2018................................... $252,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 175,105,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 252,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +76,895,000
The mission of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is to store
petroleum to reduce the adverse economic impact of a major
petroleum supply interruption to the U.S. and to carry out
obligations under the international energy program.
The recommendation includes funding to address facilities
development and operations, including physical security and
cavern integrity, and to maintain 1,000,000 barrels of gasoline
blendstock in the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve. The
recommendation includes legislative language to direct the
Secretary to draw down and sell crude oil from the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve, with proceeds to be deposited into the
Energy Security and Infrastructure Modernization Fund for use
in carrying out the Life Extension II project. This drawdown
and use of proceeds is in accordance with section 404 of the
Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.
SPR Petroleum Account
Appropriation, 2018................................... $8,400,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. - - -
Recommended, 2019..................................... 10,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +1,600,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +10,000,000
The SPR Petroleum Account funds Strategic Petroleum Reserve
acquisition, transportation, and drawdown activities. The
fiscal year 2019 budget request proposes to draw down and sell
one million barrels of SPR crude oil to fund the costs of
drawdown operations related to statutorily-directed sales.
Instead, the recommendation provides discretionary
appropriations for this purpose.
Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve
Appropriation, 2018................................... $6,500,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 10,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 10,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +3,500,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The acquisition and storage of heating oil for the
Northeast began in August 2000 when the Department of Energy,
through the Strategic Petroleum Reserve account, awarded
contracts for the lease of commercial storage facilities and
acquisition of heating oil. The purpose of the reserve is to
assure home heating oil supplies for the Northeastern States
during times of very low inventories and significant threats to
the immediate supply of heating oil. The Northeast Home Heating
Oil Reserve was established as a separate entity from the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve on March 6, 2001.
Energy Information Administration
Appropriation, 2018................................... $125,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 115,035,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 125,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +9,965,000
The Energy Information Administration is a quasi-
independent agency within the Department of Energy established
to provide timely, objective, and accurate energy-related
information to the Congress, the executive branch, state
governments, industry, and the public.
The Committee encourages the Department to continue
important data collection, analysis, and reporting activities
on energy use and consumption, including the Commercial
Buildings Energy Consumption Survey, and the Residential
Buildings Energy Consumption Survey.
The Committee notes that while the Energy Information
Administration website does provide information for Puerto Rico
and the other territories in its State Profiles section, the
information furnished for Puerto Rico is not as detailed nor as
up-to-date as the information furnished for states. The
Committee encourages the Energy Information Administration to
work to close these remaining data gaps.
Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup
Appropriation, 2018................................... $298,400,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 218,400,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 240,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -58,400,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +21,600,000
Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup includes funds to manage
and remediate sites used for civilian, energy research, and
non-defense related activities. These past activities resulted
in radioactive, hazardous, and mixed waste contamination that
requires remediation, stabilization, or some other action.
Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund
Appropriation, 2018................................... $840,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 752,749,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 870,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +30,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +117,251,000
The Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning
Fund was established by the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to fund
the cleanup of gaseous diffusion plants at Portsmouth, Ohio;
Paducah, Kentucky; and the East Tennessee Technology Park in
Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Portsmouth.--The recommendation includes funding above the
budget request to fully offset the amount of proceeds that the
Department planned to generate through bartering arrangements
in order to fund additional cleanup in fiscal year 2019. After
the date of enactment of this Act, the Department shall not
barter, transfer, or sell uranium for the remainder of fiscal
year 2019 in order to generate additional funding for
Portsmouth cleanup that is in excess of the amount of funding
provided in this Act.
Title X Uranium/Thorium Reimbursements.--The Committee
recommends $32,959,000 to reimburse private licensees for the
cost of cleaning up uranium and thorium processing sites in
accordance with Title X of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The
Committee expects the Department to reimburse licensees for all
previous expenses, including costs related to remediation,
restoration, and oversight of these programs, and to ensure all
impacted communities are made whole. Fulfilling the obligation
to fully reimburse licensees is important to the health and
safety of the impacted communities. The Committee expects the
Department to provide sufficient resources within future budget
requests to reimburse licensees for approved claim balances in
a timely manner and to avoid accumulating balances and
liabilities.
Science
Appropriation, 2018................................... $6,259,903,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 5,390,972,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 6,600,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +340,097,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +1,209,028,000
The Office of Science funds basic science research across
national laboratories, universities, and other research
institutions in support of American innovation and the
Department's energy-focused missions. Through research in
physics, biology, chemistry, and other science disciplines,
these activities expand scientific understanding and secure the
nation's leadership in energy innovation. The Office of Science
is the nation's largest supporter of basic research in the
physical sciences.
The Science program office includes Advanced Scientific
Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and
Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy
Physics, Nuclear Physics, Workforce Development for Teachers
and Scientists, Science Laboratories Infrastructure, Safeguards
and Security, and Program Direction. The Committee has placed a
high priority on funding these activities in fiscal year 2019,
given the private sector is not likely to fund research whose
findings either have high non-commercial value or are not
likely to be commercialized in the near or medium term. This
work is vital to sustaining the scientific leadership of the
United States and can provide the underpinnings for valuable
intellectual property in the coming decades.
The Committee encourages the Department to evaluate methods
to educate new and existing minority and women-owned small
businesses about SBIR and STTR grants, and directs the
Department to provide to the Committees on Appropriations of
both Houses of Congress not later than 180 days after the
enactment of this Act a report on current and planned outreach
efforts in this area.
The Committee appreciates the Department's focus on quantum
information sciences and encourages the Department, in addition
to activities referenced in the budget request, to explore
research and development on precision sensors.
ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING RESEARCH
The Advanced Scientific Computing Research program develops
and hosts some of the world's fastest computing and network
capabilities to enable science and energy modeling, simulation,
and research.
Exascale Computing Project.--The recommendation includes
$225,000,000 for exascale activities.
High Performance Computing and Network Facilities.--In
addition to the long-term exascale initiative, the Committee
supports continued upgrade and operation of the Leadership
Computing Facilities at Argonne and Oak Ridge national
laboratories and of the High Performance Production Computing
capabilities at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The
recommendation includes $140,000,000 for the Argonne Leadership
Computing Facility, $185,000,000 for the Oak Ridge Leadership
Computing Facility, and $100,000,000 for the National Energy
Research Scientific Computing Center at Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory. Within available funds, the recommendation
includes $10,000,000 for the Computational Science Graduate
Fellowship program and $80,000,000 to support necessary
infrastructure upgrades and operations for ESnet.
The Committee is concerned that the increased costs of the
Exascale Computing Initiative compared to previous high
performance computing (HPC) efforts are not transparently
presented because the Department's budget request contains
inadequate detail on the cost of its HPC procurements. In its
fiscal year 2020 budget request, the Department shall submit a
budget justification for Advanced Scientific Computing Research
that clearly details funding amounts requested for base
research and development activities, operations, and
procurements for the Exascale Computing Initiative.
The Committee notes the importance of a strong research
program in applied and computational mathematics to the
Department's mission. The Committee encourages the Department
to prioritize research in applied and computational
mathematics, supercomputing, and quantum computing to ensure
the U.S. remains competitive in this field.
Artificial intelligence technologies that may improve the
analysis and interpretation of big data can lead to substantial
improvements in the Department's ability to meet its nuclear
security, energy, and science missions. The Committee provides
$26,000,000 to launch an artificial intelligence and big data
initiative.
BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES
The Basic Energy Sciences program funds basic research in
materials science, chemistry, geoscience, and bioscience. The
science breakthroughs in this program enable a broad array of
innovation in energy technologies and other industries critical
to American economic competitiveness.
Research.--Within available funds, the recommendation
provides $24,088,000 for the Batteries and Energy Storage
Innovation Hub; $15,000,000 for the Fuels from Sunlight
Innovation Hub; $130,500,000 for facilities operations of the
nanoscience research centers; $500,000,000 for facilities
operations of the nation's light sources; $280,000,000 for
facilities operations of the high flux neutron sources;
$20,000,000 for the Experimental Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research; $110,000,000 for the Energy Frontier
Research Centers; and $10,100,000 for Other Project Costs, of
which $6,100,000 is for LCLS-II, $2,000,000 is for ALS-U, and
$2,000,000 is for LCLS-II HE.
The Committee supports the continued research and
development for the Batteries and Energy Storage Innovation Hub
to develop energy storage research prototypes to ensure the
outcome of basic research leads to practical solutions that are
competitive in the marketplace. The Committee encourages the
Hub to focus on grid storage applications, particularly on
chemistries with low cost reagents.
The Committee encourages the Department to resume annual,
or biennial, Implementation Grant solicitations when making
awards in support of the Experimental Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research. The Department is directed to provide to
the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not
later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act a report
that provides a plan for these future solicitations.
The Committee encourages the Department to continue to
provide support for basic research in polymers and polymer-
based materials for energy applications and also encourages the
Department to implement neutron research efforts for polymeric
materials for the materials community. The Committee is aware
of the discovery of physical phenomena in the light harvesting
systems of photosynthetic organisms that has potential
applications in quantum computing. The recommendation provides
$10,000,000 for research of artificial light harvesting systems
that promise to significantly increase computational processing
power and speed.
BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
The Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program
supports advances in energy technologies and related science
through research into complex biological and environmental
systems. The Committee directs the Department to give priority
to optimizing the operation of BER user facilities and the
programs that utilize them.
The recommendation provides $100,000,000 for the Bioenergy
Research Centers and $70,000,000 for the Joint Genome
Institute.
The Committee recognizes the importance of the emerging
field of microbiome research and encourages the Department to
explore establishing a national microbiome database to maintain
leadership in the field.
The Committee continues to support the Department's funding
for academia to perform studies, including independent
evaluations using existing data sets and peer-reviewed
publications that include the collection and evaluation of
atmospheric data from satellite observations obtained in
cooperation with NASA. Satellite observations of the
atmosphere, within the context of the Earth as a global system,
provide information that is critical in the interpretation of
earth-based observations.
The Committee supports the Department's proposal to
initiate a terrestrial-aquatic interfaces pilot project and
encourages the Department to explore the resiliency of coastal
ecosystems as part of this project.
Within available funds, the Department is directed to
continue to support NGEE-Arctic, NGEE-Tropics, the SPRUCE field
site, the Watershed Function Science Focus Area, and the
AmeriFLUX project.
FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES
The Fusion Energy Sciences program supports basic research
and experimentation aiming to harness nuclear fusion for energy
production.
Research.--The Committee recommends $281,704,000 for
burning plasma science foundations, $61,246,000 for burning
plasma science long pulse, and $84,050,000 for discovery plasma
science. Within available funds, the recommendation provides
$18,000,000 for High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas,
$25,000,000 for Scientific Discovery through Advanced
Computing, $2,500,000 to provide upgrades to the Safety and
Tritium Applied Research facility, and $7,000,000 for the
Materials Plasma Exposure Experiment.
Construction.--The Committee recommends $163,000,000 for
the U.S. contribution to the ITER project. The Committee
continues to believe the ITER project represents an important
step forward for energy sciences and has the potential to
revolutionize the current understanding of fusion energy.
HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS
The High Energy Physics program supports fundamental
research into the elementary constituents of matter and energy
and ultimately into the nature of space and time. The program
focuses on particle physics theory and experimentation in three
areas: the energy frontier, which investigates new particles
and fundamental forces through high-energy experimentation; the
intensity frontier, which focuses on rare events to better
understand our fundamental model of the universe's elementary
constituents; and the cosmic frontier, which investigates the
nature of the universe and its form of matter and energy on
cosmic scales.
Research.--Within available funds, the recommendation
provides $22,450,000 to complete the dark energy and dark
matter experiments, $105,000,000 for the HL-LHC Upgrade
Projects, $31,000,000 for PIP-II, and $10,000,000 to continue
the upgrade of FACET II.
The Committee supports the Department's efforts to advance
laser-driven accelerators and encourages the Department to
explore how this technology fits within future planning efforts
for the High Energy Physics program. In addition, the Committee
strongly urges the Department to maintain a balanced portfolio
of small, medium, and large scale experiments, and to ensure
adequate funding for research performed at universities and the
national laboratories.
NUCLEAR PHYSICS
The Nuclear Physics program supports basic research into
the fundamental particles that compose nuclear matter, how they
interact, and how they combine to form the different types of
matter observed in the universe today.
Operations and Maintenance.--Within available funds, the
recommendation provides $10,000,000 for the Stable Isotope
Production Facility, $6,600,000 for the Gamma-Ray Energy
Tracking Array, and $5,660,000 for the Super Pioneering High
Energy Nuclear Interaction Experiment. The Committee directs
the Department to give priority to optimizing the operations
for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, the Continuous
Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, the Argonne Tandem Linac
Accelerator System, and the Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer
Facility.
Nuclear Waste Disposal
Appropriation, 2018................................... $- - -
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 90,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 190,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +190,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +100,000,000
The Committee recommendation includes $190,000,000 for
Nuclear Waste Disposal to continue the Department of Energy's
statutorily required activities for the Yucca Mountain license
application. Within available funds, the Department is directed
to reestablish its capability to respond to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission during the adjudicatory process and to
otherwise fully support the Yucca Mountain licensing process.
The recommendation includes support for affected units of local
government that have formally consented to host Yucca Mountain.
Educational Institutions.--The Department is reminded that,
to the extent that funding or other assistance is made
available to educational institutions pursuant to the Nuclear
Waste Policy Act of 1982, institutions in the Nevada System of
Higher Education, as defined by the State of Nevada, with
experience in nuclear waste research and environmental
monitoring are eligible for such assistance.
Advanced Research Projects Agency--Energy
Appropriation, 2018................................... $353,314,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. - - -
Recommended, 2019..................................... 325,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -28,314,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +325,000,000
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)
supports research aimed at rapidly developing energy
technologies whose development and commercialization are too
risky to attract sufficient private sector investment but are
capable of significantly changing the energy sector to address
our critical economic and energy security challenges. Projects
funded by ARPA-E include such wide-ranging areas as production
processes for transportation fuel alternatives that can reduce
our dependence on imported oil, heating and cooling
technologies with exceptionally high energy efficiency, and
improvements in petroleum refining processes.
The Department is directed to disburse funds appropriated
for ARPA-E on eligible projects within a reasonable time
period, consistent with past practices.
Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program
ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES
GROSS APPROPRIATION
Appropriation, 2018................................... $33,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 10,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 32,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -1,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +22,000,000
OFFSETTING COLLECTIONS
Appropriation, 2018................................... $-10,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. -15,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... -15,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -5,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
RESCISSION
Appropriation, 2018................................... $- - -
Budget estimate, 2019................................. -240,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... - - -
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +240,000,000
NET APPROPRIATION
Appropriation, 2018................................... $23,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. -245,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 17,000,000
Comparison:...........................................
Appropriation, 2018............................... -6,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +262,000,000
The funds provided to the Title 17 Innovative Technology
Loan Guarantee Program support administrative operations only.
Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program
Appropriation, 2018................................... $5,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 1,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 5,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +4,000,000
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
established a direct loan program to support the development of
advanced technology vehicles and associated components in the
United States. The program provides loans to automobile and
automobile part manufacturers for the cost of re-equipping,
expanding, or establishing manufacturing facilities in the
United States to produce advanced technology vehicles or
qualified components, and for associated engineering
integration costs. The funds provided support administrative
operations only.
Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program
Appropriation, 2018................................... $1,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. -8,500,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 1,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +9,500,000
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 established a loan guarantee
program for energy development to provide or expand electricity
on Indian land. The funds provided support administrative
operations only.
Departmental Administration
GROSS APPROPRIATION
Appropriation, 2018................................... $285,652,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 235,534,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 280,524,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -5,128,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +44,990,000
REVENUES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $-96,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. -96,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... -96,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
NET APPROPRIATION
Appropriation, 2018................................... $189,652,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 139,534,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 184,524,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -5,128,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +44,990,000
Funding recommended for Departmental Administration
provides for general management and program support functions
benefiting all elements of the Department of Energy, including
the National Nuclear Security Administration. The account funds
a wide array of Headquarters activities not directly associated
with the execution of specific programs. The recommendation
includes six reprogramming control points in this account to
provide flexibility in the management of support functions.
Other Departmental Administration includes Management, Project
Management Oversight and Assessments, Chief Human Capital
Officer, Office of Technology Transitions, Office of Small and
Disadvantaged Business Utilization, General Counsel, Office of
Policy, International Affairs, and Public Affairs. The
Department is directed to continue to submit a budget request
that proposes a separate funding level for each of these
activities. Within International Affairs, the recommendation
includes $2,000,000 for the Israel Binational Industrial
Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation, which was
previously funded in the EERE account, and $4,000,000 for the
U.S.-Israel Center of Excellence in Energy, Engineering and
Water Technology.
Economic Impact and Diversity.--The recommendation includes
$10,169,000 for Economic Impact and Diversity, the same as
fiscal year 2018 and $164,000 above the budget request.
Chief Information Officer.--To enhance the accountability
for management of cyber resources, the Committee recommendation
consolidates cybersecurity funding under the Office of the
Chief Information Officer. The recommendation includes
$131,624,000, including $96,793,000 as requested within
Departmental Administration and $34,831,000 as requested for
CyberOne activities within the DOE working capital fund. Within
this amount, not less than $71,501,000 shall be for
cybersecurity and secure information.
Nuclear Power Plant Closings.--Prior to the opening of a
permanent repository or monitored retrievable storage for spent
nuclear fuel, power plant sites serve as de facto storage
facilities for this nuclear waste. When a plant closes, onsite
storage of spent nuclear fuel can be a factor affecting
redevelopment of the location. The Committee directs the
Department to submit to the Committees on Appropriations of
both Houses of Congress not later than 180 days after the
enactment of this Act a study on existing public and private
resources and funding for which municipalities where a nuclear
power plant is decommissioned, in the process of
decommissioning, or plans to shut down within 3 years of
enactment of this Act and contains nuclear waste within its
boundaries may be eligible.
Radium Contamination.--The Department shall review the
details of any facility of the Nevada System of Higher
Education, as defined by the State of Nevada, that is
contaminated with radium to determine whether the Department
has a legal liability or authorization for remediation of such
facility.
Office of the Inspector General
Appropriation, 2018................................... $49,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 51,330,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 51,330,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +2,330,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Office of the Inspector General performs agency-wide
audit, inspection, and investigative functions to identify and
correct management and administrative deficiencies that create
conditions for existing or potential instances of fraud, waste,
and mismanagement. The audit function provides financial and
performance audits of programs and operations. The inspections
function provides independent inspections and analyses of the
effectiveness, efficiency, and economy of programs and
operations. The investigative function provides for the
detection and investigation of improper and illegal activities
involving programs, personnel, and operations.
ATOMIC ENERGY DEFENSE ACTIVITIES
The Atomic Energy Defense Activities programs of the
Department of Energy in the National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA) consist of Weapons Activities, Defense
Nuclear Nonproliferation, Naval Reactors, and Federal Salaries
and Expenses; outside of the NNSA, these include Defense
Environmental Cleanup, Other Defense Activities, and Defense
Nuclear Waste Disposal. Descriptions of each of these accounts
are provided below.
NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
The Department of Energy is responsible for enhancing U.S.
national security through the military application of nuclear
technology and reducing the global danger from the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The NNSA, a semi-
autonomous agency within the Department, carries out these
responsibilities. Established in March 2000 pursuant to title
32 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2000, the NNSA is responsible for the management and operation
of the nation's nuclear weapons complex, naval reactors, and
nuclear nonproliferation activities.
Indirect Overhead and Administrative Costs.--The Committee
expects the NNSA to take prompt action to reduce the size of
the overhead and administrative costs that are being charged to
its programmatic activities, as directed in the fiscal year
2018 Act. The Committee is awaiting the receipt of required
reports on the Department's indirect cost pools and a plan by
the NNSA to reduce the size of the administrative and other
overhead charges levied on its major nuclear modernization
programs. None of the funds shall be used for an Institutional
Plant Project that is funded through an indirect cost pool of
an NNSA site. The recommendation provides robust direct funding
for the NNSA's infrastructure needs, and the Committee will
consider funding infrastructure investments through the site
indirect cost pools after receipt of the outstanding reporting
requirements. The NNSA is directed to provide to the Committees
on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not later than 90
days after the enactment of this Act a report that accounts for
the number of personnel at NNSA sites whose costs are entirely
funded through site indirect cost pools.
The recommendation includes $15,313,147,000 for the NNSA,
$644,195,000 above fiscal year 2018 and $222,097,000 above the
budget request.
Weapons Activities
Appropriation, 2018................................... $10,642,138,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 11,017,078,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 11,200,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +557,862,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +182,922,000
Weapons Activities ensures the safety, security,
reliability, and effectiveness of the nation's nuclear weapons
stockpile without nuclear testing by providing funding to four
main elements: Directed Stockpile Work; Research, Development,
Technology and Engineering; Infrastructure and Operations; and
Security.
The NNSA's budget request for Weapons Activities proposed
significant reductions to infrastructure recapitalization and
deferred maintenance reduction efforts. The Committee is
concerned that, in order to pay for the projected costs of its
major nuclear modernization programs, the NNSA is undercutting
the investments needed to address the entirety of its aging
infrastructure problems and to build a nuclear weapons
workforce that possesses the skills and knowledge needed to
design, develop, test, and manufacture warheads, as endorsed in
the Administration's Nuclear Posture Review. As the costs of
the major modernization programs continue to increase, the NNSA
must take concerted action to prevent cost growth associated
with underperforming and poorly scoped activities. The
recommendation provides additional funding above the request to
continue the current pace of infrastructure recapitalization
efforts across the nuclear security enterprise, including
efforts to reduce the backlog of deferred maintenance and to
upgrade physical security systems to improve the security
posture of the NNSA sites.
The Committee notes that the original fiscal year 2019
budget request did not contain adequate information regarding
the Department's request for low-yield ballistic missile
funding, but a technical amendment with additional details was
later submitted. When proposing new or modified nuclear weapons
activities, the Committee expects the Department to follow the
requirements of 50 U.S.C. 2529, including requesting a single
dedicated line item for such activities.
Plutonium.--While the NNSA was directed in the fiscal year
2017 and 2018 Acts to request funding to meet additional
plutonium infrastructure mission needs under a new and separate
project that could be clearly presented for consideration, the
NNSA's fiscal year 2019 budget request does not contain such a
project and continues to disregard Congressional direction to
remove specific scope from the Chemistry and Metallurgy
Research Replacement project that was in excess of the scope
originally authorized by Congress. The NNSA's five year budget
plans include approximately $4,000,000,000 for unspecified
activities within Plutonium Sustainment to achieve long-term
pit production capacity targets. The specific activities and
total costs needed to achieve these targets are not described,
and a management plan with near-term milestones for carrying
out this significant multi-year effort are not presented. The
NNSA's continued inability to produce a transparent plan to
establish a pit production capability that includes a resource-
loaded schedule that can be independently verified for
reasonableness creates significant concerns. The recommendation
establishes a new construction project within Infrastructure
and Operations that shall be utilized to carry out any capital
improvements and equipment installations that are needed at Los
Alamos National Laboratory to meet plutonium mission needs. Not
later than 60 days after the enactment of this Act, the NNSA
shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations a report that
describes in detail the scope, costs, and schedule, with near
term milestones for any capital improvements needed, to meet
its plutonium mission needs.
DIRECTED STOCKPILE WORK
Directed Stockpile Work includes all activities that
directly support weapons in the nuclear stockpile, including
maintenance, research, development, engineering, certification,
dismantlement, and disposal activities. The Committee
recommends $4,581,296,000 for Directed Stockpile Work,
$571,849,000 above fiscal year 2018 and $84,909,000 below the
budget request.
Life Extension Programs.--The recommendation provides full
funding for the NNSA's life extension programs, including the
ongoing refurbishment efforts for the B61, W76, W88, and W80
warheads. The recommendation also provides funding requested
for a new modification to the W76 warhead to achieve a lower-
yield capability for that system and to initiate phase 6.1
efforts on a life extension or replacement of the W78 warhead.
W76-2 Modification Program.--Not later than 30 days after
the enactment of this Act, the NNSA shall provide to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a
report detailing the plan, rationale, costs, and implications
of producing a low-yield variant of the W76 warhead. The report
shall include the cost and schedule estimates for the
engineering phase, and any subsequent phase, of the W76-2
modification program; detailed discussion of the military
requirements associated with the W76-2, including Nuclear
Weapons Council decisions and U.S. Strategic Command
requirements; estimated long-term maintenance costs; impacts on
other current or planned warhead programs; impacts on the
planned cost and schedule in the event of a time delay in the
engineering phase, or any subsequent phase, of the W76-2; and
impacts on other current or planned warhead programs in the
event of a time delay in the W76-2 modification program,
W78 Life Extension Program.--The Committee is concerned
that the NNSA is proceeding with a premature decision to
replace the W78 with an interoperable warhead based on a
stockpile strategy that was not endorsed in the
Administration's Nuclear Posture Review and that was not funded
by the Congress when first proposed under the previous
Administration. The NNSA has not resolved major technical
issues identified by the JASONs Defense Advisory Group in 2015
associated with modifying existing warheads to achieve
interoperability or to increase the usage of insensitive high
explosives (IHE) in the stockpile. Specifically, the JASONs
found that these warhead modifications may result in sub-
optimal designs and may force a reduction in design yield
margins. The rationale for converting warheads from CHE to IHE
is not clear considering the technical risks, the high costs
involved, and the current lack of a pit production capability
that could produce such warheads in quantities needed for the
stockpile. The NNSA carried out a Pit Manufacturing and
Certification Campaign to restore the capability to manufacture
and certify up to ten plutonium pits per year from 1996 to
2007. However, the NNSA never demonstrated production at full
capacity and lost the limited capacity it had built due to
safety missteps that shut down plutonium operations in the PF-4
facility for several years. The NNSA hopes to achieve a far
greater production capacity over the same period of time. Given
the NNSA's past performance, any nuclear modernization program
that relies on the successful establishment of a near-term pit
production capacity should be considered by the Administration
to be a high-risk endeavor and a program that does not rely on
pit production should be pursued in parallel to ensure
stockpile needs will continue to be met.
In lieu of the request to begin phase 6.2 activities for an
interoperable warhead to replace the W78, the recommendation
provides funding to begin a phase 6.1 study to fully analyze
all available alternatives for the W78 warhead. Upon conclusion
of phase 6.1 efforts and prior to initiation of phase 6.2
efforts, the NNSA shall provide to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a report that
compares the costs associated with replacing the W78 warhead
with an IHE design that may require new pit manufacturing to
the costs of extending the life of the W78. The report shall
include a detailed description of the comparative costs that
may be needed to upgrade Department of Defense facilities to
continue to safely handle CHE or that otherwise may reduce
drivers for replacing CHE warheads with IHE.
Domestic Uranium Enrichment.--The recommendation provides
$100,704,000. Within these funds, not less than $25,000,000 is
for continued research, operation, and further advancement of
gas centrifuge technology. The Committee supports continued
operations and testing of gas centrifuge technology to further
advance the technology and to maintain the specialty expertise
and operational proficiency that will be necessary to meet
future U.S. defense and non-defense needs for enriched uranium.
Comprehensive Beryllium Strategy.--Beryllium has been
labeled a critical mineral by the United States Geological
Survey for a wide variety of needs and is the only material
qualified by field tests for certain nuclear weapons
requirements. The Committee encourages the NNSA to continue
efforts to create a unified approach to security of supply for
beryllium and urges the national laboratories to create a joint
plan to ensure that beryllium is available to support all the
requirements of the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan.
RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TECHNOLOGY, AND ENGINEERING
The NNSA's Research, Development, Technology, and
Engineering (RDT&E;) activities focus on the development and
maintenance of critical capabilities, tools, and processes that
support science-based stockpile stewardship and continued
certification of the stockpile in the absence of underground
nuclear testing. For RDT&E;, the Committee recommends
$2,028,366,000, $5,999,000 below fiscal year 2018 and
$32,973,000 above the budget request.
Academic Alliances and Partnerships.--Within Academic
Alliances and Partnerships, not less than $20,000,000 shall be
for the Minority Serving Institution Partnerships Program and
not less than $9,000,000 shall be for academic grants for high
energy density laboratory plasmas previously funded within the
Inertial Confinement Fusion Ignition and High Yield program.
The Committee supports continued research into high energy
density plasmas and recognizes the partnerships between the
national laboratories and research universities to address the
critical need for skilled graduates to replace an aging
workforce.
Enhanced Capabilities for Subcritical Experiments.--The
recommendation does not include funding requested for the
Advanced Sources and Detectors Major Item of Equipment (MIE).
DOE project management reports indicate the NNSA has not yet
achieved Critical Decision-1 (CD-1) for this MIE, despite the
NNSA's budget justification that lists CD-1 as a fiscal year
2017 achievement. Rather, significant portions of the
technology are reported to be at low technology readiness
levels and need to be advanced prior to the issuance of CD-1.
The recommendation includes $20,000,000 to continue to advance
technologies needed for the MIE. The NNSA is directed to submit
a project data sheet for the Advanced Sources and Detectors MIE
with the scope, cost, and schedule for carrying out this
project clearly presented in its fiscal year 2020 budget
request.
Stockpile Responsiveness Program.--The recommendation
includes additional funding above the budget request for the
congressionally-mandated Stockpile Responsiveness Program.
Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) and High Yield.--The
recommendation rejects the NNSA's request to discontinue major
experimental activities within the ICF program. Funds provided
to the ICF program support unique experimental platforms that
help assess the state of the current stockpile and enable
decisions on life extension programs without underground
nuclear weapons testing. While progress in achieving ignition
at the National Ignition Facility has been slow, the value of
maintaining a robust research program in high energy density
physics will continue to be recognized and strongly supported.
To ensure that funds provided will be used to adequately
maintain the NNSA's experimental capabilities as intended, the
recommendation includes new funding controls within the ICF
program for the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory, the Z Pulsed Power Facility at
Sandia National Laboratories, and the Omega Laser Facility at
the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Within funds for High
Energy Density R&D;, the recommendation includes funding for
research and support activities at Los Alamos National
Laboratory, target fabrication, and not less than $8,000,000
for the Nike Laser at the Naval Research Laboratory.
While the Committee continues to support the full
utilization of ICF experimental facilities, the Committee also
recognizes the need to save costs to ensure adequate funding
for high priority stockpile modernization activities. The NNSA
is directed to pursue full cost recovery for all users at the
National Ignition Facility as previously recommended by the
Department of Defense Office of Cost Assessment and Program
Evaluation and to ensure that all users are transitioned to a
full cost recovery model by fiscal year 2020.
Advanced Simulation and Computing.--Within amounts for
Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC), the recommendation
includes $20,000,000 to continue research on advanced memory
technology to address future architecture technical challenges.
The Committee is concerned that the increased costs of the
Exascale Computing Initiative compared to previous high
performance computing (HPC) efforts are not transparently
presented because the NNSA's budget request contains inadequate
detail on the cost of its HPC procurements. In its fiscal year
2020 budget request, the NNSA shall submit a budget
justification for ASC that clearly details funding amounts
requested for base research and development activities,
operations, procurements, and the Exascale Computing
Initiative.
While the NNSA's next generation of HPC systems are major
acquisitions, the Committee is concerned that the NNSA's
procurement decisions have not been derived by conducting a
thorough analysis of alternatives that will meet a set of
clearly identified threshold requirements. The NNSA is directed
to provide to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses
of Congress not later than 60 days after the enactment of this
Act an analysis of alternatives for the NNSA's HPC acquisitions
that clearly maps future system requirements to stockpile
needs, compares costs and benefits of various alternatives, and
provides a justification for the NNSA's preferred alternative.
The Committee directs the Comptroller General to undertake a
review of the NNSA's management of the ASC program to evaluate
the NNSA's process for setting requirements and evaluating
alternatives for the ASC program and to identify the estimated
costs of the NNSA's future systems compared to previous HPC
acquisitions.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS
Infrastructure and Operations provides funding for the base
operations, maintenance, and recapitalization of NNSA
facilities and infrastructure. The Committee recommends
$3,188,594,000 for Infrastructure and Operations, $70,791,000
above fiscal year 2018 and $185,858,000 above the budget
request. Within Infrastructure and Operations, the NNSA shall
ensure that incremental funding needed to meet individual
programmatic goals are fully accounted for within funds for the
corresponding programmatic activity. The Committee notes that
the NNSA has been requesting significant funding amounts for
projects while they are still in the very early planning
stages, in violation of the requirements in 50 U.S.C. 2746 that
require the NNSA to complete a conceptual design before
requesting funding for a major construction project.
Maintenance and Repair of Facilities.--The Committee
recommends $515,138,000, $150,138,000 above the budget request,
to sustain momentum on reducing the backlog of deferred
maintenance and to carry out cost accounting changes needed to
ensure direct funding of maintenance at the NNSA's national
laboratories and other sites.
Recapitalization.--The Committee recommends $612,661,000,
$71,973,000 above the budget request, to restore funding for
the Recapitalization program to the fiscal year 2018 level.
19-D-650 Plutonium Production Capability, LANL.--The
recommendation includes a new construction start for
infrastructure upgrades needed to carry out the NNSA's
plutonium mission at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
06-D-141 Uranium Processing Facility (UPF), Y-12.--The NNSA
approved starting major construction activities for the Uranium
Processing Facility project without having a certified and
compliant earned value management system in place for the
project to accurately track project performance. The Committee
is also concerned that the Department does not have adequate
capacity for project review that is independent of NNSA program
personnel that are accountable for project performance. While
the NNSA continues to request an increasingly large amount for
the project, prior year funds have not been fully expended. The
recommendation provides funding at the fiscal year 2018 enacted
level. The Committee will monitor project performance via
financial reporting of project commitments to determine future
funding needs.
04-D-125 Chemistry and Metallurgy Research (CMR)
Replacement Project, LANL.--As directed by Congress in the
fiscal year 2018 Act and previous years, funding for the CMR
Replacement Project shall be limited to that of the original
mission need for the project, that is, to relocate existing
analytic chemistry and materials characterization capabilities
from the legacy CMR facility.
SECURITY
Secure Transportation Asset.--Within Secure Transportation
Asset Operations and Equipment, the recommendation includes
$10,000,000 above the budget request to expedite procurement of
the next generation Mobile Guardian Transporter (MGT). The
Committee is concerned that the NNSA's program to replace its
aging nuclear weapons transporter fleet with the MGT is
proceeding excessively slowly. The current transporters are far
beyond their 20-year service life, yet the NNSA's program would
carry out planning and design activities over the next six
fiscal years and would not procure the first replacement unit
until fiscal year 2025. The NNSA is directed to undertake a
review of its MGT program and provide to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not later than 120
days after the enactment of this Act a plan to carry out an
expedited design and procurement program that will address its
aging fleet in a more timely manner and that will better ensure
that its weapons transportation programs continue to meet
stringent safety and security standards.
Physical Security Improvement Program.--The Committee
recommends $30,000,000 to modernize and upgrade physical
security systems at the NNSA sites that are nearing the end of
design life.
LEGACY CONTRACTOR PENSIONS
The Committee provides $162,292,000 for payments into the
legacy University of California contractor employee defined
benefit pension plans.
Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
Appropriation, 2018................................... $1,999,219,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 1,862,825,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 1,902,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -97,219,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +39,175,000
The Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation account provides
funding to programs of the National Nuclear Security
Administration that prevent, counter, and respond to global
nuclear threats. The recommendation includes $15,000,000 for
the University Consortia for Nuclear Nonproliferation Research
program and not less than $18,000,000 to enhance
nonproliferation and emergency response training capabilities
at the Department's national laboratories.
New U.S. Nonproliferation Activities in Russia.--The
recommendation includes no new funds to enter into contracts
and agreements with Russia in fiscal year 2019, the same as
fiscal year 2018 and the budget request.
Commercial Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing.--In 1977, President
Carter issued a presidential policy statement prohibiting the
commercial reprocessing and recycling of plutonium. The
Committee awaits submission of requirements in the fiscal year
2018 Act for the Department to investigate the status of this
policy and provide a report to the Committees on Appropriations
of both Houses of Congress.
DEFENSE NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION
Funding for the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
is provided across five programmatic areas: Global Material
Security, Material Management and Minimization,
Nonproliferation and Arms Control, Defense Nuclear
Nonproliferation R&D;, and Nonproliferation Construction.
Material Management and Minimization.--The recommendation
for Material Management and Minimization includes funding for
Nuclear Material Removal, Material Disposition, and Laboratory
and Partnership Support, consistent with the fiscal year 2018
Act. The NNSA is directed to utilize this budget structure in
future budget requests. Within funds for Material Management
and Minimization, the recommendation includes $30,000,000 to
expedite the removal of one metric ton of plutonium from the
state of South Carolina. The recommendation does not include
funding requested to start related construction activities for
the dilute and dispose alternative to MOX. The NNSA has yet to
submit a legislative proposal or an independent life cycle cost
estimate for its dilute and dispose program.
Laboratory and Partnership Support.--The recommendation for
Laboratory and Partnership Support includes $3,100,000 above
the budget request to provide technical support to industry
partners seeking to minimize the use of highly enriched uranium
in Mo-99 production.
Since the enactment of the American Medical Isotopes
Production Act of 2012, the NNSA has invested $100,000,000 of
taxpayer funding with the goal of fielding a stable, domestic
commercial supply of Mo-99 without the use of highly enriched
uranium, but has only made limited gains on that investment.
Recent foreign facility outages have resulted in additional
shortages, indicating the U.S. supply remains vulnerable to
supply chain disruptions caused by aging production facilities.
The recommendation includes an additional $20,000,000 for a new
funding opportunity directed in the fiscal year 2018 Act. The
Committee encourages the NNSA to utilize advice from other
Department of Energy programs with experience in fielding
advanced technologies to the commercial sector to better
evaluate potential projects to ensure that additional funds are
awarded to projects that are likely to provide a stable, long-
term domestic supply of this important medical isotope.
MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility.--The Committee recommends
$335,000,000 to sustain the current pace of construction on the
MOX facility in fiscal year 2019. The bill contains a provision
to allow the Secretary of Energy to terminate the project if
requirements in Section 3121(b) of the Fiscal Year 2018
National Defense Authorization Act are satisfied.
Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development
(DNN R&D;).--The recommendation includes $7,500,000 for the
research and development of technologies to advance stable
isotope, actinides, and other radioisotope production using
novel techniques to support nonproliferation goals, including
identification and characterization of foreign nuclear weapons
programs.
Nonproliferation Fuels Development.--The recommendation
includes separate funding to develop fuels to advance U.S.
nonproliferation goals within DNN R&D.; The NNSA is directed to
utilize this budget structure in future budget requests. The
recommendation includes up to $10,000,000 for research and
development of low-enriched uranium fuels suitable for naval
applications. The recommendation does not include funds to
convert the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National
Laboratory or the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory. The NNSA estimates its program to convert
five research reactors will cost approximately $1,100,000,000
and that, even at this cost, the ATR and HFIR reactors would
not be converted until at least the 2030s. These reactors and
their fuels are located in highly secure facilities on
Department of Energy sites that have safe storage for
significant quantities of nuclear materials. With no plans to
otherwise remove nuclear materials from those sites, there are
few benefits to proceeding with a costly effort to convert
those reactors. Rather than allocate limited defense funding to
conversion, the recommendation prioritizes funding to extend
the life of these facilities and to upgrade safety and security
postures at those sites within the respective infrastructure
funding lines.
Use of Prior-Year Balances.--The NNSA has been slow to make
progress on reducing the size of its prior-year balances. To
offset fiscal year 2019 needs and to close out discontinued
activities, the recommendation directs the use of $36,396,000
in prior-year balances within the following programs that have
not received funding since fiscal year 2015: Elimination of
Weapons Grade Plutonium Production in Russia, Global Threat
Reduction Initiative, International Nuclear Materials
Protection and Cooperation, Nonproliferation and Verification
Research and Development, Nonproliferation and International
Security, Russian Surplus Fissile Materials Disposition,
Supporting Activities, U.S. Plutonium Disposition, U.S. Uranium
Disposition, and Waste Solidification Building.
NUCLEAR COUNTERTERRORISM AND INCIDENT RESPONSE
The NNSA's Nuclear Counterterrorism and Incident Response
programs respond to and mitigate nuclear and radiological
incidents worldwide in order to defend the nation from the
threat of nuclear terrorism. The Committee recommends
$319,185,000.
The Radiological Assistance Program (RAP) is a critical
activity that plays a major role in our nation's ability to
detect, deter, and respond to a domestic nuclear or
radiological incident. The Committee supports the Department's
efforts to modernize mission critical equipment that has
exceeded its useful life. It is imperative that response teams
possess the best available technology to carry out their
missions. The Committee urges the Department to move forward
expeditiously with the RAP critical equipment modernization and
provide the Committee with a timeline for this effort. High
priority equipment recapitalization needs for this program
include hand-held, high resolution, spectroscopic measurement
instrumentation which is used to specifically identify nuclear
threat materials.
LEGACY CONTRACTOR PENSIONS
The Committee provides $28,640,000 for payments into the
legacy University of California contractor employee defined
benefit pension plans.
Naval Reactors
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
Appropriation, 2018................................... $1,620,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 1,788,618,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 1,788,618,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +168,618,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Naval Reactors (NR) program is responsible for all
aspects of naval nuclear propulsion from technology development
through reactor operations to ultimate reactor plant disposal.
The program provides for the design, development, testing, and
evaluation of improved naval nuclear propulsion plants and
reactor cores. The recommendation fully funds the request to
develop the Columbia-Class submarine, previously identified as
the Ohio-replacement submarine, and to refuel the S8G
prototype, which is closely linked to the Columbia-Class
submarine.
Naval Reactors Development.--Within amounts for Naval
Reactors Development, $85,500,000 is provided for Advanced Test
Reactor Operations.
Federal Salaries And Expenses
Appropriation, 2018................................... $407,595,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 422,529,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 422,525,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +14,934,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Federal Salaries and Expenses account provides
corporate planning and oversight for Defense Programs, Defense
Nuclear Nonproliferation, and Naval Reactors, including the
NNSA field offices in New Mexico, Nevada, and California.
The Department is directed to undertake a review of the
manning for the NNSA's Office of General Counsel and the NNSA's
Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs to
determine whether those functions could be combined with the
Department of Energy's Office of the General Counsel and the
Department of Energy's Office of Congressional and
Intergovernmental Affairs to eliminate duplication. The
Department shall report the results of its review to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not
later 90 days after the enactment of this Act. The report shall
include the Department's recommendations as well as potential
savings in full time equivalent (FTE) NNSA employee allocations
that the NNSA could otherwise assign to meet its needs for
additional programmatic personnel under existing legislative
caps. The review shall include consideration of transfer of
Overseas Presence personnel that perform Department-wide duties
and are funded via the Department's Working Capital Fund, but
that currently count against the NNSA personnel caps on FTE
staff.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER DEFENSE ACTIVITIES
Defense Environmental Cleanup
Appropriation, 2018................................... $5,988,048,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 5,630,217,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 5,759,220,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -228,828,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +129,003,000
The Defense Environmental Cleanup account provides funding
for identifying and reducing risks and managing waste at sites
where the nation carried out defense-related nuclear research
and production activities that resulted in radioactive,
hazardous, and mixed waste contamination requiring remediation,
stabilization, or some other cleanup action.
While the Department's budget request for the Office of
Environmental Management (EM) included increases at some sites,
those increases were at the expense of other important cleanup
activities at Hanford, Idaho, and Oak Ridge. The Committee's
recommendation continues to fund a balanced approach that
sustains the momentum of ongoing cleanup activities more
consistently across all DOE cleanup sites.
Not later than 15 days after the enactment of this Act, EM
shall provide to the Committees of Appropriations of both
Houses of Congress an updated project data sheet for each EM
major construction project funded by this Act for which the
Department listed a cost or schedule reporting element as
``TBD'' in its fiscal year 2019 budget request.
Excess Facilities.--The recommendation includes additional
one-time increases to accelerate the decontamination and
decommissioning of certain high-risk excess facilities that
were previously not slated for cleanup in the near term. Since
the excess facilities projects funded in fiscal year 2018 are
not shovel-ready, final cost estimates and schedules for how
soon those efforts can be accomplished have not yet been
developed. The Committee will monitor the progress of the
accelerations funded in fiscal year 2018 to determine when and
where additional funds can be executed on specific projects.
Within amounts for OR Excess Facilities D&D;, $15,000,000 is
for demolition of Alpha-4 Building 9201-4 COLEX Process
Equipment and $10,000,000 is for demolition of Building 9213.
Within ID Excess Facilities D&D;, $10,000,000 is provided for
the D&D; of excess facilities and infrastructure at Idaho
National Laboratory. Within RL Excess Facilities D&D;, EM shall
commence work on high risk contaminated excess facilities at
the Hanford Site identified in its Plan for Deactivation and
Decommissioning of Nonoperational Defense Nuclear Facilities
submitted to Congress in December 2016. In identifying new
accelerations, EM should prioritize higher risk facilities
identified as ``Tier I'' to take advantage of the current
skilled workforce at the site.
Hanford Site.--The recommendation includes funds above the
budget request for the Richland Operations Office to support
stable funding for general cleanup activities at the Hanford
Site, to ensure expeditious completion of the remaining
Columbia River Corridor work, and to prevent delays to existing
and new Tri-Party Agreement milestones.
Within the Office of River Protection, $15,000,000 is
provided for the planning and conduct of a pilot plant
demonstration project to validate commercial scale application
of treatment, stabilization, transportation, and disposal of
Hanford tank waste that includes, among other activities,
filtration and ion-exchange of tank waste to qualify the
pretreated waste stream as low-activity waste (LAW). The
Department shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of
both Houses of Congress not later than September 30, 2019, a
report that includes the lessons learned from the
demonstration, estimated potential tank waste lifecycle cost
and schedule savings, and recommendations, including
alternatives for off-site commercial LAW treatment and disposal
from an initial set of three Hanford tanks.
Waste Treatment Plant (WTP).--The recommendation provides
funding for the Waste Treatment Plant consistent with the
reprogramming control points in the fiscal year 2018 Act, which
better reflects the actual execution of the project. The
Department is directed to submit its fiscal year 2020 budget
request consistent with this budget structure.
The Department is directed to resume full engineering
design to resolve safety-related design issues for the High-
Level Waste Treatment facility and the Pretreatment facility
and shall report to the Committees on Appropriations of both
Houses of Congress before moving forward with any plans to
place the High-Level Waste Treatment facility and the Pre-
Treatment facility into preservation mode for an extended
period of time.
The Government Accountability Office recently produced a
report that cast doubt on the Office of River Protection's
ability to carry out oversight of its contractors' quality
assurance programs for the WTP project because its
organizational structure did not ensure the independence of its
oversight division. To ensure that oversight has been
effectively conducted and that quality assurance issues have
been appropriately identified prior to startup, the Department
is directed to contract with an outside, independent agent with
expertise in quality assurance programs to review current
quality assurance procedures and to determine the full extent
to which problems exist in all WTP structures.
Idaho Site.--Within amounts for Idaho, $5,000,000 is
provided for maturing the application of technologies to
retrieve and disposition remote-handled mixed low level
radioactive waste.
Savannah River Site.--Within available funds for Site Risk
Management, $3,000,000 shall be to support the disposition of
spent fuel from the High Flux Isotope Reactor. As directed in
fiscal year 2018, EM shall not change cost sharing arrangements
to reallocate site indirect costs from the NNSA to EM. The
recommendation does not include additional funds for the
Emergency Operations Center as EM has not yet completed a
conceptual design for that project. Per 50 U.S.C. 2746, the
Department is required to complete a conceptual design before
requesting funding for a major construction project. The
recommendation reallocates prior-year balances from Saltstone
Disposal Unit 6 to fund additional needs of follow-on disposal
unit projects at Savannah River.
19-D-710 Savannah River Security System Replacement.--The
recommendation includes $10,000,000. The project to upgrade the
security systems at H, L, and K area facilities is a major
construction activity, and the Department is required to obtain
congressional authorization for carrying out the project as it
did for similar projects at the Nevada National Security Site,
Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Y-12 National Security
Complex. Not later than 30 days after the enactment of this
Act, EM shall submit a project data sheet that includes planned
scope, cost estimates, and schedule for the upgrade project.
Technology Development.--Within Technology Development and
Deployment, $5,000,000 is provided for the National Spent
Nuclear Fuel Program to address issues related to storing,
transporting, processing, and disposing of DOE-owned and
managed spent nuclear fuel. Within these amounts, EM shall
utilize funding to address the need for additional assessments
into material degradation that may occur as a result of
multiple decades of EM spent nuclear fuel storage facilities,
nuclear material measuring and monitoring in DOE storage
systems, and other activities recommendation by the U.S.
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board in its 2017 report on the
Management and Disposal of U.S. Department of Energy Spent
Nuclear Fuel. Also within Technology Development and
Deployment, up to $5,000,000 shall be for research and
development projects to improve worker safety and the
Department is encouraged to consider exploring options to
develop and deploy wearable robotic devices to enhance worker
safety.
The Committee encourages the Department to continue a
robust research effort to advance nuclear filtration testing
and the development of state of the art containment ventilation
systems.
Other Defense Activities
Appropriation, 2018................................... $840,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 853,300,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 870,300,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +30,300,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +17,000,000
The Other Defense Activities account provides funding for
the Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security; the
Office of Independent Enterprise Assessments; the Office of
Legacy Management; Specialized Security Activities; Defense
Related Administrative Support; and the Office of Hearings and
Appeals.
Within the Office of Nuclear Safety, the Committee directs
the Department to continue its research into developing an
advanced simulation tool that can more realistically predict
the nonlinear response of critical nuclear facilities during
earthquakes. With many mission critical facilities in
seismically active regions, this research is in our nation's
vital interest.
The agreement includes $17,000,000 above the budget request
for targeted investments to defend the U.S. energy sector
against the evolving threat of cyber and other attacks in
support of the resiliency of the nation's electric grid and
energy infrastructure.
Defense Nuclear Waste Disposal
Appropriation, 2018................................... $- - -
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 30,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 30,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +30,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Defense Nuclear Waste Disposal appropriation was
established by the Congress for activities related to the
disposal of defense high-level waste from the Department's
atomic energy defense activities in lieu of payment from the
Department of Energy into the Nuclear Waste Fund.
POWER MARKETING ADMINISTRATIONS
Management of the federal power marketing functions was
transferred from the Department of the Interior to the
Department of Energy in the Department of Energy Organization
Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-91). These functions include the
power marketing activities authorized under section 5 of the
Flood Control Act of 1944 and all other functions of the
Bonneville Power Administration, the Southeastern Power
Administration, the Southwestern Power Administration, and the
power marketing functions of the Bureau of Reclamation that
have been transferred to the Western Area Power Administration.
All four power marketing administrations give preference in
the sale of their power to publicly-owned and cooperatively-
owned utilities. Operations of the Bonneville Power
Administration are financed principally under the authority of
the Federal Columbia River Transmission System Act (Public Law
93-454). Under this Act, the Bonneville Power Administration is
authorized to use its revenues to finance the costs of its
operations, maintenance, and capital construction, and to sell
bonds to the Treasury if necessary to finance any additional
capital program requirements.
Beginning in fiscal year 2011, power revenues from the
Southeastern, Southwestern, and Western Area Power
Administrations, which were previously classified as mandatory
offsetting receipts, were reclassified as discretionary
offsetting collections to directly offset annual expenses. The
capital expenses of Southwestern and Western Area Power
Administrations are appropriated annually.
Beginning in fiscal year 2018, the Congressional Budget
Office (CBO) changed its scoring of the power marketing
administrations (PMAs). The change stemmed from information on
execution of language regarding purchase power and wheeling
expenses and offsetting collections included in this bill each
year. The Committee appreciates the PMAs' and their customers'
efforts to provide additional financial information. To address
the increased score in the short-term, the recommendation
reduces the maximum level for purchase power and wheeling below
the budget request. The Committee will continue to work with
the PMAs, their customers, and CBO to resolve scoring issues
appropriately.
Organizational Reporting.--The Department recently
announced a change in organizational structure moving the point
of reporting for the PMAs to the Assistant Secretary for
Electricity from the Deputy Secretary. The Committee has heard
concerns that the realignment may indicate an intention to
change the substantive relationship between the Department and
each PMA, including actions related to PMA leadership
decisions, use of the PMAs and their resources, and ratemaking;
the Committee does not support such a change. The PMAs have
unique statutory requirements, and the Committee expects the
Department to adhere to and not expand upon those requirements.
Bonneville Power Administration Fund
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is the Department
of Energy's marketing agency for electric power in the Pacific
Northwest. Bonneville provides electricity to a 300,000 square
mile service area in the Columbia River drainage basin.
Bonneville markets the power from federal hydropower projects
in the Northwest, as well as power from non-federal generating
facilities in the region, and exchanges and markets surplus
power with Canada and California.
The Committee encourages the Corps of Engineers and Bureau
of Reclamation to work with the BPA on efforts to drive down
costs and promote BPA's long-term competitiveness. Assuring BPA
competitiveness is important not only for BPA's operation, but
to ensure Treasury repayment and assist the Corps and
Reclamation in meeting their core functions (including
navigation, flood control, water supply, and irrigation). The
Committee is pleased that the operating agencies have taken
important short-term steps on cost control and encourages
efforts to make long-term improvements. The Committee
encourages the Corps and Bureau to work with BPA to optimize
investment in the federal hydropower system, including
prioritization of investments, effective project management
approaches, including efficient procurement of equipment and
services, and ensuring the cost effectiveness of any proposed
higher capital spending levels for hydropower facilities. In
addition, the Committee urges the operating agencies to
strongly consider a review of the allocation of project costs
including joint costs for the projects in the Federal Columbia
River Power System and a review of the authorities allowing
changes to such allocations, and to explore matters such as:
(1) a more flexible workforce and business-oriented
organization; (2) increased reliance on system automation as
appropriate; (3) strategies to get labor costs stable or
reduced long-term; and (4) further review of costs of
conducting the new environmental impact statement for Columbia
River System Operations to determine what costs are truly
incremental.
Operation and Maintenance, Southeastern Power Administration
Budget estimate, 2019................................. $- - -
Appropriation, 2018................................... - - -
Recommended, 2019..................................... - - -
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA) markets
hydroelectric power produced at 22 Corps Projects in 11 states
in the southeast. Southeastern does not own or operate any
transmission facilities, so it contracts to ``wheel'' its power
using the existing transmission facilities of area utilities.
Operation and Maintenance, Southwestern Power Administration
Appropriation, 2018................................... $11,400,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 10,400,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 10,400,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -1,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Southwestern Power Administration (SWPA) markets
hydroelectric power produced at 24 Corps projects in the six-
state area of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma,
and Texas. SWPA operates and maintains 1,380 miles of
transmission lines, along with supporting substations and
communications sites.
Construction, Rehabilitation, Operation and Maintenance, Western Area
Power Administration
Appropriation, 2018................................... $93,372,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 89,372,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 89,372,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -4,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Western Area Power Administration is responsible for
marketing the electric power generated by the Bureau of
Reclamation, the Corps, and the International Boundary and
Water Commission. Western also operates and maintains a system
of transmission lines nearly 17,000 miles long. Western
provides electricity to 15 western states over a service area
of 1.3 million square miles.
Falcon and Amistad Operating and Maintenance Fund
Appropriation, 2018................................... $228,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 228,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 228,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
Falcon Dam and Amistad Dam are two international water
projects located on the Rio Grande River between Texas and
Mexico. Power generated by hydroelectric facilities at these
two dams is sold to public utilities through the Western Area
Power Administration. The Foreign Relations Authorization Act
for Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 created the Falcon and Amistad
Operating and Maintenance Fund to defray the costs of
operation, maintenance, and emergency activities. The Fund is
administered by the Western Area Power Administration for use
by the Commissioner of the U.S. Section of the International
Boundary and Water Commission.
The budget request includes a proposal for authority to
accept contributed funds in fiscal year 2019 for use in
fulfilling duties associated with the Falcon and Amistad Dams.
This authority would be equivalent to the authority used
throughout the Western Area Power Administration to secure
alternative financing. The Committee includes this proposal.
The Committee continues to hear concerns that additional
infrastructure investments are necessary at these dams. The
fiscal year 2018 Act directed Western to coordinate with the
International Boundary and Water Commission to determine a plan
for addressing any needed improvements and brief the Committees
on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not later than 90
days after the enactment of this Act on progress towards
finalizing a plan. The Committee reiterates this direction.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $367,600,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 369,900,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 369,900,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +2,300,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
REVENUES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $-367,600,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. -369,900,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... -369,900,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -2,300,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Committee recommendation for the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) is $369,900,000, the same as the
budget request. Revenues for FERC are established at a rate
equal to the budget authority, resulting in a net appropriation
of $0.
The fiscal year 2018 Act directed FERC to analyze
electricity transmission investment incentives in rate
treatments to determine ways to encourage efficient investment
for critical infrastructure security and to report this
analysis to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress not later than 180 days after the enactment of the
Act. The Committee encourages FERC to meet the provided
deadline.
Resilience.--California recently experienced one of its
worst fire seasons in modern history, resulting in severe
challenges to the well-being of utilities and the electric
system in that state. The Committee is concerned that the safe,
reliable, and affordable delivery of electricity to consumers
could be compromised by the increasing frequency and severity
of natural disasters--including hurricanes, floods, and
wildfires. The Committee directs the Federal Energy Regulatory
Committee (FERC) to continue working with industry on cost-
effective ways within its jurisdiction to increase the
resilience of the electric transmission system. These efforts
shall include just and reasonable cost-recovery mechanisms for
the development of resilient infrastructure and system repair
and restoration, as well as practices to better prepare the
nation's bulk power system for natural disasters. FERC shall
study the impacts and effects of strict liability doctrines on
utilities' ability to invest in the reliability and resilience
of transmission systems. FERC is directed to report its
findings and recommendations to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress, as well as the House
Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee, not later than 90 days after the enactment
of this Act.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee's detailed funding recommendations for
programs in Title III are contained in the following table:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
GENERAL PROVISIONS--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
(INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)
The bill includes a provision that prohibits the use of
funds provided in this title to initiate requests for
proposals, other solicitations or arrangements for new programs
or activities that have not yet been approved and funded by the
Congress; requires notification or a report for certain funding
actions; prohibits funds to be used for certain multi-year
``Energy Programs'' activities without notification; prohibits
the obligation or expenditure of funds provided in this title
through a reprogramming of funds except in certain
circumstances; and permits the transfer and merger of
unexpended balances of prior appropriations with appropriation
accounts established in this bill.
The bill continues a provision that authorizes intelligence
activities of the Department of Energy for purposes of section
504 of the National Security Act of 1947.
The bill continues a provision that prohibits the use of
funds in this title for capital construction of high hazard
nuclear facilities, unless certain independent oversight is
conducted.
The bill continues a provision that prohibits the use of
funds provided in this title to approve critical decision-2 or
critical decision-3 for certain construction projects, unless a
separate independent cost estimate has been developed for that
critical decision.
The bill includes a provision limiting the amount of funds
to be used for the working capital fund.
The bill continues a provision restricting certain
activities in the Russian Federation.
The bill continues a provision regarding management of the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The bill includes a provision restricting the use of funds
for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility Project.
The bill includes a provision regarding authority to
release refined petroleum product from the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve (SPR). Instead of engaging the Congress on developing
appropriate legislation for a regional refined petroleum
product reserve, the previous Administration chose to establish
the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve (NGSR) under the existing
authorities of the SPR. As such, the NGSR is subject to
national impact thresholds for releases, making it
operationally ineffective as a regional product reserve. The
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives is evaluating the proper configuration of the
SPR in light of current circumstances. This evaluation will be
informed, in part, by an assessment of the SPR being undertaken
by the Government Accountability Office. While this work is
ongoing, this bill includes temporary authority to ensure the
operational effectiveness of the NGSR.
The bill includes a provision regarding a report on the
potential of locating a reprocessing or recycling facility for
spent nuclear fuel near the Yucca Mountain site.
TITLE IV--INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
Appalachian Regional Commission
Appropriation, 2018................................... $155,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 152,000,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 155,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +3,000,000
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a regional
economic development agency established in 1965 by the
Appalachian Regional Development Act (P.L. 89-4). It is
composed of the governors of the 13 Appalachian States and a
federal co-chair appointed by the President. Each year, the ARC
provides funding for several hundred projects in the
Appalachian Region in areas such as business development,
education and job training, telecommunications, infrastructure,
community development, housing, and transportation.
To diversify and enhance regional business development,
$10,000,000 is provided to continue the program of high-speed
broadband deployment in distressed counties within the Central
Appalachian region that have been most negatively impacted by
the downturn in the coal industry. This funding shall be in
addition to the 30 percent directed to distressed counties.
The Committee is concerned that many rural areas in the
Central Appalachian region continue to face a variety of
significant and detrimental health issues. The Committee
directs the ARC to engage in a partnership with a rural
consortium that includes academic entities, rural health care
providers, and economic development entities in order to
develop information and data on overall agricultural and human
health issues, how economic distress can be overcome through
addressing these issues, and strategies for implementing
solutions. The ARC is directed to provide to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not later than one
year after the enactment of this Act a report describing
activities in support of this effort.
Within available funds, the Committee directs $50,000,000
for activities in support of the POWER+ Plan.
The ARC targets 50 percent of its funds to distressed
counties or distressed areas in the Appalachian region. The
Committee continues to believe this should be the primary focus
of the ARC.
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $31,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 31,243,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 31,243,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +243,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) was
created by the fiscal year 1989 National Defense Authorization
Act. The Board, composed of five members appointed by the
President, provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary
of Energy regarding public health and safety issues at the
Department's defense nuclear facilities. The DNFSB is
responsible for reviewing and evaluating the content and
implementation of the standards relating to the design,
construction, operation, and decommissioning of the Department
of Energy's defense nuclear facilities.
Delta Regional Authority
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $25,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 2,500,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 15,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -10,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +12,500,000
The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) is a federal-state
partnership established by the Delta Regional Authority Act of
2000 (P.L. 106-554) that serves a 252-county/parish area in an
eight-state region near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Led
by a federal co-chair and the governors of each participating
state, the DRA is designed to remedy severe and chronic
economic distress by stimulating economic development and
fostering partnerships that will have a positive impact on the
region's economy. The DRA seeks to help local communities
leverage other federal and state programs that are focused on
basic infrastructure development, transportation improvements,
business development, and job training services. Under federal
law, at least 75 percent of appropriated funds must be invested
in distressed counties and parishes, with 50 percent of the
funds for transportation and basic infrastructure improvements.
The budget request proposed to eliminate funding for the
DRA. The recommendation does not include funds to shut down the
DRA.
Denali Commission
Appropriation, 2018................................... $30,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 7,300,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 15,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -15,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +7,700,000
The Denali Commission is a regional development agency
established by the Denali Commission Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-277)
to provide critical utilities, infrastructure, health services,
and economic support throughout Alaska. To ensure that local
communities have a stake in Commission-funded projects, local
cost-share requirements for construction and equipment have
been established for both distressed and non-distressed
communities.
The budget request proposed to eliminate funding for the
Denali Commission. The recommendation does not include funds to
shut down the Denali Commission.
Northern Border Regional Commission
Appropriation, 2018................................... $15,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 850,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 12,000,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -3,000,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +11,150,000
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L.110-
234) authorized the establishment of the Northern Border
Regional Commission as a federal-state partnership intended to
address the economic development needs of distressed portions
of the four-state region of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and
New York.
The budget request proposed to eliminate funding for the
Northern Border Regional Commission. The recommendation does
not include funds to shut down the Northern Border Regional
Commission.
Southeast Crescent Regional Commission
Appropriation, 2018................................... $250,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. - - -
Recommended, 2019..................................... 250,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +250,000
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-
234) authorized the establishment of the Southeast Crescent
Regional Commission as a federal-state partnership intended to
address the economic development needs of distressed portions
of the seven-state region in the southeastern United States not
already served by a regional development agency.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $909,137,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 958,050,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 953,050,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +43,913,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. -5,000,000
REVENUES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $-779,768,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. -805,019,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... -763,640,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +16,128,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +41,379,000
NET APPROPRIATION
Appropriation, 2018................................... $129,301,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 153,031,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 189,410,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +60,109,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. +36,379,000
The Committee recommendation for the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) provides the following amounts:
(Dollars in thousands)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2018 FY 2019
Account enacted request Cmte. rec.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nuclear Reactor Safety.......................................... $466,655 $474,767 $474,767
Nuclear Materials and Waste Safety.............................. 113,145 110,609 110,609
Decommissioning and Low-Level Waste............................. 27,980 25,393 25,393
Integrated University Program................................... 15,000 0 15,000
Yucca licensing................................................. 0 47,700 47,700
Corporate Support............................................... 301,357 299,581 299,581
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL, Program Level.................................... 924,137 958,050 973,050
Savings and Carryover........................................... -15,000 - - - -20,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL................................................... 909,137 958,050 953,050
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The recommendation includes $20,000,000 in savings for
fiscal year 2019 that was not included in the budget request.
The Committee directs the Commission to apply these savings in
a manner that continues to ensure the protection of public
health and safety and maintains the effectiveness of the
current inspection program. Since the Commission has already
collected fees corresponding to these activities in prior
years, these funds are not included within the fee base
calculation for determining authorized revenues and does not
provide authority to collect additional offsetting receipts for
their use.
Within available funds, not more than $9,500,000 is
included for salaries, travel, and other support costs for the
Office of the Commission. These salaries and expenses shall
include only salaries and benefit and travel costs, and not
general and administrative and infrastructure costs. The
Committee directs that these funds are to be jointly managed by
the Commissioners, and the bill requires that the use and
expenditure of these salaries and expenses shall only be by a
majority vote of the Commission. The NRC shall continue to
include a breakout and explanation of the Commission salaries
and expenses in its annual budget requests. If the Commission
wishes to change the composition of the funds requested for its
salaries and expenses in future years, it must do so in an
annual budget request or through a reprogramming.
The recommendation directs $47,700,000 to continue
adjudication of the Yucca Mountain license application.
Integrated University Program.--The Committee
recommendation includes $15,000,000 to provide financial
support for the university education programs, as the
Commission continues to be reliant on a pipeline of highly
trained nuclear engineers and scientists and benefits
substantially from this university program. Of this amount,
$5,000,000 is to be used for grants to support research
projects that do not align with programmatic missions, but are
critical to maintaining the discipline of nuclear science and
engineering.
Transformation Initiative.--The Committee commends the NRC
for launching its Transformation Initiative in January. This
Initiative is intended to enhance the NRC's ability to evaluate
and regulate new and novel technologies--such as accident
tolerant fuels, new materials and new manufacturing approaches,
big data, digital instrumentation and controls, and small
modular and advanced reactor designs--that will challenge the
NRC's current regulatory framework. As such, the NRC's success
in this initiative will be essential to establishing a pathway
for the efficient regulation of future nuclear technologies in
the United States. The Committee expects the NRC budget request
for fiscal year 2020 to include concrete proposals developed
under the Initiative and to reflect savings achieved from their
implementation.
Accident Tolerant Fuel.--Development and deployment of
accident tolerant fuel (ATF) holds great promise in improving
both the safety and economics of the nation's existing reactor
fleet. To develop an efficient framework for the qualification
and regulation of these new fuels in support of their
deployment by the mid-2020s, the NRC must ensure that its work
is complementary to and not unnecessarily duplicative of the
efforts of the Department of Energy, National Laboratories, and
fuel developers. Not later than 180 days after the enactment of
this Act, the NRC shall submit to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a plan describing the
NRC's activities with respect to the testing of materials, the
development of consensus standards, and the validation of
computer codes and how these activities will be integrated with
the work of external organizations. The plan shall describe how
the Advanced Test Reactor, the Transient Reactor Test Facility,
and the Halden Reactor are necessary to support these efforts.
Digital Instrumentation and Control.--The future of
commercial nuclear power depends, in part, on the NRC's ability
to keep pace with innovation and technological developments.
Although the NRC has demonstrated its capacity to adapt to new
technology and innovation in its decision to issue a
construction permit for a first-of-a-kind medical isotope
production facility, this adaptive thinking is not evident in
the NRC's work on the licensing of digital systems for nuclear
safety-related applications, where the agency remains mired in
unresolved complexity while the obsolesce issues for the U.S.
nuclear fleet grow more and more urgent. Digital systems serve
vital safety functions throughout the aviation and military
sectors. Not later than 90 days after the enactment of this
Act, the NRC shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations
of both Houses of Congress a report describing the approaches
to permitting the use of digital instrumentation and control in
safety applications outside of nuclear, discussing whether
these approaches would be acceptable in nuclear applications,
and if not, explaining why not.
Budget Execution Plan.--The Commission shall provide a
specific budget execution plan to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not later than 30
days after the enactment of this Act. The plan shall include
details at the product line level within each of the control
points.
Rulemaking.--The Commission shall list all rulemaking
activities planned, to include their priority, schedule, and
actions taken to adhere to the backfit rule, in the annual
budget request and the semi-annual report to Congress on
licensing and regulatory activities.
Reporting Requirements.--The Committee directs the
Commission to continue to provide quarterly reports on
licensing goals and right-sizing commitments, as described in
the explanatory statement for P.L. 114-113.
Organization Optimization.--In fiscal year 2018, the
Commission was directed to submit a report on actions taken to
improve the fidelity of the agency estimates of necessary FTE
levels and to optimize the structure of the agency over the
next five years. The Committee reaffirms this direction and may
have additional guidance after review of the report.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
GROSS APPROPRIATION
Appropriation, 2018................................... $12,859,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 12,609,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 12,609,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -250,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
REVENUES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $-10,555,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. -10,355,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... -10,355,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... +200,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
NET APPROPRIATION
Appropriation, 2018................................... $2,304,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 2,254,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 2,254,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... -50,000
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Committee has included $1,103,000 within this
appropriation for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
for Inspector General services from the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission Inspector General.
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
Appropriation, 2018................................... $3,600,000
Budget estimate, 2019................................. 3,600,000
Recommended, 2019..................................... 3,600,000
Comparison:
Appropriation, 2018............................... - - -
Budget estimate, 2019............................. - - -
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) was
established by the 1987 amendments to the Nuclear Waste Policy
Act of 1982 to provide independent technical oversight of the
Department of Energy's nuclear waste disposal program. The
Committee expects the NWTRB to continue its active engagement
with the Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on
issues involving nuclear waste disposal.
GENERAL PROVISIONS--INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
The bill continues a provision requiring the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission to fully comply with Congressional
requests for information.
The bill continues a provision regarding the circumstances
in which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission may reprogram funds.
TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS
The bill continues a provision that prohibits the use of
funds provided in this Act to, in any way, directly or
indirectly influence congressional action on any legislation or
appropriation matters pending before the Congress, other than
to communicate to Members of Congress as described in section
1913 of Title 18, United States Code.
The bill continues a provision consolidating the transfer
authorities into and out of accounts funded by this Act. No
additional transfer authority is implied or conveyed by this
provision. For the purposes of this provision, the term
``transfer'' shall mean the shifting of all or part of the
budget authority in one account to another.
The bill continues a provision prohibiting funds in
contravention of E.O. 12898 of February 11, 1994, regarding
environmental justice.
The bill includes a provision prohibiting funds in this Act
from being used to maintain or establish computer networks
unless such networks block the viewing, downloading, or
exchange of pornography.
The bill includes a provision prohibiting the use of funds
to further implementation of components of the National Ocean
Policy developed under E.O. 13547.
The bill includes a provision prohibiting the use of funds
to operate the Federal Columbia River Power System in a manner
inconsistent with the Army Corps of Engineers' 2017 Fish
Operations Plan.
The bill includes a provision prohibiting the use of funds
for the removal of any federally-owned or operated dam unless
the removal was previously authorized by Congress.
The bill continues a provision prohibiting funds in this
Act from being used to close the Yucca Mountain license
application process or for actions that would remove the
possibility that Yucca Mountain might be an option in the
future.
The bill includes a provision regarding the spending
reduction account.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REPORT REQUIREMENTS
The following items are included in accordance with various
requirements of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following is a statement of
general performance goals and objectives for which this measure
authorizes funding:
The Committee on Appropriations considers program
performance, including a program's success in developing and
attaining outcome-related goals and objectives, in developing
funding recommendations.
Transfer of Funds
Pursuant to clause 3(f)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following is submitted describing
the transfer of funds provided in the accompanying bill.
TITLE I--CORPS OF ENGINEERS--CIVIL
Under section 103, ``General Provisions, Corps of
Engineers--Civil'', $5,400,000 under the heading ``Operation
and Maintenance'' may be transferred to the Fish and Wildlife
Service to mitigate for fisheries lost due to Corps projects.
TITLE II--BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
Under ``Water and Related Resources'', $67,393,000 is
available for transfer to the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund
and $5,551,000 is available for transfer to the Lower Colorado
River Basin Development Fund. Such funds as may be necessary
may be advanced to the Colorado River Dam Fund. The amounts of
transfers may be increased or decreased within the overall
appropriation under the heading.
Under ``California Bay Delta Restoration'', such sums as
may be necessary to carry out authorized purposes may be
transferred to appropriate accounts of other participating
federal agencies.
TITLE III--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Under ``Atomic Energy Defense Activities--National Nuclear
Security Administration--Naval Reactors'', $85,500,000 shall be
transferred to ``Department of Energy--Energy Programs--Nuclear
Energy'' for the Advanced Test Reactor.
Under section 301, ``General Provisions--Department of
Energy'', unexpended balances of prior appropriations provided
for activities in this Act may be transferred to appropriation
accounts for such activities established pursuant to this
title. Balances so transferred may be merged with funds in the
applicable established accounts and thereafter may be accounted
for as one fund for the same time period as originally enacted.
Disclosure of Earmarks and Congressionally Directed Spending Items
Neither the bill nor the report contains any congressional
earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as
defined in clause 9 of rule XXI.
Changes in the Application of Existing Law
Pursuant to clause 3(f)(1)(A) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the following statements are
submitted describing the effect of provisions in the
accompanying bill which directly or indirectly change the
application of existing law.
TITLE I--CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Investigations, providing for detailed studies and plans and
specifications of projects prior to construction.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Investigations, providing for a limited number of new starts.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Construction, stating that funds can be used for the
construction of river and harbor, flood and storm damage
reduction, shore protection, aquatic ecosystem restoration, and
related projects authorized by law, and for detailed studies
and plans and specifications of such projects.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Construction, permitting the use of funds from the Inland
Waterways Trust Fund and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Construction, providing for a limited number of new starts.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Mississippi River and Tributaries, permitting the use of funds
from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.
Language has been included under the Corps of Engineers,
Operation and Maintenance, stating that funds can be used for:
the operation, maintenance, and care of existing river and
harbor, flood and storm damage reduction, aquatic ecosystem
restoration, and related projects authorized by law; providing
security for infrastructure owned or operated by the Corps,
including administrative buildings and laboratories;
maintaining authorized harbor channels provided by a State,
municipality, or other public agency that serve essential
navigation needs of general commerce; surveying and charting
northern and northwestern lakes and connecting waters; clearing
and straightening channels; and removing obstructions to
navigation.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Operation and Maintenance, permitting the use of funds from the
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund; providing for the use of funds
from a special account for resource protection, research,
interpretation, and maintenance activities at outdoor
recreation areas; and allowing use of funds to cover the cost
of operation and maintenance of dredged material disposal
facilities for which fees have been collected.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Operation and Maintenance, providing that one percent of the
total amount of funds provided for each of the programs,
projects, or activities funded under the Operation and
Maintenance heading shall not be allocated to a field operating
activity until the fourth quarter of the fiscal year and
permitting the use of these funds for emergency activities as
determined by the Chief of Engineers to be necessary and
appropriate.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Expenses, regarding support of the Humphreys Engineer Support
Center Activity, the Institute for Water Resources, the United
States Army Engineer Research and Development Center, and the
United States Army Corps of Engineers Finance Center.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Expenses, providing that funds are available for official
reception and representation expenses.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Expenses, prohibiting the use of other funds in Title I of this
Act for the activities funded in Expenses.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
Expenses, permitting any Flood Control and Coastal Emergency
appropriation to be used to fund the supervision and general
administration of emergency operations, repairs, and other
activities in response to any flood, hurricane or other natural
disaster.
Language has been included to provide for funding for the
Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
General Provisions, section 101, providing that none of the
funds may be available for obligation or expenditure through a
reprogramming of funds except in certain circumstances.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
General Provisions, section 102, prohibiting the execution of
any contract for a program, project or activity which commits
funds in excess of the amount appropriated (to include funds
reprogrammed under section 101) that remain unobligated.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
General Provisions, section 103, providing for transfer
authority to the Fish and Wildlife Service for mitigation for
lost fisheries.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
General Provisions, section 104, prohibiting certain dredged
material disposal activities.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
General Provisions, section 105, prohibiting any acquisition
that is not consistent with a certain federal regulation.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
General Provisions, section 106, prohibiting certain activities
at a Corps of Engineers project.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
General Provisions, section 107, prohibiting requirement of a
permit for the discharge of dredged or fill material under the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act for certain activities.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
General Provisions, section 108, repealing a certain rule under
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
Language has been included under Corps of Engineers,
General Provisions, section 109, allowing the possession of
firearms at water resources development projects under certain
circumstances.
Language has been included under corps of Engineers,
General Provisions, section 110, prohibiting funds for a new
hopper dredge.
TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Language has been included under Bureau of Reclamation,
Water and Related Resources, providing that funds are available
for fulfilling federal responsibilities to Native Americans and
for grants to and cooperative agreements with State and local
governments and Indian tribes.
Language has been included under Bureau of Reclamation,
Water and Related Resources, allowing fund transfers within the
overall appropriation to the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund
and the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund; providing
that such sums as necessary may be advanced to the Colorado
River Dam Fund; and, transfers may be increased or decreased
within the overall appropriation.
Language has been included under Bureau of Reclamation,
Water and Related Resources, providing for funds to be derived
from the Reclamation Fund or the special fee account
established by 16 U.S.C. 6806; that funds contributed under 43
U.S.C. 395 by non-federal entities shall be available for
expenditure; and that funds advanced under 43 U.S.C. 397a are
to be credited to the Water and Related Resources account and
available for expenditure.
Language has been included under Bureau of Reclamation,
Water and Related Resources, providing that funds may be used
for high priority projects carried out by the Youth
Conservation Corps, as authorized by 16 U.S.C. 1706.
Language has been included under Bureau of Reclamation,
Central Valley Project Restoration Fund, directing the Bureau
of Reclamation to assess and collect the full amount of
additional mitigation and restoration payments authorized by
section 3407(d) of Public Law 102-575.
Language has been included under Bureau of Reclamation,
Central Valley Project Restoration Fund, providing that none of
the funds under the heading may be used for the acquisition or
lease of water for in-stream purposes if the water is already
committed to in-stream purposes by a court order adopted by
consent or decree.
Language has been included under Bureau of Reclamation,
California Bay-Delta Restoration, permitting the transfer of
funds to appropriate accounts of other participating federal
agencies to carry out authorized programs; allowing funds made
available under this heading to be used for the federal share
of the costs of the CALFED Program management; and requiring
that CALFED implementation be carried out with clear
performance measures demonstrating concurrent progress in
achieving the goals and objectives of the program.
Language has been included under Bureau of Reclamation,
Policy and Administration, providing that funds are to be
derived from the Reclamation Fund and prohibiting the use of
any other appropriation in the Act for activities budgeted as
policy and administration expenses.
Language has been included under Bureau of Reclamation,
Administrative Provision, providing for the purchase of motor
vehicles for replacement.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
Department of the Interior, section 201, providing that none of
the funds may be available for obligation or expenditure
through a reprogramming of funds except in certain
circumstances.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
Department of the Interior, section 202, regarding the San Luis
Unit and the Kesterson Reservoir in California.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
Department of the Interior, section 203, regarding the use of
diversion structures at a Bureau of Reclamation project.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
Department of the Interior, section 204, regarding a
feasibility study.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
Department of the Interior, section 205, prohibiting funds to
implement the San Joaquin River Restoration program.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
Department of the Interior, section 206, prohibiting funds to
purchase water in certain circumstances.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
Department of the Interior, section 207, regarding pumped
storage hydropower development.
TITLE III--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Language has been included under Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy for the purchase, construction, and
acquisition of plant and capital equipment.
Language has been included under Electricity Delivery and
Energy Reliability for the purchase, construction, and
acquisition of plant and capital equipment.
Language has been included under Nuclear Energy for the
purchase, construction, and acquisition of plant and capital
equipment.
Language has been included under Fossil Energy Research and
Development for the acquisition of interest, including
defeasible and equitable interest in any real property or any
facility or for plant or facility acquisition or expansion, and
for conducting inquires, technological investigations, and
research concerning the extraction, processing, use and
disposal of mineral substances without objectionable social and
environmental costs under 30 U.S.C. 3, 1602 and 1603.
Language has been included under the Naval Petroleum and
Oil Shale Reserves, permitting the use of unobligated balances.
Language has been included under the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve, directing the Secretary of Energy to draw down and
sell crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum and providing that
the proceeds be deposited in the Energy Security and
Infrastructure Modernization Fund for use in carrying out the
Life Extension II project.
Language has been included under Science providing for the
purchase, construction, and acquisition of plant and capital
equipment; and for the purchase of motor vehicles and an
airplane.
Language has been included under Nuclear Waste Disposal for
the acquisition of real property or facility construction or
expansion.
Language has been included under Innovative Technology Loan
Guarantee Program crediting fees collected pursuant to section
1702(h) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 as offsetting
collections to this account and making fees collected under
section 1702(h) in excess of the appropriated amount
unavailable for expenditure until appropriated.
Language has been included under Innovative Technology Loan
Guarantee Program prohibiting the subordination of certain
interests.
Language has been included under Innovative Technology Loan
Guarantee Program rescinding subsidy amounts for the cost of
loan guarantees.
Language has been included under Departmental
Administration providing for the hire of passenger vehicles and
for official reception and representation expenses.
Language has been included under Departmental
Administration providing, notwithstanding the provisions of the
Anti-Deficiency Act, such additional amounts as necessary to
cover increases in the estimated amount of cost of work for
others, as long as such increases are offset by revenue
increases of the same or greater amounts.
Language has been included under Departmental
Administration, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, and consistent
with the authorization in Public Law 95-238, to permit the
Department of Energy to use revenues to offset appropriations.
The appropriations language for this account reflects the total
estimated program funding to be reduced as revenues are
received.
Language has been included under Weapons Activities for the
purchase, construction, and acquisition of plant and capital
equipment.
Language has been included under Defense Nuclear
Nonproliferation for the purchase, construction, and
acquisition of plant and capital equipment and other incidental
expenses.
Language has been included under Naval Reactors for the
purchase, construction, and acquisition of plant and capital
equipment, facilities, and facility expansion and for the
purchase of aircraft.
Language has been included under Naval Reactors
transferring certain funds to Nuclear Energy.
Language has been included under Federal Salaries and
Expenses providing funding for official reception and
representation expenses.
Language has been included under Defense Environmental
Cleanup for the purchase, construction, and acquisition of
plant and capital equipment; and for the purchase of passenger
vehicles.
Language has been included under Other Defense Activities
for the purchase, construction, and acquisition of plant and
capital equipment.
Language has been included under Defense Nuclear Waste
Disposal for the acquisition of real property or facility
construction or expansion.
Language has been included under Bonneville Power
Administration Fund providing funding for official reception
and representation expenses and precluding any new direct loan
obligations.
Language has been included under Southeastern Power
Administration providing funds for official reception and
representation expenses.
Language has been included under Southeastern Power
Administration providing that, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302
and 16 U.S.C. 825s, amounts collected from the sale of power
and related services shall be credited to the account as
discretionary offsetting collections and remain available until
expended for the sole purpose of funding the annual expenses of
the Southeastern Power Administration; amounts collected to
recover purchase power and wheeling expenses shall be credited
to the account as offsetting collections and remain available
until expended for the sole purpose of making purchase power
and wheeling expenditures.
Language has been included under Southwestern Power
Administration providing funds for official reception and
representation expenses.
Language has been included under Southwestern Power
Administration providing that, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302
and 16 U.S.C. 825s, amounts collected from the sale of power
and related services shall be credited to the account as
discretionary offsetting collections and remain available until
expended for the sole purpose of funding the annual expenses of
the Southwestern Power Administration; amounts collected to
recover purchase power and wheeling expenses shall be credited
to the account as offsetting collections and remain available
until expended for the sole purpose of making purchase power
and wheeling expenditures.
Language has been included under Construction,
Rehabilitation, Operation and Maintenance, Western Area Power
Administration, providing funds for official reception and
representation expenses.
Language has been included under Construction,
Rehabilitation, Operation and Maintenance, Western Area Power
Administration providing that, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302,
16 U.S.C. 825s, and 43 U.S.C. 392a, amounts collected from the
sale of power and related services shall be credited to the
account as discretionary offsetting collections and remain
available until expended for the sole purpose of funding the
annual expenses of the Western Area Power Administration;
amounts collected to recover purchase power and wheeling
expenses shall be credited to the account as offsetting
collections and remain available until expended for the sole
purpose of making purchase power and wheeling expenditures.
Language has been included under Falcon and Amistad
Operating and Maintenance Fund providing that, notwithstanding
68 Stat. 255 and 31 U.S.C. 3302, amounts collected from the
sale of power and related services shall be credited to the
account as discretionary offsetting collections and remain
available until expended for the sole purpose of funding the
annual expenses of the hydroelectric facilities of those dams
and associated Western Area Power Administration activities.
Language has been included under Falcon and Amistad
Operating and Maintenance Fund providing that the Western Area
Power Administration may accept a limited amount of
contributions from the United States power customers of the
Falcon and Amistad Dams for use by the Commissioner of the
United States Section of the International Boundary and Water
Commission for operating and maintenance of hydroelectric
facilities.
Language has been included under Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission to permit the hire of passenger motor vehicles, to
provide official reception and representation expenses, and to
permit the use of revenues collected to reduce the
appropriation as revenues are received.
Language has been included under Department of Energy,
General Provisions, section 301, prohibiting the use of funds
to prepare or initiate requests for proposals or other
solicitations or arrangements for programs that have not yet
been fully funded by the Congress; requiring notification and
reporting requirements for certain funding awards; limiting the
use of multi-year funding mechanisms; providing that none of
the funds may be available for obligation or expenditure
through a reprogramming of funds except in certain
circumstances; and providing that unexpended balances of prior
appropriations may be transferred and merged with new
appropriation accounts established in this Act.
Language has been included under Department of Energy,
General Provisions, section 302, providing that funds for
intelligence activities are deemed to be specifically
authorized for purposes of section 504 of the National Security
Act of 1947 during fiscal year 2019 until enactment of the
Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019.
Language has been included under Department of Energy,
General Provisions, section 303, prohibiting the use of funds
for capital construction of high hazard nuclear facilities
unless certain independent oversight is conducted.
Language has been included under Department of Energy,
General Provisions, section 304, prohibiting the use of funds
to approve critical decision-2 or critical decision-3 for
certain construction projects, unless a separate independent
cost estimate has been developed for that critical decision.
Language has been included under Department of Energy,
General Provisions, section 305, limiting the amount of funds
that may be transferred to the working capital fund.
Language has been included under Department of Energy,
General Provisions, section 306, prohibiting nonproliferation
activities in the Russian Federation until certain reporting
requirements are met.
Language has been included under Department of Energy,
General Provisions, section 307, limiting the authority of the
Secretary of Energy to establish regional petroleum product
reserves.
Language has been included under Department of Energy,
General Provisions, section 308, prohibiting the use of funds
for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility project unless
certain requirements in the National Defense Authorization Act
of 2018 are met.
Language has been included under Department of Energy,
General Provisions, section 309, authorizing the Secretary of
Energy to draw down and sell refined petroleum product from the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve under certain circumstances.
Language has been included under Department of Energy,
General Provisions, section 310, requiring the Secretary of
Energy to submit a report regarding spent nuclear fuel.
TITLE IV--INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
Language has been included under Appalachian Regional
Commission providing for the hire of passenger vehicles and
services authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109.
Language has been included under Delta Regional Authority
allowing the expenditure of funds as authorized by the Delta
Regional Authority Act without regard to section 382C(b)(2),
382F(d), 382M and 382N of said Act.
Language has been included under Denali Commission allowing
the expenditure of funds notwithstanding section 306(g) of the
Denali Commission Act of 1998, and providing for cost-share
requirements for Commission-funded construction projects in
distressed and non-distressed communities, as defined by
section 307 of the Denali Commission Act of 1998 (Division C,
Title III, Public Law 105-277), and an amount not to exceed 50
percent for non-distressed communities.
Language has been included under Denali Commission allowing
funding to be available for payment of a non-federal share for
certain programs.
Language has been included under Northern Border Regional
Commission for expenditure as authorized by subtitle V of title
40, United States Code, without regard to section 15751(b).
Language has been included under Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Salaries and Expenses that provides for salaries
and other support costs for the Office of the Commission, to be
controlled by majority vote of the Commission.
Language has been included under Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Salaries and Expenses that provides for official
representation expenses and permits the use of revenues from
licensing fees, inspections services, and other services for
salaries and expenses to reduce the appropriation as revenues
are received. Funding is provided to support university
research and development, and for a Nuclear Science and
Engineering Grant Program.
Language has been included under the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission providing funds that are not derived from fee
revenues.
Language has been included under Office of Inspector
General that provides for the use of revenues from licensing
fees, inspections services, and other services for salaries and
expenses, notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, United
States Code, to reduce the appropriation as revenues are
received.
Language has been included under Independent Agencies,
General Provisions, section 401, requiring the NRC to comply
with certain procedures when responding to Congressional
requests for information.
Language has been included under Independent Agencies,
General Provision, section 402, providing that none of the
funds may be available for obligation or expenditure through a
reprogramming of funds except in certain circumstances.
TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Language has been included under General Provisions,
section 501, prohibiting the use of funds in this Act to
influence congressional action on any legislation or
appropriation matters pending before the Congress.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
section 502, prohibiting the transfer of funds except pursuant
to a transfer made by, or transfer authority provided in this
or any other appropriations Act, or certain other authorities,
and requiring a report.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
section 503, prohibiting funds in contravention of Executive
Order No. 12898 of February 11, 1994, regarding environmental
justice.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
section 504, prohibiting funds from being used to maintain or
establish computer networks unless such networks block the
viewing, downloading, or exchange of pornography.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
section 505, prohibiting the use of funds to further
implementation of components of the National Ocean Policy
developed under Executive Order 13547.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
section 506, prohibiting the use of funds to operate the
Federal Columbia River Power System hydroelectric dams in a
manner inconsistent with a 2017 operations plan.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
section 507, prohibiting the use of funds for the removal of
any federally-owned or operated dam unless the removal has been
previously authorized by Congress.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
section 508, prohibiting funds in this Act from being used to
close the Yucca Mountain license application process, or for
actions that would remove the possibility that Yucca Mountain
might be an option in the future.
Language has been included under General Provisions,
section 509, setting at $0 the amount that the proposed new
budget authority exceeds the allocation made by the Committee
on Appropriations under section 302(b) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974.
Program Duplication
No provision of this bill establishes or reauthorizes a
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Directed Rule Making
The bill does not direct any rule making.
Compliance With Rule XIII, Cl. 3(e) (Ramseyer Rule)
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change
is proposed is shown in roman):
OMNIBUS PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 2009
* * * * * * *
TITLE IX--BUREAU OF RECLAMATION AUTHORIZATIONS
Subtitle A--Feasibility Studies
SEC. 9001. SNAKE, BOISE, AND PAYETTE RIVER SYSTEMS, IDAHO.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior, acting
through the Bureau of Reclamation, may conduct feasibility
studies on projects that address water shortages within the
Snake, Boise, and Payette River systems in the State of Idaho,
and are considered appropriate for further study by the Bureau
of Reclamation Boise Payette water storage assessment report
issued during 2006.
(b) Bureau of Reclamation.--A study conducted under this
section shall comply with Bureau of Reclamation policy
standards and guidelines for studies.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to
be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out
this section $3,000,000.
(d) Termination of Effectiveness.--The authority provided by
this section terminates on the date that is [10] 20 years after
the date of enactment of this Act.
* * * * * * *
----------
SECTION 9 OF THE RECLAMATION PROJECT ACT OF 1939
Sec. 9. (a) No expenditures for the construction of any new
project, new division of a project, or new supplemental works
on a project shall be made, nor shall estimates be submitted
therefor, by the Secretary until after he has made an
investigation thereof and has submitted to the President and to
the Congress his report and findings on--
(1) the engineering feasibility of the proposed construction;
(2) the estimated cost of the proposed construction;
(3) the part of the estimated cost which can properly be
allocated to irrigation and probably be repaid by the water
users;
(4) the part of the estimated cost which can properly be
allocated to power and probably be returned to the United
States in net power revenues;
(5) the part of the estimated cost which can properly be
allocated to municipal water supply or other miscellaneous
purposes and probably be returned to the United States.
If the proposed construction is found by the Secretary to have
engineering feasibility and if the repayable and returnable
allocations to irrigation, power, and municipal water supply or
other miscellaneous purposes found by the Secretary to be
proper, together with any allocation to flood control or
navigation made under subsection (b) of this section, equal the
total estimated cost of construction as determined by the
Secretary, then the new project, new division of a project, or
supplemental works on a project, covered by his findings, shall
be deemed authorized and may be undertaken by the Secretary. If
all such allocations do not equal said total estimated cost,
then said new project, new division, or new supplemental works
may be undertaken by the Secretary only after provision
therefor has been made by Act of Congress enacted after the
Secretary has submitted to the President and the Congress the
report and findings involved.
(b) In connection with any new project, new division of a
project, or supplemental works on a project there may be
allocated to flood control or navigation the part of said total
estimated cost which the Secretary may find to be proper. Items
for any such allocations made in connection with projects which
may be undertaken pursuant to subsection (a) of this section
shall be included in the estimates of appropriations submitted
by the Secretary for said projects, and funds for such portions
of the projects shall not become available except as directly
appropriated or allotted to the Department of the Interior. In
connection with the making of such an allocation, the Secretary
shall consult with the Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of
the Army, and may perform any of the necessary investigations
or studies under a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of
the Army. In the event of such an allocation the Secretary of
the Interior shall operate the project for purposes of flood
control or navigation, to the extent justified by said
allocation therefor.
(c)
(1) The Secretary is authorized to enter into
contracts to furnish water for municipal water supply
or miscellaneous purposes: Provided, That any such
contract either (A) shall require repayment to the
United States, over a period of not to exceed forty
years from the year in which water is first delivered
for the use of the contracting party, with interest not
exceeding the rate of 3\1/2\ per centum per annum if
the Secretary determines an interest charge to be
proper, of an appropriate share as determined by the
Secretary of that part of the construction costs
allocated by him to municipal water supply or other
miscellaneous purposes; or (B) shall be for such
periods, not to exceed forty years, and at such rates
as in the Secretary's judgment will produce revenues at
least sufficient to cover an appropriate share of the
annual operation and maintenance cost and an
appropriate share of such fixed charges as the
Secretary deems proper, and shall require the payment
of said rates each year in advance of delivery of water
for said year. Any sale of electric power or lease of
power privileges, made by the Secretary in connection
with the operation of any project or division of a
project, shall be for such periods, not to exceed forty
years, and at such rates as in his judgment will
produce power revenues at least sufficient to cover an
appropriate share of the annual operation and
maintenance cost, interest on an appropriate share of
the construction investment at not less than 3 per
centum per annum, and such other fixed charges as the
Secretary deems proper: Provided further, That in said
sales or leases preference shall be given to
municipalities and other public corporations or
agencies; and also to cooperatives and other nonprofit
organizations financed in whole or in part by loans
made pursuant to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936
and any amendments thereof. Nothing in this subsection
shall be applicable to provisions in existing
contracts, made pursuant to law, for the use of power
and miscellaneous revenues of a project for the benefit
of users of water from such project. The provisions of
this subsection respecting the sales of electric power
and leases of power privileges shall be an
authorization in addition to and alternative to any
authority in existing laws related to particular
projects, including small conduit hydropower
development and pumped storage hydropower development
exclusively using Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs. No
contract relating to municipal water supply or
miscellaneous purposes or to electric power or power
privileges shall be made unless, in the judgment of the
Secretary, it will not impair the efficiency of the
project for irrigation purposes.
(2)(A) When carrying out this subsection, the
Secretary shall first offer the lease of power
privilege to an irrigation district or water
users association operating the applicable
transferred conduit, or to the irrigation
district or water users association receiving
water from the applicable reserved conduit. The
Secretary shall determine a reasonable time
frame for the irrigation district or water
users association to accept or reject a lease
of power privilege offer for a small conduit
hydropower project.
(B) If the irrigation district or
water users association elects not
accept a lease of power privilege offer
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary
shall offer the lease of power
privilege to other parties in
accordance with this subsection.
(3) The Bureau of Reclamation shall apply its
categorical exclusion process under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to small conduit
hydropower development under this subsection,
excluding siting of associated transmission
facilities on Federal lands.
(4) The Power Resources Office of the Bureau
of Reclamation shall be the lead office of
small conduit hydropower policy and procedure-
setting activities conducted under this
subsection.
(5) Nothing in this subsection shall obligate
the Western Area Power Administration, the
Bonneville Power Administration, or the
Southwestern Power Administration to purchase
or market any of the power produced by the
facilities covered under this subsection and
none of the costs associated with production or
delivery of such power shall be assigned to
project purposes for inclusion in project
rates.
(6) Nothing in this subsection shall alter or
impede the delivery and management of water by
Bureau of Reclamation facilities, as water used
for conduit hydropower generation shall be
deemed incidental to use of water for the
original project purposes. Lease of power
privilege shall be made only when, in the
judgment of the Secretary, the exercise of the
lease will not be incompatible with the
purposes of the project or division involved,
nor shall it create any unmitigated financial
or physical impacts to the project or division
involved. The Secretary shall notify and
consult with the irrigation district or water
users association operating the transferred
conduit before offering the lease of power
privilege and shall prescribe terms and
conditions that will adequately protect the
planning, design, construction, operation,
maintenance, and other interests of the United
States and the project or division involved.
(7) Nothing in this subsection shall alter or
affect any existing agreements for the
development of conduit hydropower projects or
disposition of revenues.
(8) Nothing in this subsection shall alter or
affect any existing preliminary permit,
license, or exemption issued by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission under Part I of
the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 792 et seq.)
or any project for which an application has
been filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission as of the date of the enactment of
the Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit
Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act.
(9) In this subsection:
(A) Conduit.--The term ``conduit''
means any Bureau of Reclamation tunnel,
canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume,
ditch, or similar manmade water
conveyance that is operated for the
distribution of water for agricultural,
municipal, or industrial consumption
and not primarily for the generation of
electricity.
(B) Irrigation district.--The term
``irrigation district'' means any
irrigation, water conservation or
conservancy, multicounty water
conservation or conservancy district,
or any separate public entity composed
of two or more such districts and
jointly exercising powers of its member
districts.
(C) Reserved conduit.--The term
``reserved conduit'' means any conduit
that is included in project works the
care, operation, and maintenance of
which has been reserved by the
Secretary, through the Commissioner of
the Bureau of Reclamation.
(D) Transferred conduit.--The term
``transferred conduit'' means any
conduit that is included in project
works the care, operation, and
maintenance of which has been
transferred to a legally organized
water users association or irrigation
district.
(E) Small conduit hydropower.--The
term ``small conduit hydropower'' means
a facility capable of producing 5
megawatts or less of electric capacity.
(d) No water may be delivered for irrigation of lands in
connection with any new project, new division of a project, or
supplemental works on a project until an organization,
satisfactory in form and powers to the Secretary, has entered
into a repayment contract with the United States, in a form
satisfactory to the Secretary, providing among other things--
(1) That the Secretary may fix a development period
for each irrigation block, if any, of not to exceed ten
years from and including the first calendar year in
which water is delivered for the lands in said block;
and that during the development period water shall be
delivered to the lands in the irrigation block involved
at a charge per annum per acre-foot, or other charge,
to be fixed by the Secretary each year and to be paid
in advance of delivery of water: Provided, That where
the lands included in an irrigation block are for the
most part lands owned by the United States, the
Secretary, prior to execution of a repayment contract,
may fix a development period, but in such case
execution of such a contract shall be a condition
precedent to delivery of water after the close of the
development period: Provided further, That when the
Secretary, by contract or by notice given thereunder,
shall have fixed a development period of less than ten
years, and at any time thereafter but before
commencement of the repayment period conditions arise
which in the judgment of the Secretary would have
justified the fixing of a longer period, he may amend
such contract or notice to extend such development
period to a date not to exceed ten years from its
commencement, and in a case where no development period
was provided, he may amend such contract within the
same limits: Provided further, That when the Secretary
shall have deferred the payment of all or any part of
any installments of construction charges under any
repayment contract pursuant to the authority of the Act
of September 21, 1959 (73 Stat. 584), he may, at any
time prior to the due date prescribed for the first
installment not reduced by such deferment, and by
agreement with the contracting organization, terminate
the supplemental contract by which such deferment was
effected, credit the construction payments made, and
exercise the authority granted in this section. After
the close of the development period, any such charges
collected and which the Secretary determines to be in
excess of the cost of the operation and maintenance
during the development period shall be credited to the
construction cost of the project in the manner
determined by the Secretary.
(2) That the part of the construction costs allocated
by the Secretary to irrigation shall be included in a
general repayment obligation of the organization; and
that the organization may vary its distribution of
construction charges in a manner that takes into
account the productivity of the various classes of
lands and the benefits accruing to the lands by reason
of the construction: Provided, That no distribution of
construction charges over the lands included in the
organization shall in any manner be deemed to relieve
the organization or any party or any land therein of
the organization's general obligation to the United
States.
(3) That the general repayment obligation of the
organization shall be spread in annual installments, of
the number and amounts fixed by the Secretary, over a
period of not more than 40 years, exclusive of any
development period fixed under paragraph (1) of this
subsection, for any project contract unit or, if the
project contract unit be divided into two or more
irrigation blocks, for any such block, or as near to
said period of not more than forty years as is
consistent with the adoption and operation of a
variable payment formula which, being based on full
repayment within such period under average conditions,
permits variance in the required annual payments in the
light of economic factors pertinent to the ability of
the organization to pay.
(4) That the first annual installment for any project
contract unit, or for any irrigation block, as the case
may be, shall accrue, on the date fixed by the
Secretary, in the year after the last year of the
development period or, if there be not development
period, in the calendar year after the Secretary
announces that the construction contemplated in the
repayment contract is substantially completed or is
advanced to a point where delivery of water can be made
to substantially all of the lands in said unit or block
to be irrigated; and if there be no development period
fixed, that prior to and including the year in which
the Secretary makes said announcement water shall be
delivered only on the toll charge basis hereinbefore
provided for development periods.
(e) In lieu of entering into a repayment contract pursuant to
the provisions of subsection (d) of this section to cover that
part of the cost of the construction of works connected with
water supply and allocated to irrigation, the Secretary, in his
discretion, may enter into either short- or long-term contracts
to furnish water for irrigation purposes. Each such contract
shall be for such period, not to exceed forty years, and at
such rates as in the Secretary's judgment will produce revenues
at least sufficient to cover an appropriate share of the annual
operation and maintenance cost and an appropriate share of such
fixed charges as the Secretary deems proper, due consideration
being given to that part of the cost of construction of works
connected with water supply and allocated to irrigation; and
shall require payment of said rates each year in advance of
delivery of water for said year. In the event such contracts
are made for furnishing water for irrigation purposes, the
costs of any irrigation water distribution works constructed by
the United States in connection with the new project, new
division of a project, or supplemental works on a project,
shall be covered by a repayment contract entered into pursuant
to said subsection (d).
(f) No less than sixty days before entering into or amending
any repayment contract or any contract for the delivery of
irrigation water (except any contract for the delivery of
surplus or interim irrigation water whose duration is for one
year or less) the Secretary shall--
(1) publish notice of the proposed contract or
amendment in newspapers of general circulation in the
affected area and shall make reasonable efforts to
otherwise notify interested parties which may be
affected by such contract or amendment, together with
information indicating to whom comments or inquiries
concerning the proposed actions can be addressed; and
(2) provide an opportunity for submission of written
data, views and arguments, and shall consider all
substantive comments so received.
Appropriations Not Authorized by Law
Pursuant to clause 3(f) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following table lists the
appropriations in the accompanying bill which are not
authorized:
[thousand dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appropriation in
Agency/Program Last Year of Authorization Last Year of Net Appropriation
Authorization Level Authorization in this Bill
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corps FUSRAP........................ ................. \ 1\ ................. 150,000
EERE Program Direction.............. 2006 110,500 164,198 153,700
EERE Weatherization Activities...... 2012 1,400,000 68,000 251,000
EERE State Energy Programs.......... 2012 125,000 50,000 55,000
Nuclear Energy...................... 2009 495,000 792,000 1,346,090
Nuclear Energy Infrastructure and 2009 145,000 245,000 331,000
Facilities.........................
Fossil Energy....................... 2009 641,000 727,320 785,000
Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale 2014 20,000 20,000 10,000
Reserves...........................
Strategic Petroleum Reserve......... 2003 not specified 172,856 252,000
Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.. 2003 not specified 6,000 10,000
Energy Information Administration... 1984 not specified 55,870 125,000
Office of Science................... 2013 6,007,000 4,876,000 6,600,000
Advanced Technology Vehicle 2012 not specified 6,000 5,000
Manufacturing Program..............
Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup:
West Valley Demonstration....... 1981 5,000 5,000 75,000
Departmental Administration......... 1984 246,963 185,682 184,524
Atomic Energy Defense Activities:
National Nuclear Security
Administration:
Weapons Activities.......... 2018 10,377,475 10,642,138 11,200,000
Defense Nuclear 2018 1,883,310 1,999,219 1,902,000
Nonproliferation...........
Naval Reactors.............. 2018 1,431,551 1,620,000 1,788,618
Federal Salaries and 2018 407,551 407,595 422,529
Expenses...................
Defense Environmental Cleanup....... 2018 5,440,106 5,988,048 5,759,220
Other Defense Activities............ 2018 816,000 840,000 870,300
Defense Nuclear Waste Disposal.. 2018 30,000 0 30,000
Power Marketing Administrations:
Southwestern.................... 1984 40,254 36,229 10,400
Western Area.................... 1984 259,700 194,630 89,372
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 1984 not specified 29,582 0
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety 2018 30,600 31,000 31,243
Board..............................
Delta Regional Authority............ 2018 30,000 25,000 15,000
Northern Border Regional Commission. 2018 30,000 15,000 12,000
Southeast Crescent Regional 2018 30,000 250 250
Commission.........................
Nuclear Regulatory Commission....... 1985 460,000 448,200 191,664
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Program was initiated in 1972 and has never received a separate authorization.
Rescissions
Pursuant to clause 3(f)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, there are no rescissions recommended
in the accompanying bill.
Comparison With the Budget Resolution
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives and section 308(a)(1)(A) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the following table compares
the levels of new budget authority provided in the bill with
the appropriate allocation under section 302(b) of the Budget
Act.
[In millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
302(b) Allocation This Bill
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Authority Outlays Budget Authority Outlays
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mandatory........................... - - - - - - 0 \1\0
Discretionary....................... 44,700 44,485 44,700 44,485
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Includes outlays from prior-year budget authority.
Five-Year Outlay Projections
Pursuant to section 308(a)(1)(B) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974, the following table contains five-year
projections prepared by the Congressional Budget Office of
outlays associated with the budget authority provided in the
accompanying bill:
[In millions of dollars]
Projection of outlays associated with the
recommendation:
2019.............................................. \2\26,161
2020.............................................. 12,600
2021.............................................. 4,279
2022.............................................. 945
2023 and future years............................. 554
\2\Excludes outlays from prior-year budget authority.
Assistance to State and Local Governments
Pursuant to section 308(a)(1)(C) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974, the amount of financial assistance to State
and local governments is as follows:
[In millions of dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget Authority Outlays
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial assistance to State and 170 \2\0
local government for 2019........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\Excludes outlays from prior-year budget authority.
Full Committee Votes
Pursuant to the provisions of clause 3(b) of rule XIII of
the House of Representatives, the results of each rollcall vote
on an amendment or on the motion to report, together with the
names of those voting for and those voting against, are printed
below:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
MINORITY VIEWS
We commend Chairman Frelinghuysen and Chairman Simpson for
their efforts to assemble portions of this bill in an inclusive
manner. The bill funds critical water resource projects,
supports science activities necessary for American
competitiveness and contributes to our national defense through
vital weapons, naval reactor research, and nonproliferation
funding, all priorities that unite rather than divide us.
Chairman Simpson has worked hard to incorporate the interests
of Members from both parties. As a result, much of the funding
reflects some priorities from both sides of the aisle. However,
the Majority has made clear that this bill reflects their
priorities--and the funding levels for programs of great
importance to the nation, including Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy and
Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, show that these are not the
priorities of the Majority.
Further, it is disappointing that the Majority has
jeopardized the possibility of a bipartisan bill by adding
ideological riders that are anti-environment, including gutting
the Clean Water Act and overturning a court decision meant to
protect endangered fish species, in addition to allowing guns
on public lands. We should not have to remind our Majority
colleagues that similar provisions have imperiled passage of
this bill in the past, and that these riders cannot be included
in any legislation that requires bipartisan support to pass.
Yet they continue not only to include the same riders year
after year, but this year brings a new, unnecessary version of
a Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rider while introducing a
new provision legislating an ongoing court case, both poison
pills. These issues inject divisive partisan issues into must-
pass spending bills, a recipe for chaos when Congress attempts
to keep the government open for business.
The subcommittee's allocation is $44,700,000,000,
$8,173,568,000 above the Administration's budget request and
$1,500,000,000 above the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 level. The
defense allocation is $500,000,000 above FY 2018, while the
non-defense allocation is $1,000,000,000 above FY 2018.
We commend the Chairman for increasing Corps of Engineers'
funding by $2,493,417,000 above the President's completely
inadequate request, ensuring that many ongoing projects will
continue. The bill provides $7,278,000,000 for the Army Corps
of Engineers, representing the highest funding level the agency
has received in recent years. The bill provides $1,600,000,000
for projects funded from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund,
$200,000,000 above FY 2018 and $160,000,000 above the FY 2019
target set by the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of
2014. This funding would allow preventive and proactive
investments necessary for the economy and the safety of
American citizens. The funding above the request would also
allow investments in the nation's ports and waterways, which
are critical to ensuring that American made goods can move to
market, both domestically and abroad. We firmly believe that
our underinvestment in infrastructure continues to hamper
economic gains and prolongs the underemployment plaguing our
middle class.
While this bill ensures increased investment beyond that
included in the budget request, we should be doing even more to
build infrastructure and create jobs. Federal support of water
resource projects creates construction jobs and indirect
economic benefits that encourage local businesses and
individuals to embrace risk and make critical investments in
their communities.
Every year, this important bill sets the path for America's
energy future, and we have made enormous strides in increasing
our energy independence. We now meet more than 90 percent of
our energy needs with domestic sources, a great accomplishment.
Renewable energy now accounts for 18 percent of U.S.
electricity generation, nearly on par with the nation's nuclear
fleet. Electricity made up a smaller share of consumer spending
in 2017 than it ever has in recorded history.
These successes are due in no small part to federal
investment in DOE's world-class research--both basic and
applied. Research at the Department of Energy has led to the
technological advances that have drastically altered global
energy markets. These significant strides towards America's
energy security are to be lauded, but now is not the time to
rest on our laurels. Today, the price of oil is on the rise
again, currently 50 percent higher than it was one year ago.
Fuel prices are also rising, and when fuel prices rise consumer
spending constricts, impacting the economy. Given these
factors, we must not lose sight of the ultimate goal of energy
independence.
Unfortunately, even with a generous allocation, the
Majority chose to cut $243,138,000 from energy efficiency and
renewable energy programs, which threatens to delay progress on
breakthroughs in energy efficiency and clean energy and to
hinder innovation to drive sustained economic growth in the
clean energy economy of the future. It also leaves us
perilously open to being overtaken by our competitors who are
aggressively investing with the goal of overtaking us, at times
using our own technologies. Renewable energy has achieved cost
competitiveness in some areas, yet despite what we hear from
this administration, further investment can drive down the
costs of existing technology and provide breakthroughs in
others. Investment in portfolio diversity remains necessary for
the long term. The advances in renewable energy are not the
drumbeats of some distant clean energy future. That future is
now, and the rest of the world is ready to lay siege to our
technologies if we do not continue to innovate. An investment
in clean energy is an investment in American jobs: nearly 3.2
million Americans work in clean energy, including 2.5 million
energy efficiency jobs, 457,000 solar and wind jobs, and
220,000 jobs making clean vehicles.
With regard to the applied energy programs at the
Department of Energy, investments in energy technology programs
are once again skewed too heavily toward nuclear and fossil
fuels, though we recognize that the level of renewable energy
funding is higher than recent years in a House bill. We must
provide for critical research and development for the nuclear
and fossil energy sectors to increase efficiency and reduce
emissions of these sources, but continued and sustained
research and development programs in renewable energy and
energy efficiency are necessary and appropriate, and cannot be
the price of increased support for other technologies. To
finally free ourselves from our dependence on foreign energy
sources, as well as to drastically cut our dangerous carbon
emissions, we must continue to strongly fund DOE's research and
development efforts.
The bill also cuts the Advanced Research Projects Agency-
Energy (ARPA-E), which focuses on energy technologies that have
the potential to be transformational and are too early for
private sector investment. ARPA-E's approach is working-136
ARPA-E projects have attracted over $2,600,000,000 in private
follow-on funding. Yet we have come to expect that the
administration will propose to eliminate this important program
each year. And again, despite the generous allocation we
received, the Majority has opted to reduce funding by
$28,314,000 from FY 2018.
One positive is the five percent increase over FY 2018 for
the Office of Science. This is critical to the competitiveness
of our nation and ensuring that the United States maintains its
position as the global leader in innovation.
The bill provides $15,091,050,000 for the National Nuclear
Security Administration (NNSA); these increases are seen in
Weapons Activities, $557,862,000 above FY 2018, and Naval
Reactors, $168,618,000 above FY 2018. We continue to be
troubled by the continued unsustainable spending in the weapons
program.
We are concerned by the inclusion of funding to build a
new, low-yield ballistic missile as called for in the 2018
Nuclear Posture Review. The President's budget request did not
include this warhead until mid-April, leaving our Committee
without any time to appropriately consider this significant new
request. We did not have this information during our
Subcommittee budget hearings with the Secretary of Energy or
with the NNSA Administrator.
We owe it to the American people to have a full discussion
and debate about this new nuclear capability, including
security, cost, schedule, and impact to the ongoing efforts to
modernize our existing nuclear arsenal. We must have
appropriate consideration before wandering down a pathway to
new nuclear weapons varieties. Further, the NNSA is being asked
to take on this additional weapons capability while it is in
the midst of simultaneously executing four active warhead life
extension programs and several major construction projects. The
former NNSA Administrator has said that the NNSA is essentially
working at capacity now, before taking on this new low-yield
ballistic missile.
This is on top of the challenges brought on by the need to
modernize a complex built substantially in the 1950s. While
NNSA has made progress in mapping out the most urgent needs in
this area, we remain concerned about the agency's ability to
carry out the major construction projects necessary to
modernize the complex.
With NNSA's history of staggering cost overruns and
schedule delays, we continue to question whether the
organization has the necessary tools, processes and workforce
to manage large increases in weapons activities and
infrastructure needs year after year. We appreciate and support
the Chairman's continued strong oversight of the NNSA in these
areas.
The majority has invested in a costly, unjustified new
nuclear weapon while underfunding efforts to denuclearize the
world. The bill includes $1,902,000,000 for these critical
programs, $146,219,000 below the FY 2018 appropriation. The
Nuclear Nonproliferation program plays an important role in
verification of treaties and agreements to curb nuclear weapons
and weapons usable materials. The program develops technologies
that help strengthen the safeguards mission of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)--for example, DOE's
national laboratories created the Online Enrichment Monitor,
which allows IAEA inspectors to measure in real time the
enrichment level of uranium, an enormous step forward for
verifying compliance with safeguards agreements and for keeping
us safe. Yet the bill continues a downward trajectory of
funding for this critical program, cut at the expense of
providing continued increases to the weapons program. This is
something we hope we can again reverse in conference.
Two of the partisan riders in this bill risk protection of
the world's most precious resource: water. The first provides
agricultural exemptions from the Clean Water Act. The second is
a new version related to the WOTUS rule, which legislatively
repeals the rule and directs agencies to act as if the rule had
never been in place. This is a disturbing effort to sidestep
law that establishes requirements for withdrawal of a
regulation such as this. This effort would also effectively
avoid the administration being required to provide a
substantive rationale'as it considers changing regulations and
taking into consideration public input.
The bill contains numerous other riders, including three
related to Endangered Species Act issues, one of which would
legislate an ongoing court case, and one that would prohibit
activities related to the National Ocean Policy.
The inclusion of the rider allowing guns to be carried on
all Corps of Engineers lands injects into the bill an
unnecessarily partisan topic that is unwarranted. We disagree
with the notion that reasonable limits on where guns can be
carried are an infringement upon the Second Amendment. We see
no need to contribute to an environment where guns are
commonplace in recreational areas where families are trying to
escape the pressures of everyday life.
In spite of these concerns, we would like to reiterate our
appreciation for the Chairman's work with us on many issues,
continuing the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee's
tradition of a collegial and bipartisanship process. The
Subcommittee has operated collaboratively and effectively for
many years, and the bill addresses many of the interests we
have expressed.
More broadly, the Bipartisan Budget Act enacted earlier
this year provided relief from unworkable discretionary
spending caps. The agreement was supposed to provide the
country with stability following a year of shutdowns, last-
minute veto threats, and general uncertainty in government.
That stability lasted long enough for Congress to pass a
bipartisan Omnibus appropriations bill for FY 2018, and then
Republican chaos reigned again. The President threatened to
veto the bill, unhappy with Congress' large investments in
programs to help low-and middle-income Americans and rejection
of his campaign-promised border wall.
Even after the President backed off his threat and signed
the bill, the Administration and Republican leadership in
Congress who voted for the Bipartisan Budget Act and the
Omnibus bill have continued to attempt to undo those bipartisan
agreements. Now, the majority s seeking to pass a rescissions
bill to undo funding and mollify an angry President. We have
beep told by Office of Management and Budget Director Mick
Mulvaney that this is the first of many rescission packages
meant to bring spending in line with the President's
priorities, ignoring Congressional action that dismissed the
President's FY 2017 and FY 2018 draconian budget requests.
In addition to the unacceptable rescissions proposals, the
majority's lack of transparency with regards to how it will
allocate the FY 2019 discretionary budget also endangers future
bipartisan compromise. The majority has abandoned longstanding
committee practice to provide the Members and the public with a
budget blueprint for domestic spending, known as 302(b)
allocations. Members are being asked to vote on bills without
having the full picture on what impact each bill will have on
other bills. We are very concerned about what that means for
programs in other bills that have yet to be considered.
Democrats can only be left to assume that the majority is
siphoning money from bills at the end of the process like the
State and Foreign Operations bill and the Labor, Health and
Human Services, and Education appropriations bill, which
invests in priorities like education, job training, health, and
workplace safety and rights.
In conclusion, the majority of Democrats on the committee
voted no on the motion to advance the bill to the full House
because this bill's funding level will ensure critical
investments in other bills cannot be made, priorities related
to achieving energy independence and a green future are
underfunded, and extraneous, controversial policy riders are
included. Without a full budget we are left to assume that the
programs for the most vulnerable and American families who
simply need a level playing field will be left on the chopping
block. If that were not enough reason, the majority included
controversial policy matters on the environment and guns. We
look forward to the day when transparency returns to the
Committee and all of the bills are adequately funded at the
outset. Until then, Democrats stand ready to work in a
bipartisan manner when our Republican colleagues eschew the
fringe and want to pass bills into law.
Nita M. Lowey.
Marcy Kaptur.
[all]
