The Department of Energy plans to spend less money in coming months at its environmental cleanup sites including Hanford than was approved by Congress in a continuing budget resolution for spending through early March.
DOE's goal is to be conservative and not overspend in the first five months of the year as the funding amount for the rest of the year still unclear.
DOE will use the administration request for funding in fiscal 2009, which would cut annual spending on DOE cleanup nationwide from a little more than $5.7 billion in the fiscal year 2008 budget to $5.5 billion. The fiscal year started Oct. 1.
At Hanford, the budget for cleanup under the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office would drop from the $886.5 million approved for fiscal 2008 to $851.8 million under the administration's request for fiscal 2009. That's a decrease of $34.7 million.
At the DOE Hanford Office of River Protection, the administration budget would increase from the $969.5 million approved in fiscal 2008 to $978.4 million under the fiscal 2009 administration proposal. That's an increase of $8.9 million.
After the budget proposal was released in February, critics, including Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., said it could lead to layoffs.
But on Friday afternoon Todd Young, Hastings' chief of staff, said DOE is expected to use discretion in how money is spent in the coming months to keep programs at Hanford funded. There also may be some carry-over money available from last year.
"Our expectation is this will not lead to job loss or a slowdown in progress," Young said.
In addition, although the continuing resolution setting Hanford funding could continue until March 6, Congress could choose to work on a budget bill much sooner, depending in part on the outcome of the November elections.
A continuing resolution was passed after the start of the fiscal year approached with no appropriation passed for many federal programs. But the House and also Senate appropriations being considered would have provided more money for Hanford cleanup than the administration proposal.
DOE's approach of reverting to the spending levels of the proposed administration budget "is based on the silly notion that the president's budget is viable when Congress declared it dead on arrival in February," Young said.
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Senate's proposed DOE budget adds to tank farm money
Senate's proposed DOE budget adds to tank farm money
The Hanford tank farms would see some relief under the Senate version of the Department of Energy budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
However, it's too early to tell how that could affect proposed layoffs at the tank farms next month.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved the fiscal 2012 budget that includes Hanford, mostly matching the already approved House budget.
Hanford tank farms lay off 244 workers
Hanford tank farms lay off 244 workers
Hanford's tank farm contractor handed out layoff notices Monday, bringing to 244 the number of layoffs at the nuclear reservation linked to uncertainties in the budget for the fiscal year that began Saturday.
The 244 layoffs were fewer than previously had been approved at the tank farms, where 56 million gallons of radioactive waste are stored from the past production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program.
But it still puts the total cutback at Hanford since spring at 1,993 jobs. The year started with about 12,000 jobs at Hanford.
1,100 Hanford layoffs planned
1,100 Hanford layoffs planned
The Department of Energy has authorized its environmental cleanup contractors at Hanford to lay off up to 1,100 more workers in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
That's in addition to up to 1,985 layoffs already announced this year, the majority of which will be Sept. 29.
Hanford started the year with about 12,000 employees, meaning the potential layoffs announced this year would cut jobs by about a quarter.
Hanford regulators will postpone some cleanup deadlines
Hanford regulators will postpone some cleanup deadlines
Hanford regulators have agreed to let some interim environmental cleanup deadlines slide at the nuclear reservation to focus on the highest priority work, given the realities of the federal budget.
The changes are expected to allow work to continue to demolish the Plutonium Finishing Plant, which the Department of Energy heard during public comments should be a priority.
The new plan also retains the focus on completing cleanup along the Columbia River by 2015 and cleaning up contaminated ground water beneath Hanford.
Hastings questions Hanford vit plant budget request
Hastings questions Hanford vit plant budget request
Congress needs straight answers from the Department of Energy on what requests for more money for the Hanford $12.2 billion vitrification plant mean, said Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash.
He spoke Thursday to the Energy Community Alliance in Washington, D.C., and provided a copy of his speech to the Herald.
Hastings questioned whether the increased funding requests meant that DOE needed more money during peak work years at the plant under construction or whether it needed more money overall to finish the plant.
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