Congressional Attempt to Prevent Reactivation of High Flux Beam Reactor

Last week, Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY) introduced a bill, S. 1140, stating: “The Secretary of Energy shall ensure that the High Flux Beam Reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory is not reactivated.”

Members of Congress introduce legislation for a variety of reasons: for passage as a stand-alone bill, for inclusion in a larger bill, to exert pressure on their colleagues or other government officials, and for publicity (for the “cause” or for themselves.) Closure of the reactor followed the disclosure of a tritium plume south of the spent fuel pool; see FYI #66 The reactor will remain closed pending a review which is to be completed next January.

Passage of a stand-alone bill of this kind is infrequent. Since Congress wants to adjourn by Thanksgiving, there is little chance that this bill will see much action this year.

Often Members seek a larger bill that is moving toward passage and work to include their own bill as a provision. Such an opportunity could be the FY 1998 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2203/ S. 1004.) The final version of this bill is now taking shape, an effort headed by appropriations subcommittee chairmen Rep. Joseph McDade (R-PA) and Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM). It is important to note that D’Amato is joined in this effort by Rep. Michael P. Forbes (R-NY), who represents the district is which Brookhaven is located. Forbes is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, although he is not on the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Energy Department. House Appropriations Chairman Bob Livingston (R-LA) is opposed to using his appropriations bills to legislate program changes, but a reactor provision that might be slipped in is unlikely to draw much attention. D’Amato, while not on the appropriations committee, has considerable power in the Senate. This bill should be in the president’s hands within three weeks.

D’Amato and Forbes could also use S. 1140 to exert pressure on the Department of Energy. They met with Secretary Federico Pena late last week, and press reports indicate that no minds were changed. Pena intends to continue the review, telling D’Amato and Forbes in a letter: “While it is certainly helpful to have your views on the future of the reactor, the effect of your request for an immediate decision would be to cut off the public comment period early and cancel the two remaining community meetings.” Forbes replied, “No one can assure us that a 32-year-old reactor will not be the source of future problems.”

Legislation can also be used to garner publicity. Both legislators announced their move to close the reactor at a courthouse press conference, with their activities reported in the New York Times and in Newsday (a Long Island, NY newspaper.) A Newsdayeditorial entitled “Political Cave-In” called the action “not only preemptive but premature and prejudicial as well.” Both D’Amato and Forbes stand for reelection in 14 months.

DOE officials estimate reactor decommissioning would cost $170 million, while restarting it could cost in the neighborhood of $150 million. Building a new reactor in a different location would cost roughly one half a billion dollars.

In a written statement, Martha Krebs, Director of the Office of Energy Research, said: “The Department of Energy has not made a decision about whether or not to restart the High Flux Beam Reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Secretary Pena has committed to an open decision making process that includes the views of the people of Long Island, the scientific community and other interested parties. We also are considering related issues, such as the budget and reactor safety. The decision is scheduled to be made in January 1998. [new paragraph] We intend to continue to conduct a full, open and public process, and we welcome Senator D’Amato’s and Congressman Forbes’ contributions. [new paragraph] I want to affirm that the Department will continue to work with the Environmental Protection Agency and state and local officials to ensure the safety of local drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Suffolk County Department of Health Services stated that tritium contamination from the High Flux Beam Reactor poses no public health threat.”

The bottom line: passage of S. 1140 as a stand-alone bill into law this year has a (vanishingly) slim chance. If the bill is intended to pressure Pena about this problem, the message has been delivered, and Pena has not backed down from the review process. If it was done to draw the public’s attention to the tritium plume, or to the legislators, that has been accomplished. What remains unsettled is the FY 1998 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill.

FYI #110 will provide further quotations from various sources in reaction to the introduction of this legislation.