DOE, Regulators Spar Over FY13 Cleanup Delays, Hinting At Bigger Battles

摘要

The Energy Department (DOE) and its regulators are battling over a small but growing number of cleanup delays at several sites due to budget constraints imposed by the fiscal year 2013 continuing resolution (CR), hinting at even bigger disputes that could arise over much larger, long-term DOE-wide cleanup budget gaps in the future. DOE is already engaged in budget-driven cleanup disputes at Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee - where officials are battling EPA over whether DOE can unilaterally revise cleanup commitments under legally binding agreements - and at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico - where state regulators are threatening to impose penalties for DOE's failure to receive funds required to meet cleanup milestones.