Senate and House appropriators met yesterday to begin hammering out differences in energy and water spending bills -- and many of the sticking points related to nuclear power.

The meeting of the "four corners" featured Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee; Sen. Lamar Alexander, the subcommittee's ranking Republican from Tennessee; House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.); and Rep. Peter Visclosky of Indiana, the subpanel's top Democrat.

Frelinghuysen said the lawmakers at the meeting agreed to have their staffers work together to prepare for the Senate taking up an energy and water spending bill. The meeting was considered "preliminary" and allowed the lawmakers to work through lingering differences, he said.

"I think we'll make some progress, we've agreed to have our staffs work together as if a conference was imminent and the Senate might actually act on an energy and water bill, which [they] may or may not," Frelinghuysen said. "We've established some ground rules."

Differences of opinion on how to deal with nuclear issues -- including small modular reactors and the nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada -- are reflected in the funding differences between the two chambers. The House passed a $30.6 billion fiscal 2012 spending bill for the agencies in July that included language to boost funding by $10 million to advance a federal review of the Yucca Mountain repository (Greenwire, July 15).

But the Senate Appropriations Committee last month approved a measure providing the agencies with $31.625 billion in discretionary 2012 funding, without money to advance the Yucca Mountain review. The measure also cut funding for small nuclear reactors, unlike its GOP-authored House companion bill.

One of the sticking points for small modular reactors has been Feinstein's skepticism surrounding the program, namely because the reactors will generate waste. Feinstein has said her main concern is that the country has yet to find a permanent solution for handling waste and she said in July that the Obama administration's multi-year request for $452 million to develop two small plants could result in cost overruns and exacerbate waste woes (Greenwire, July 14).

Even so, Feinstein said yesterday that the preliminary discussions will help her find areas of agreement in the appropriations process. "I think it was a very positive meeting but there's been no negotiation today," Feinstein said. "We're trying to ferret out where agreement might be."

Alexander said he is encouraged by the ongoing discussions and that Feinstein is aware that he wants to move the small modular program ahead while simultaneously addressing issues surrounding spent nuclear fuel.

"I agree with her we need to move ahead and find a way to deal with used nuclear fuel. I'd like to do both of them together," Alexander said. Feinstein "listens even when she disagrees and I'm hopeful that we can do [the small modular reactor program and address waste issues] at once."

Alexander acknowledged members of Congress are discussing how to address spent nuclear fuels with the Department of Energy. "But we don't have a conclusion yet," he said.

Frelinghuysen said he respects Feinstein's concerns about nuclear safety -- namely over plants in California -- and about the need for a waste solution. "She has nuclear security concerns, I think we all do," he said. "The House bill was supportive of small nuclear modular reactors and I think that's something we're going to be continue to be supportive of."

Frelinghuysen also said he and Visclosky are "joined at the hip" in believing the Yucca Mountain repository should still be an option that is on the table. "Fifteen billion dollars worth of investment, we want to keep that open [but] we're not ruling out other options," he said.

But when asked whether Yucca Mountain would stay on the table, Frelinghuysen said it is unclear considering Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) -- a vocal opponent of the Yucca project -- is leading the Senate. "We've got the same Senate president and we need to be respectful of his views."