A top Republican on the House appropriations subpanel that oversees energy and water issues cautioned against fiscal 2012 budget increases for nuclear waste treatment at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state.

Hanford, the site that generated more than half of the plutonium for the country's nuclear weapons arsenal, is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site. Cleanup has moved slowly due to worker safety concerns (Greenwire, Nov. 16, 2010).

"We need to hear how you've addressed problems of the past," Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), vice chairman of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, told DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Ines Triay at a hearing yesterday.

The $6.1 billion budget request from Triay's office includes $60 million to support Hanford as well as the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The request is an increase of $124 million over the 2010 enacted levels.

The DOE program, created in 1989, targets soil and groundwater remediation, radioactive waste disposition and other opportunities to "reduce the legacy Cold War footprint by cleaning up facilities, land and water resources in communities."

The subpanel also analyzed the $170 million budget for DOE's Office of Legacy Management, down from a request of $190 million in 2010. That includes $3 million for record management at the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear storage site, which the Obama administration does not want to develop.

The program covers the cleanup of Cold War-era nuclear contamination at 91 sites around the country, as well as the management of retirement benefits for former contractor personnel after sites are closed.

The subcommittee praised David Geiser, the office's director, for his ability to take on more responsibilities while reducing his overall budget request.

Despite both offices' work on high-priority nuclear safety projects, Womack warned there might not be sufficient funds to go around.

"It is highly unlikely there will be any new funding in 2012 from our subcommittee," he said. "We must therefore balance a number of important activities while doing our part to reduce spending and bring down our deficit."