Luján Introduces Legislation to Develop, Demonstrate, and Deploy Technologies to Accelerate Nuclear Waste Cleanup

Luján Bill Would Save Taxpayers Billions and Accelerate Waste Cleanup

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced the Combining Laboratory Expertise to Accelerate Novel Solutions for Minimizing Accumulated Radioactive Toxins (CLEAN SMART) Act, legislation that would build on the success of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Network of National Laboratories for Environmental Management and Stewardship (NNLEMS) to accelerate nuclear waste cleanup. The CLEAN SMART Act would codify and properly fund NNLEMS to leverage the best available science and technology of the nation's national labs to support DOE's cleanup efforts.

Currently, DOE, acting through the Office of Environmental Management (EM), holds responsibility of finishing cleanup at 15 sites across our nation that hold nuclear waste from the Manhattan Project and the Cold War. Unfortunately, costs to decommission these remaining sites continue to grow and are estimated to near $700 billion for a completion date near the end of the century. To save taxpayer dollars and shave years off the cleanup schedule, the Federal government must increase its support for science and technology that can allow more innovative and cost-efficient approaches to cleanup.

"Across the country, national labs-like New Mexico's Sandia and Los Alamos Labs-are home to our brightest minds who drive innovation and develop breakthrough technology," said Senator Luján, Founder and Co-Chair of the Senate National Labs Caucus. "As we continue to address our nation's environmental legacy from the Manhattan Project and the Cold War, I'm proud to introduce the CLEAN SMART Act to leverage the expertise of our national labs to speed up the cleanup process and save taxpayers billions. In Congress, I've fought to improve the lives of those impacted by nuclear waste, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill signed into law."

"We applaud Senator Lujan for promoting dialogue in this important area. We acknowledge the fundamental need to identify and prioritize solutions for high-cost legacy waste clean-up and management. ANS looks forward to engaging more on this topic in the 119th Congress," said American Nuclear Society CEO Craig Piercy.

"The CLEAN SMART Act supports the critical research and technology development activities that address some of the most challenging environmental cleanup issues in our country. Harnessing the power of the national laboratories will, in the long run, lead to a faster cleanup of communities like us in Los Alamos and others across the nation while also saving American taxpayers billions of dollars," said Los Alamos County Councilor Randall Ryti.

Specifically, the CLEAN SMART Act would:

• Codify and fund the Network of National Laboratories for Environmental Management and Stewardship;
• Improve interagency coordination on environmental management research, including on areas of basic research;
• Direct DOE to maintain a comprehensive technology development and deployment plan that promotes the full range of R&D options; and
• Mandate corrective actions when sites exceed cost thresholds to mitigate cost overruns, incorporating recommendations from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Full text of the bill can be found here and summary of the bill is here.

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