Columbia, S. C. - Governor Jim Hodges today sent a letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham requesting environmental safeguards at the Savannah River Site be spared from federal budget cuts.

"Your budget cuts place South Carolina in jeopardy and I cannot accept that," Hodges said. "The proposed level of funding is not adequate for DOE to safely store, treat and dispose of wastes currently at SRS."

Hodges warned that $159 million in budget cuts would threaten numerous waste management and environmental remediation programs needed at SRS. Without proper funding, SRS compliance with environmental and safety agreements would be jeopardized, construction of plutonium storage facilities would be deleted, and the removal of underground high-level radioactive waste would be significantly impacted.

The Savannah River Site near Aiken stores approximately 60 percent of the Department of Energy's inventory of stored high level radioactive wastes.

Governor Hodges' letter to Secretary Abraham reads as follows:

April 24, 2001

Honorable Spencer Abraham
Secretary of Energy
Forrestal Building
1000 Independence Avenue
Washington, DC 20585

Dear Secretary Abraham:

The revised fiscal year 2002 budget for the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS) has been received in my office. The FY 2002 budget is $159 million less than the amount appropriated for the current fiscal year - a year when many important activities were deferred. I am extremely concerned about the unrealistically low level of Environmental Management (EM) funding proposed for the many priority waste management and environmental remediation programs needed at SRS.

My staff has reviewed the budget and has advised me that the proposed level of funding is not adequate for DOE to meet its responsibility to safely store, treat, remediate and dispose of wastes currently at SRS. Specific examples include:

• The removal and vitrification of high-level liquid wastes from underground storage tanks is significantly impacted. These wastes are the greatest threat at SRS to offsite population and the environment. The budget reduction in this area represents a serious violation of previous commitments made by DOE.
• DOE activities to develop and test a new capability to process radioactive salt wastes are not adequately funded even though it has been more than three years since the cancellation of the In-Tank Precipitation process. This capability is necessary to address the space problems at the Tank Farms.
• Funds are no longer available for shipment of solid wastes (e.g. TRU wastes) to offsite permanent repositories.
• Many Federal Facility Agreement commitments for environmental restoration will not be met.
• Some commitments associated with Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board recommendation 2000-1 will not be met.
• Funds for construction of plutonium storage facilities have been deleted.
• Programs to receive, store and treat offsite research reactor spent nuclear fuels have been significantly reduced.

Many other impacts will become apparent as the budget is further understood.

Approximately 18 months ago, DOE made the decision to locate all three parts of the plutonium disposition program at SRS. With the importation plan for the plutonium, there was also a clear exit strategy. Other commitments for environmental restoration involving high-level wastes as well as other on-site wastes were made. Because DOE cannot or will not meet its responsibilities associated with the large volumes of waste currently at SRS, I must consider all options available to me involving receipt of additional DOE wastes into South Carolina.

It is unfortunate that your department has unilaterally chosen this route without any discussion with this state. Despite the disproportionately large portion of the budget cuts assigned to SRS, neither you nor your office has attempted to contact me other than with a form letter. When compared to the total EM reduction of six percent, a cut of 14 percent for SRS is unreasonable and inequitable treatment for South Carolina. DOE's responsibility for environmental remediation and waste management are as great or greater at SRS than any other DOE site - yet your budget priorities are not consistent with this fact. I am told that SRS has 60 percent of the Department's inventory of stored high level wastes.

I take very seriously my responsibility to the citizens of South Carolina to assure that their health, safety, environment and quality of life are not jeopardized. Your budget cuts place South Carolina in jeopardy and I cannot accept that.

I stand ready to work with you in resolving this situation. I hope we can work together to accomplish that, but I am prepared to seek our own solution if that is our only choice.

Sincerely,
Jim Hodges