GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham says a 10-month delay in construction has not changed the schedule for a new plutonium plant at the Savannah River Site near Aiken.

Abraham has written the House Armed Services Committee, saying the plant to convert plutonium from nuclear weapons to a fuel for commercial nuclear reactors called MOX, will be completed by 2009.

The Energy Department said earlier this month the MOX plant will be delayed because of a liability dispute over American contractors working on a similar plant in Russia.

Abraham's letter was required under a bill that states the federal government must remove plutonium from SRS if the MOX plant is not built. The law includes fines of up to $100 million a year if the plutonium is not removed.

Graham said he has talked with Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell about the dispute.

"We're going to get a deal, it's just a matter of time," Graham said.

The plan to reprocess plutonium is part of a nuclear disarmament treaty and Congress wanted MOX programs in the United States and Russia to work in parallel.

The MOX plant will cost $4 billion and create 500 jobs for 20 years at SRS, according to federal estimates.

Information from: The Greenville News