In that same Q&A document, NNSA says new project costs will be provided by the end of 2012. A source familiar with the project says that "baseline" costs likely will be updated before President Obama submits his budget next month.

Tom Clements, an anti-nuclear activist and close observer of the MOX facility laughs at the possibility that the new costs and schedule will be released soon—he's been told that for several years. If project officials do release new dates and costs, "they will just change the dates," he said.

In addition to his questions about schedule and cost, Markey, in his letter to Chu, wanted to know which utilities have agreed to purchase the mixed oxide fuel from the Dept. of Energy and whether the department or the utilities will pay for testing and reactor modifications that may be necessary to use the fuel. While the Tennessee Valley Authority is exploring the possibility of using the MOX fuel rods in its nuclear reactors, the utility has not committed yet to doing so.

Defenders of the MOX facility program, though, say the sale of the fuel and any money it returns to the Treasury is beside the point.

"The most important item that must be realized is that this program is a global non-proliferation effort," says Caroline Delleney, a spokewoman for Rep. Joe Wilson (S.C.-R), whose district encompasses the Savannah River site. "We're taking 17,000 nuclear bombs meant to end life as we know it and turning them into power for homes and businesses across our country. In the end, that is what Congress must be willing to see."