Senate Appropriators Question Pause in MOX Project

The Dept. of Energy's proposal to put a 60%-complete mixed-oxide fuel (MOX) facility in Aiken, S.C., on "cold standby" has run into criticism from key senators.

The plant, which would convert 34 metric tons of surplus weapons-grade plutonium into MOX fuel, could cost more than $7 billion to build, plus $30 billion in life-cycle expenses, DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz told a Senate appropriations subcommittee on April 9. Citing "extremely tight budgets," DOE put the project on hold while it evaluates alternatives, he noted.

Lawmakers blasted DOE for potentially breaking a nuclear non-proliferation treaty with Russia. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Congress already has appropriated millions of dollars for the project. He also said there is no other plan to dispose of the plutonium.

Subcommittee Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called the MOX cuts "unacceptable" and said DOE "should anticipate some changes" as its appropriations bill proceeds. Moniz said the standby decision doesn't end the project.

Pam Hunter McFarland was a Senior Editor of ENR and her expertise was: Sourcebooks, Environment, Labor

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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