United Sta' es epart· e t ofEne Washingt 11" DC 20585

Me sage fl~Om 'he Secretary

ergv's plans ןthe Department of Er חחס'ovides informatio ~ na 2017 p 2016ם ori: for !כhis re יז

t with section חsiste וrconcerning 'che Mi)(ed Oxide Fuel Fabl"ication Facility in South Caro!ina, cO

.) 6 ( 25 § . e Atamic Energy Dejerlse Ae.t (50 U.S.C ןf tt 4306ס

: f Congres!i ~ bei's זןg Mel ן' ol lowil זo the יV: ol't is bei(lg pr'ovi(jecl pןis re ~זן

~ yaf liז ~ u ~Pי HO!'lorable ~ ih atives :ו. Speaker, House o'r Repr'E!sen

~ leii!t pן<e Honorable Mithael ~רr • ate ןt o'f the Sel ןPresider

e ThaCi1 Cochrran ~ ra;lb סhe Han ז• ' ApPf'opriations חסJ1 ittee ויSena'i:e Com ז,Cr1air'mal

leahy ~ ble Patricl aו!' The H!onil11 • Appropriotiof15 חסmi'!:tee nוirman, Set'1cte COI ך;CI ~ Vic

' liild t ןorable Lamar Alexa rnו HO ~I}זן •

Energy and V\fater Deve!op:ment חסmittee וrrןairman, Subco וiC ittee 011 Appropriations וrדI וYCot ~ Senat

•רז h(! HlOnoralble Dianli1s IFע~ ril n§teiוo1 Wa1:er Development גanוergy חE חסee ~ Rai·lking fViember, SUibcommi'i:'

s טן~priati סpr נrוA וe OI ~ mitt זןrate CO ןSel

rable John iVlc(ain סחHO \!rrו T •

Armed Services חסI Senate Comlnittee יI פCnail"rrt

)וז hli!) Honor2lbi @ ~פ»;€ I e ~~ kנ»

rvic;e5 ~ Armed S חסittee ןןt ךfl1ז enate CO ב:, Rak1king Member

le [)l2b fischer כir'a ~ e Hon ,!ך

arl" Subcor-nmi'i:tee 011 Strategic forces חךChair ed Ser\/ices ןArn חסittee רfi ןחSeriate CO

efly זחil oe DO גe The Horlorable i'ttee on S'i:rategic Forces ןer. Subcomn כlRan!(ing Mem

Armed Sel"vices חסittee ןרןi ןןSenate COI

le Rodney r-r'elinghuyse.n ~ ora וshle HO rר• s זnHouse COinmittee on Appr'opriatio 1,ןar חair זר:(

rab!e Nita M. ILOWe\f ~ e on וזiיl

f.\ppropriat it'YlS חסittee וf ןrf(ing Memiber, HOlJ]se COV' ~חRC:

Department of Energy I November 2017

riו The Honorable Michaei K. Simpso • evelopment נrter ~ Energy and W חסlttee ךj Subcomn חChairma

Appropriations חסHouse Committe.e

. e IViarcy Kaptur ~ orab רihe HO 41ז

nt ןןt כ!evelo םd \JV ter חEnergy a חסmittee ןןRankin MelTlber, Subcol S וAppt'opri- tiOK חסmitte.e ןse Con נHOL

hornberfV זhe Honorable Wil liam f'Mac61 ז• ed Services ןAt"n חסn, House Committee ~ irrn וaCh

•ז Ihe Honorable Adam Smitר-ed Set"vice ךArn חסRanking lV1ember, House Committee

The Honorable Mike Rogers • Strategic Forces חסChairman, Subcornmittee

House Committee on Armed Services

The Honorable Jim Cooper • Strategic Forces חסber, Subcommittee ןRanking Men

Armed Services חסmittee ןHouse Con

, ertl"lifer loraine נation, ple:ase contact ןai inforn סו~Ifyou have any questioi1s or need additi enfelser, Deputy Assistant Secretary יDeputy Assistant SecretC1lry for Senate Affair's, Marty Danl Associate Director of External י,Mr. Joseph Levil ~ 5450, o ~ 586 ~ for I-Iouse Affa irs at (202)

. 586-3098 ) 202 ( Coordination in the Office of the Chief Financial Offic:er, at

Sinc:erely,

Rick Perry

---------------------------.----------~~-==--~----ty Construdion and Opera'i:ions I Page ii םMOX Fuel Fabrication Facil

_~ 201 erl!JY I November ור!_E ~ rtmen!_ נ;De.E _______ , __ ,_', ______________ _

E1!ecutt8 ve SII rnary

the ~ Faci lity a' ן~ bricatio ~ e Mixed O)(ide (MOX) Fuel l: ~ןn t ס/ eC גtinl ןf טConstruction has c Carolina. Construction remains וlt ג.e.n, SOL ~ ergy's Savannah River Site near Ai וient of E ווl rיt Depa

ver budget and behind scheduie. The MOX prodtjctior1 objective was not met in סificar1tiy ןsigr . 2017 be met in ~ 2015 or 2016 and will nO'

tinues 1:0 support the mission to dispose of excess weapon-grade חent of Energv cO ןךe Departl ווך

s, so that the plutonium can never again רזdrawn from nuc!ear vl!eapon prograi רpllltonium, w it l

n nuclear V'Jeapon5. However, due to the increasing costs of constFue;ting and סbe readilv used , \I'ses of tJ.S ~ dent ana ןa[\'Si5 and indepel זrt 's a ךei זוhe "110)( facili'I: \I, bO'ch '1:he Depai"tt .זg ןi'a if ~ p ט

s have cansi terltlv and ,"epeat@d iy concluded that the MOX fuel ~ 't rat egi( ~ I ז)זBum o1isposi't:i ךOi זplU " g than the dilute and dispose approach וinual fUlldi רst lv and ,·equil"es more af טstrategy is more C

get/ 'the Administration proposed ~ 'i:he Fisc:al Yea!1' 20],8 Pr'esident's Bu( Iו! ibed יםAs dest

he dilute and זch.:I. נai.'Ig 'i:he ,dilute and dispose ii1Ippro ג~ nd ptlrs זaoject כזini1lting the MOX I ךterli nium with an כ<ethodoiogy of mixing sUlrplU5 plut רןthe pi'overl r , Cכ'(; dispose approach ret:et·s

not readily I"ecoverable without ~ I i rזl. to ensure that the plutoniu ~ ibitor piior io dispos ןil it

the President's Budgst and Ithe חh 'che proposal i ז.'~! t \I\ וiextensl\(e processlng.2 COlisi5te

solidaier1 Appropriatiofls Act, 2016, the Department has חent for tne CO ןךatory Statel ןExplat ncep1:ual design and lC)egun developirlg a lifecytie esf:imate for 'the dilute arid י( c ~ utiated pr'e ןit

gl>ess ןCOf ,),2017 . 115-3 נ (P,L ~ ns Aei םidated ApPI'opriati ןthe Conso חן. dispose app oacl1 i:o the ןןrthQrize 1:ransitio ~ e MOX Facility and did not al.. וlfunding for i; ו~ strtlctio וזןapPFopriated cO

. previouslV slated far fabrication into MOX fuel דiןfl!'t:onil.9 כfor I ןproacl נdilute and dispo5e 'r

River Site of sUlrpiLi5 ו' dil ןsq_lsrpend t rC1lnsfers to the S aVC:D,'iI מent wii l contnnUJe t ןrr ~ The Depar aterials 1:0 be processed at the MOX Fuel זוm f נiL רse p!utol וiI and de'fe חse plutoniu ןdefer

for זrןS o'r other p!ut on,iu וזןסetr'ic i); ךיment is preparing ovet- six I ו:-' r;:theiltty. The D pai חicatio ם-fob will remove that ןicl ךico, '\I\fl ג<tQ:! Isolation Piloi: Plant (WIPP) in i\!e\JV lV1e ב:; the Wa ~ disposal a

plu,tofך ilJm 'ffOוח SOLlth :arQiin>ג, 3

p.rgv FY חE ~)ס '( ai: 374. See al:;o, DepGrtmen אYear 2018, Appendl וi."r;a ז~ l<o1 'i זr1 8tldget o! ttle fJnited Stotes Gav(-'rrl . 1 , st , Vol (דIJil ~ 2018 CO(lgj-e.ssiono.,1 Bl.fdget flf

l!d ט.\ר II1,blendir g," "'dilutf!." "dllutiotר," ing '·d ~ c ח[ , ;€veral terms ~ by ןt .זd ~ eferr ·; $[ וact טse appr טe dilute and disp וזi' !

or tlן e "WIPP dispusalס iO ~ pח,"ippecl וltJs already s ןne Department I ז. ta MOX fuel ,ןium \11I<dS nQt p.·e\f[ously sli:itcd f()r fabrication i חhis p lllto 3ז

, al ס~r disp '(וכtc.ni m 1:0 the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant גs-tlsable pll חo כi גcsome of this we

sl Page iii ה·Uc'i:ifi.j)trl and Operatio ~ facilitv CClJ"tst וri catio זעb ןaוutel ~ MOX

lDepartmentof Energy I November 2017 -~-..:;__ ---",----- .

MOX FUEL FABRICATION FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATIONS

Table of Contents

1 oalOo יI\OIlOl o aOO IO Qg t OD ,lItQ I יD a$'OQOII" ,O O . D ~ l e. O O • • 'D ייIA ll n.a .oo. U ייD י'O'Q"e"q O "R ' ClOII'I ייguage רLegislative La t 1.

3 .................................. Ob.iective ~ןductio 11ס. Statu5 of the MOX Facility, i\IIOX Pr

5 •••••••• Iו••••• I., . II' •• OD ."O ••••• O • •••• I.Og ס•• O ייOO •• II •. י,oa" •• IICI ••• II •• ••••• O יייי,חclusion a •• o •• • ••• a ••• • O •• QO II II QQ II ךCOI 111.

----------------~~~- -MOX Fuel 'Fabrication Facility Cons~rUlction and Operatlons I Page iv

2017 ' er [כvem 1ס:ment @f Ei1ergv I Ni rוe1p€i l\ג

ag 10גן Legi§ ative Lang fo,' 2016 and 2011, consistent with section tזhe Department of Energy i5 subi'nitting a repa ז

cerning the חe Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. § 2566). cO ח_ic Energy Dt!.f'e 4306ךח (a)(3)(A) of ttlE! ;.\to nah River Site near ןן'i:'S Sava ןxide (MOX) facility being constructed at the Departmef ס/li)(ed \\

, i\iken,. SOlltl, Carolina

: 4306 (a)(3)(A) states ןSectiol

ar.ilit}f ןX 0ס/ M חJ operat.·io ח(o חst,-uct'io חj()f' cO חםןP )@("

g חtinuing )t:or ClS IO ח'er than february 15 each year, beginni!'!g in 2004 ond cO ~ 3}(A) NOl' la ( the חס-cilit.y 8S iri IJse, the 5ecret'ar}, shall slJbmit to Cangress a reporl גe MO .. '( !r iו'( as

".] itV ןci .(זנX סo! the M חjon ana operar'io ~ l:ruci ;ךזס.:o! the plafl {for C ו/) lem ntatiC נilTlr

: Section 4306 (a)(3)(C) states

") C; Each repoj1'-t ufן der sLibparagraph (A (סן r years after 2014 shalטן

CiS been met; and !וI objettive זv/'Ietller the MOX prOdlJctio ~ iJ aa'rJres5 (

S under the ~ the United Statt וסs חvl/ard rneetif'tg the obfigatiQ סt"ogress f. כj00) assess ( ) t. f ךAgrf:ernei חYld Dispositio גt l וer ו' P!t,ttonit,lm Managefi

s if the MOX ןזactio זוrSulosE!ctions 4306{b){5) and (6) requiv-e the Secretary to t,lnderi:ake certai objective has not been chic"ed under certairl specified c:ircumstances. Subsectiol1 ךproductiol

: 4306(b)(5) states

€ X production Qbjt!ctill סdetermirre5 that the M '/14 ך, the Sect'e'i'o ((5)/1 1 " 2נ If, a!ter Janua;y · e most ךtl וrilestone.s set,forf:h i זוieve t וhOls not been (.1chieved hecolAse 0/ a !ailure to ocf

I shall sLispe.nd j'urther ןaer' t:hls sIJbs,ec;tionl , the Sef:l'et:ar ךp/an Uf חrecent cQrrectil/e CQctio

ces,sed by the 'סflterials to be pr ךn-ווזiu ךand dejense pfutol' ךוense p!ufo['iiui ן~. tl'ons!ers oj' de ". et וחjective (an be כ!MOX j:acilit}" Lltl til the Secretary certifi s that the M()X prQducc.i'Ofl Q

: SI.1b ection 4306(b)(6) states

e Secre.tary shall ווr (5), t ס) .f.J ( ןurlder paragrapf חg a determinatio ;6ן}(A) Upon maki ("

f:he State o/South Carcj/;na חוסg !r רr removil סןs חsubrnit to Congress 01 f-eport on the optio / 0 f' dejefl.s(: pfutonill m mater;o!s eqlJal to the amount סje dejense pfuronium סan amount

ter;a!s tt'ans!erred to the Stat'e o! 50uth סוךium I וsf.:.' p!utof נrym Of de!e (.,;ו deje!lse plutof "' . 1001 , priI15 iJן, Caro/;na a!ter

) Each repo (rfSז under .subparagl 'גpf tך ) A) shalן inc/ude aח G1ו Q/}fsisוס each aptiofl set !Orl 'ר!ny סand ,0.1ח such optio ןementariol ו!ur iml ןa sC/1edule חסin t.he repOf·t, including the cost

icy Act o! 1969 (42 U".S.(:.4321 et seq.j ט{o! EMvironmenral P ךזequirel'flent.c; t/nder 1:he /l\!a'i:;o <,

י'~! Ji:i'ng 1:0 c)ס l'lsi eratioח af seleCi:ioחוס such optio,ח

1 s I Page םrוo עat זie מסtl;iol1'i anrd ~~ tr ן$cilitv COI ןץ~leIbrutatiol1 זiW:uei tבMQ

DeparttV1ent 01 Energy I November 2017

fagraph (A), the 5ecretary shall commence any גןנeittal o! a report under זrןC) Upon sub ( analysis that may be requit'ed ufו 'der the Natioiך o/ env;fס flךח fntal Poו icy Actוס i 1969ח

order to e/ect among the optioח s set jorth iח t the repaז."

: Subsection 4306 (h)(l) states

X production objective סJ) M ("

at the MOX !aclfity 0/ mAxedn חobjective' means productio חX pradtlctio סThe term 'M ate זI and de/ense pluton;um materia/s at an averoge זןense p!utoniu וuel !rcrn de ןoxide

xide /ue/ per year. The average rate -0ס/ mixed חסone metric t חess tho ןot חequivalent to at the MOX!acifity!rofn the dote the חg productio חed by measuri חshoJ/ be determi

/ 0 t'hrough the date חCommfssfo yזto the Nuc!ear Regu/ato ןacillty is dec!ared operatiana ן

" . ent זrוQssess

~

2 nstruc;:tion and Operatiorls I Page מMOX Fuel Fabrication Facility C

2017 epartment of Energy I [\!overnber iם> ---~------------.------

11. a US ofthe MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility, MOX Production Objective '

t inued const ructian of the MOX Fuel l:abric;atiorl Fac::ulity at the ןE!rgy cor ןj:וment of tזhe Depa ז

a in 2016 and 201'7, as specified in the Explanatory רSavannah River Site in South ( aroli l

s חs ACl"1 2016 and 'che Consolidat'ed Appropriatio חStat ements for the Cotlsolidated Appr'opriat;o

cAct, 2017, anג iconsistent with sec'i:ioו ofthe National De!et 3119ן se AIJt'horizatioח Actו or Fiscaן

2017.4 Year ןr Fisca סןAct חatio ן'e! ense Authofi וכal חe Natio ךYear 20,16 and sectiorl 3116 of tl cil it y remains behind $cheduie, and the נ;F חstrutiion of the MO)( Fuei Fabf'icatio חCO

ot meet the 2016ח, anci \lVill 2015זס ot meet ttle MO){ product ion objective in וrDepartment did

ue to susp€.'!nd transfer's of וe De[ot.l rtl"i1ent will·contii ןMOX produc:tion object ive in 2011.5 Tt e 5avannah River Site to be וlaternals to t זוl I זtגand defense plutonit זrוJtonlUl וsurp!us deYense pl

. y יi: processed at the iVIO}( facili

opt ions for removing from t he חסgress וe Departrnent also plans io 5ubmit a report to Cor ןt ז

m materials ~ lum or deferlse plutoni 'ate of SOLlth Carolina ttl0StE! amounts of defense pluto ~ Sח <]

d, 'the Department hCls decided ~ lis rega& ~ t 2002 .חן , t h Carolina a'i1:er Api'ul15 \נsferred to SO ו' t rol : the Was'te Isolat iorb ~ six n1letric \:on5 of VlJeapons-t!sable p!utonium fOf disposal a זive 1:0ס prepare

i to סוateri ווipk1l1€?nts of this I ןsl uחיew Mexico and has beg ~ Pilot Plant ('NIPP) near Ci)]rlsbG1d, \\ e that the rוSLI וs piu,tonium 'from South Caroiina and ei ~נove surpl ךךhis process will i'SI 6ז . \l\fIPP

sUlrpiu5 plutמ nium is never agaiiןוr 12מן diiy used nn a nuclear' \fifeapoח. 7

e t o the נch dJ גiטhe Depai1:ment has been nalyzing al'ternative options to the MOX fUlel ;appr "ז

ary רincreasirlg cost of constructing and operating 'i:he MOX facility. The Deparr.me'nt's pre lirnil V\/o rking Group ןחstrategies, the Pluton;u ןium dispositiof ןalysis of alt ernat ive U,S. plui:o l ןar

Repar (PWG 'חס tl,e Analysis oj IJrplU5 Plut'onium Dispס. Jfl!i published i)iitiofi Opti'ח .2014 , t (

n גוtntly more expens,ive th ~ is sigr,ific וic וat MO)( fuei appro ן' ie currel ~ a't t וlnted t ןן~ןdocu . t ךיe cost effic:ieI זiS e)(ost ithiCl'i: are far mO ןnd that o ptiOf i:ג 'i:ed ןaanticip

, 11 , 1.14'h Cong.1"' Se$s.), 163 CONG,REC. 76, 600k ~ 4161 CONG. REC. 184, H 9693 ct seq, at 1110106 (Dec. 17, 201

, 23 . , 2015), and P.L.114-. 28 (Dec ~ 92 (1\I01f, 2 ~ Y 3, 2017, 11,Sth Cong. l' Sess., P.L. 114 גiH3327 et seq. at H37S3 (IVl . 2016), respecti\/efy

) ngress under section 4306(g נcitted to C ז!כrוedule previotlsly su ן! e sC ~וcility is behind t הof the MOX f וst ructiol חo ( כ!

. se Act וthe Ai'om;c El'let'gy Dejet זס

71 i:1S down-blended ן~ date, DOE סד. into MO){ fuel רזpreviou!;ly slated for fabricatio :וhis p(l ltonium INiJlS no 6ז

-.071 metric tons - of sUf'plus, II\fe.apons-usable plutoniL!m, shipped 61 !<gs (.051 metric tons) of ~ s (kgs) ןוttilograi letric tons) to other sites outside of זr010 .( kgs סipped appr()ximately l ןblended plutonium i:o WIPP, and sr ח-dO\'J

, s מSoul:h C() ('olina for LIse in other DOE prograr plul:onium for di$poSCJI at WIPP, t he ןs to prepare certait חlnL rim Action" decis;io י' to a series of 1ך In addii;iol

sal מlarch 201,6 to prepar'e si)(' metric tons of stlrpttJs pluLonium for disp 1\ו DepClj·tmeni: issued a Record of Decision in 81 . o::;al גje to be .. hipfJed to WIPP for dfS ~ 'riate queue of\'lfas ~ e appl'o רtl וat WIPP, j'hat p!l.Itonitlm Ilvill be piaced ir

.) 16 ( 2 , F.R.:19S88 (Apr.S

- - .-- ... --- ----- ------------. «JJ OperatlOIi1$ I Page:3 1iזזQf! i ו,עct i"I.II ~ $ ~ r טt'\1 Fac!lity C טbi'icati וa(!l lF ~ MOX fF

2017 rnt of Energy I November ~ artm קe ם

חן consistent with cot ,201,5ו gressional directlon, the Depa:ח nן esnt t01sked Aef'ospacפ

t זrindepende חt center, to condtlct a ןel זוCorporation, a federally funded research and developl ' erS\I רune 25, 2015,. the prior Secretary of EI נassessment ofthe PWG report,8 Also, on

eam, led by Dr. Thomas Mason, then Director of the Oak Ridge National ך'commissioned a Red ld enable the Department to accomplish the mission of וlLaboratory, to assess options that wo

surplus plutonium disposition. These reviews have consistently concluded that the projected lifecycle costs of the MOX fuel approac;:h will be in the range of $50 billion or more, and would

s of $800 million to $1 biilion annually, which is far in excess וrequire congressional appropriatiof B would be needed for decades ןof the recent congressional funding profile. This level of fundil

of any ןand would not result in the dispositiol ךthrough the life of the MOX fuel progran that assumption is at risk, given that no utility has yet חate 2040s. Eve וplutonium until the

ent's Office of Project רmade a commitment to use MOX fuel,. In August 2016, the Departn Management Oversight and Assessments (PM), partnering with U.S. AriTlY Corps of Engineersנ

ate for the project. Assuming ןןdeveloped and submitted an updated performance baseline estit nual funding profilej PM estimated a total pro,ject cost of $17.2 billion and a ךa $350 million al

. 2048 date of רpletiol ןןconstruction cot

alyses have showed that the dilute and dispose approatn is far more cost ןhe results of these ar ז

effic:lerlt and holds lower technical risk than the MOX fuel method for the disposition of surplt.s would use proven וIThe proposed dilute and dispose approa ןן.I גusable p!utonit ~ weap()ns

s p!utonium with an inhibitor prior to disposal. to ensure that the גmethodologies to mix sl.lrpl l plutonium is not readily recoverable w,ithout extensive pr'oc,essiIר g .פ

the fiscal year (FV) 2018 President's Budget, the Administration pr'oPQsed terminat[ng the חןMOX project and pursuing the dilute and dispose approach.10 The Expianatory Statements for

2017 , s Act חsolidated Appropriatio חthe Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 and the CO ning, complete ןspecified certain appropriated funds for the Department to advance further plat

activities for the dilute and dispose alternative, and to develop and submit to ןceptual desigl ווcO

risks and a lifec.ycJe cost estimate and ןCongress a t'eport 'tha't includes an evaluatlon of progran he Department has initiated the pre-conceptual deslgn and ז, schedule for the alternative

an!>, will be וbegun developing a lifecycle estimate that, under the Depat·tment's p At this time, Congress ן.FV 2019 for the dilute and dispose approacf חindependently validated i

g for the MOX facillty and has not authoril.ed transition to ןrstr'uc:tion f;UFlcli ךI סhas approprlated c inated the MOX זוthe dilute and dispose appr'oacn, crherefore, the Departm&.nt has not te.rf

ce with וaccordttt חate the MOX proGral11 wlll be made i ןprogt·am. Any det::ision to tt;rmll . statu't()ry requlrements

Act זןiio סe!eflsc Auth(lri1. סNntional חd Howord P. "8uck" Mcl(eo חcludec!ln the Carl'.evfn O 6ו Thls direction was II .)) lor Fiscal Yeor 2015 (P.L. 113-291 (Oec:. 19, 2Q14

" g; ךis the app,'oach refel'!'ed to by several terms, including "down-bl ndli ןpproacl גfute and dispose וThe di וi

" dilute," "dllution," or ttו e "WIPP dispos<JJ QptiOI ר."eflt 0/ Energy FY ךfl .דd,x at 374. See a150, Depat רi18, l\ppe 2ס ' v rnment, Fisc:oJ Year סO Budget 0/ the United Stotes G ~

Congresslo 2018ח est, Vo ~ ol 8udget Reqt.ו .1 • '-.

4 nstruauon and Operrations I Page םFuel Fabrication Facility C אMO

2017 r ~ b יlOepat'tment off Energy I Noven -. -,------.------------- - - '

111. Conclusion

tinued in fY 2016 and FY 2017, as חS r.o וךJtel Fabrir.:ation 1F3C!loty I ~ ofthe MOX FL וior tיConst l'Ut s Act, 2016, and the חsolido'ted Appropriaf:iu חסe C וlt זts fO ןspeci fied by the Explana't ry Staitemei

Act, 2017, and consistent with sect 5ר f the N(itiof/(i() 3119ו iol lזsolidai'ed Appr'opriatio חCO De.tense AuthorilOition Act (:י or FY 2016 and section 3116מ f i:he Natfonal Dej-efJSe Authorizatiחס

objective was no·t met in 201501" 2.016, and wili not be ןproduct iol <כFY 1017. The MO זAct!o . met in 2017. Constructiol'l ofthe MOX Facility rerrlains behind 5chedule

oniLlm and defense זnsf'ers of defense plu רGr :זe "Q:o sU5perld גe Department will COfltinl ~ןT ment aiso plans to 5ubmit וrt epa סhe ז. he MO){ Facility :ו; ·to be processed! at ~ ateri iJ1I iזium r ךlutol !נ

nts ~ i:hose a m Ol נzs 'for removing from the State of South Carolir1 חoptio חסa report '(0 Congress

sferred to South Carolina afier April דiefense [piutorttum materials tra 1סor ןזof defense plutoniuw

slated foi" MOX fuel) from 50uth Caroiina for זטloving piutonium (n זr15, 2002, and has begun re ' . t WIPP ·וadisposal

the ,iו ded foi" disposition under the MO}( fuel approac וr ~ int ןe SLlrpitJs p!utoniUIY רegar'ding tl ~ I t has undertaken several efforts to analY2E! and indepenciJeni:ly assess options for רmel tזDepa

ificant ly רre MOX approi3ch is sigl רlf irm 1:hat t חa(vses cO רese aJl ~ח.זיןdispositio ח-surplus plutoniul

2018 the FY ~ןAs described i .ךpproacb <כI ilute and tiispose ~ e c lו~ han ~ lex קiY1 סmore costly and C

g ttle MO){ [oroject and pursuirtg the רproposed terminatil וrinis'iratio ןPresident's Budget, the Adn tha"U: proposi]i and the Explanatory Statements for וlo1ilute and dispose approacn. Consistenlt wit

s Act, 2017, the חidat'ed Appropriatio ןsolidated Appropriations Act, 2016/ and the COflso חthe CO

tual desngn and begun developing a lifecycle estimate כniCeI סc ~ it.iated the !pre ןDepal·tment has it l 'i;at ed constrlJction ~ l1d dispose approach. At this time, Congress has appi'o וafor the dilut<e

the dilute and clispose מg for the MOX Falcility and has not authorized transition t ןdil רfUI

. MO)( fuel ם't וזןthe Depat1:rnenl: previou Iy decided to fabr'icate i ~ tha ןןapproach for plutoniur

l·d disposing of excess ןaake progress '(ovtl זוd I ןC!i .חent of Energy continues to 5UPfPO רhe Departli1 ז weapon-grade piutotר iui'1i1, withdrawח from nuclear v"eapon programs, so that the prutoniunר

. s חluc.lear weapo ןזזr again be readily useo1 i ~ can nev

-5 l'i)d Operatuons I Page וaווrio :וI"tS1!:lruc <<.ן( i1i:y ~ icatiol'il FS!ci rוMO:t{ F!JJel lFalb

Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration

Office of the General Counsel P. O. Box 5400

Albuquerque, NM 87185

JAN 1 4 2018 l ~ lי&יar Security Administration ~ National Nuc

Mr. Steven Aftergood Federation of American Scientists 1112 16th Street NW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036

Dear Mr. Aftergood:

This letter is the final response to your December 22,2017 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the following:

A copy of a November 2017 DOE report to Congress entitled "MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility Construction and Operations."

Your request was initially sent to the Department ofEnergy Headquarters Office (DOE HQ). DOE HQ transferred the request to this office and was received on January 8, 2018.

We contacted the National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Acquisition & Project Management (NA-APM) about your request. NA-APM searched and did not locate records responsive to your request.

We contacted the National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (NA-2·0) about your request. NA-20 searched and located the enclosed document responsive to your request. The document has been reviewed and is being provided in its entirety.

• MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility Construction and Operations - Report to Congress November 2017

This decision, as well as the adequacy of t:he search, may be appealed within 90 calendar days from your receipt ofthis letter pursuant to 10 C.F.R. § 1004.8. Appeals should be addressed to Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals, HG-1, L'Enfant Plaza, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585-1615. The written appeal, including the envelope, must clearly indicate that a FOIA appeal is being made. You may also submit your appeal to OHA.filings@hq.doe.gov, including the phrase "Freedom of Information Appeal" in the subject line. The appeal must contain all ofthe elements required by 10 C.F.R. § 1004.8, including a copy ofthe determination letter. Thereafter, judicial review will be available to you in the Federal District Court either: 1) in the district where you reside; 2) where you have your principal place of business; 3) where DOE's records are situated; or 4) in the District ofColumbia.

You may contact DOEjNNSA's FOIA Public Liaison, Jane Summerson, Acting Director, Office of General Counsel, at 866-747 -5994, or by mail at Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Office ofthe General Counsel, P.O. Box 5400, Albuquerque, NM 87185 for any further

Mr. Steven Aftergood 2

assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office ofGovernment Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001, e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.

There are no charges to you for processing your FOIA request.

Ifyou have questions, please contact Ms. Kari Martinez by e-mail at kari.martinez@nnsa.doe.gov or write to the address at the top of the first page. Please reference Control Number FOIA 18-00076-KM.

Sincerely,

J'iu~ Authorizing and Oenying Official

Enclosures