Sec. 3111. Nuclear security enterprise infrastructure recapitalization and repair
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Congress finds the following: On September 7, 2016, during testimony before the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces of the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives— the Administrator for Nuclear Security, Frank Klotz, said— Our infrastructure is extensive, complex, and, in many critical areas, several decades old. More than half of NNSA’s approximately 6,000 real property assets are over 40 years old, and nearly 30 percent date back to the Manhattan Project era.
Many of the enterprise’s critical utility, safety, and support systems are failing at an increasing and unpredictable rate, which poses both programmatic and safety risk. ; and I can think of no greater threat to the nuclear security enterprise than the state of NNSA’s infrastructure. ; the President and Chief Executive Officer of Consolidated Nuclear Security, Morgan Smith, said, Many key facilities at both [Pantex and Y–12] were constructed in the 1940s and were intended to operate for as little as one decade.
Many facilities and their supporting infrastructure have exceeded or far exceeded their expected life, and major systems within the facilities are beginning to fail. ; and the Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Dr. Charlie McMillan, said, One of the things that keeps me up at night is the realization that essential capabilities are held at risk by the possibility of such failures; in many cases, our enterprise has a single point of failure. . In a letter sent on December 23, 2015, by the Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Shaun Donovan, the Secretary said, A majority of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s
(NNSA)facilities and systems are well beyond end-of-life… Infrastructure problems such as falling ceilings are increasing in frequency and severity, unacceptably risking the safety and security of both personnel and material at NNSA facilities, as well as in some instances, potential offsite risks. The entire complex could be placed at risk if there is a single failure where a single point would disrupt a critical link in infrastructure. . The Nuclear Posture Review published in April 2010 stated that In order to sustain a safe, secure, and effective U.S. nuclear stockpile as long as nuclear weapons exist, the United States must possess a modern physical infrastructure… Today’s nuclear complex, however, has fallen into neglect. Although substantial science, technology, and engineering investments were made over the last decade under the auspices of the Stockpile Stewardship Program, the complex still includes many oversized and costly-to maintain facilities built during the 1940s and 1950s. Some facilities needed for working with plutonium and uranium date back to the Manhattan Project. Safety, security, and environmental issues associated with these aging facilities are mounting, as are the costs of addressing them. . In 2009, the bipartisan Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States established by section 1062 of the National Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 2008 ( Public Law 110–181 ; 122 Stat. 319) stated, with regards to key production facilities, that existing facilities are genuinely decrepit and are maintained in a safe and secure manner only at high cost . Previous efforts to address the deferred maintenance and repair challenges within the nuclear security enterprise, such as the Facilities Infrastructure and Recapitalization Program and the recent halt in the growth of backlog metrics, are laudable but insufficient for the magnitude of the problem. Recent figures provided by the Administrator for Nuclear Security estimate the backlog of deferred maintenance and repair needs of the nuclear security enterprise to be approximately $3,700,000,000. Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator for Nuclear Security shall establish and carry out a program known as the Facilities and Infrastructure Recapitalization and Repair Program to reduce the backlog of deferred maintenance and repair needs of the nuclear security enterprise (as defined in section 4002(6) of the Atomic Energy Defense Act ( 50 U.S.C. 2501(6) ). The Administrator shall ensure that, by not later than five years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the program achieves the goal of reducing such backlog of deferred maintenance and repair needs by 50 percent. The Secretary of Energy shall provide to the Administrator a process that will enhance or streamline the ability of the Administrator to carry out the program under paragraph
(1)in an efficient and effective manner, including with respect to— the demolition or construction of non-nuclear facilities of the Administration that have a total estimated project cost of less than $100,000,000; and the decontamination, decommissioning, and demolition (to be performed in accordance with applicable health and safety standards used by the Defense Environmental Cleanup Program) of process-contaminated facilities of the Administration that have a total estimated project cost of less than $50,000,000. Clause
(i)may be carried out using amounts authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2018 or any subsequent fiscal year. For purposes of the Management Procedures Memorandum 2015–01 of the Office of Management and Budget, or such successor memorandum, in carrying out the program under paragraph (1), the Administrator may— perform new construction during a fiscal year that differs from the fiscal year of corresponding facility demolition; perform demolition of different facility category codes and have that demolition credit count towards the construction of new facilities with a different facility category code; and have the net reduction in infrastructure footprint for the five fiscal years prior to the date of the enactment of this Act, and the demolition during the five fiscal years following such date of enactment, considered as a factor for the purpose of meeting the intent of such memorandum. Together with the budget of the President submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year 2019, the Secretary and the Administrator shall jointly submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a plan to carry out the program under paragraph
(1)to achieve the goal specified in such paragraph. Such plan shall include— the funding required to carry out the program during the period covered by the future-years nuclear security program under section 3253 of the National Nuclear Security Administration Act ( 50 U.S.C. 2453 ); the criteria for selecting and prioritizing projects within the program under paragraph (1); mechanisms for ensuring the robust management and oversight of such projects; a description of the process provided to the Administrator to carry out the program pursuant to paragraph (2)(A); a description of any legislative actions the Secretary recommends to further enhance or streamline authorities or processes relating to the program; and a certification by the Secretary that such budget will enable the program to meet the goal specified in paragraph (1). The Administrator shall terminate the program under paragraph
(1)on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this Act. Section 4203(d)(4) of the Atomic Energy Defense Act ( 50 U.S.C. 2523 ) is amended— in subparagraph (B), by striking ; and and inserting a semicolon; in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: a description of— the metrics (based on industry best practices) used by the Administrator to determine the infrastructure deferred maintenance and repair needs of the nuclear security enterprise; and the percentage of replacement plant value being spent on maintenance and repair needs of the nuclear security enterprise; and an explanation of whether the annual spending on such needs complies with the recommendation of the National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that such spending be in an amount equal to four percent of the replacement plant value, and, if not, the reasons for such noncompliance and a plan for how the Administrator will ensure facilities of the nuclear security enterprise are being properly sustained. . Subtitle A of title XLVII of the Atomic Energy Defense Act ( 50 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section: After the date on which a plant project specifically authorized by law achieves critical decision 2, the Administrator may not change the requirements for such project if such change increases the scope, schedule, or budget of such project unless— the Administrator submits to the congressional defense committees— a certification that the Administrator, without delegation, authorizes such proposed change; and a cost-benefit and risk analysis of such proposed change, including with respect to— the effects of such proposed change on the project cost and schedule; and any mission risks and operational risks from making such change or not making such change; and a period of 15 days elapses following the date of such submission. The Administrator shall ensure that critical decision packages are timely reviewed and either approved or disapproved. . The table of contents at the beginning of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 4714 the following new item: Sec. 4715. Matters relating to critical decisions. . It is the sense of Congress that— the nuclear security enterprise, comprised of the infrastructure and capabilities of the laboratories and plants coupled with the dedicated and talented scientists, engineers, technicians, and administrators who form the backbone of the enterprise, are a central component of the nuclear deterrent of the United States; if left unaddressed, the state of the infrastructure within the nuclear security enterprise represents a direct, long-term threat to the credibility of the nuclear deterrent of the United States; both Congress and the President must take strong, sustained action to recapitalize and repair this infrastructure; the Administrator must continue to carry out expeditious demolition of old facilities of the Administration to reduce long-term costs and improve safety; and each budget of the President submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for fiscal year 2019 and each fiscal year thereafter during the life of the program established pursuant to subsection (b)(1) should include funding in an amount sufficient to carry out the program to achieve the goal specified in such subsection.
Connectionstraces to 2
4 references not yet in our index
- Pub. L. 110-181
- 122 Stat. 319
- 50 USC 2523
- 50 USC 2741
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Sec. 3111
Nuclear security enterprise infrastructure recapitalization and repair
Pub. L.Pub. L. 110-181
Stat.122 Stat. 319
Cite50 USC 2523
Cite50 USC 2741
Cites 6Cited by 0 across 0 sources