ML20135D203
| ML20135D203 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 09/03/1985 |
| From: | Palladino N NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Jason Wright OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT & BUDGET |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8509130395 | |
| Download: ML20135D203 (3) | |
Text
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UNITED STATES 1
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
^f W ASHINGTON. D.C. 20555 I
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OFFICE OF THE September 3,1985 CHAIRMAN The Honorable Joseph R. Wright, Jr.
Acting Director Office of Management and Budget Washington, DC 20503
Dear Mr. Wright:
The purpose of this letter is to submit the Nuclear Regulatory Comission's FY 1987 budget request. Our FY 1987 request is for $478 million and 3,491 full-time equivalent staff. Our request for $478 million is comprised of the
$460 million estimate for FY 1987 provided to you in January 1985, an additional $12 million for the defueling and deactivation of the Power Burst Facility, and an additional $6 million for the consolidation of building space for the Washington Metropolitan area and the modernization of our telecomunications services.
The hRC is held accountable by the Administration, the Congress and the Public for the assurance of continued safe operation of nuclear facilities and the use of nuclear materials. To fulfill this responsibility. our regulatory process involves safety, safeguards, environmental evaluations and inspections for:
(1) 94 operating nuclear power plants and another 25 under active construction; (2) 73 non-power reactors; (3) about 9000 licensees of industrial and medical use of radioactive materials; (4) a variety of nuclear fuel production, fabrication and storage facilities; and (5) the transport and disposal of nuclear materials and high-level and low-level nuclear waste. NRC's FY 1987 budget request represents the necessary staff and funding needed to assure that NRC can continue to carry out these responsibilities and provide assurance of continued safe operation of nuclear facilities and the use of nuclear materials.
While we recognize and are supportive of the need for budget austerity, the Comission is extremely concerned about the continuous budget reductions NRC has received. Over the past several years the agency workload has continuously increased while available funding has decreased significantly. These reductions have particularly impacted the research program.
In the last five years, NRC's Research Program has been reduced by more than $80 million, about 40 percent.
In tenns of constant dollars, the research program will be lower in FY 1987 than it was when NRC was formed 10 years ago.
The NRC research program is the principal U.S. Government program of nuclear safety research and is an essential part of our regulatory process.
It provides us with the sound technical information we need to deal effectively with complex technical issues in reactor regulation, inspection, and nuclear materials safety and safeguards. A major feature of the research program is its emphasis on safety at operating facilities where problems continue to 8509130395 850903 PDR COMMS NRCC CORRESPONDENCE PDR
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' 4 arise. Examples of specific safety research interest are the aging and degradation in power plants. Nuclear plant operating licenses typically cover approximately a 40-year life span, and a number of reactor plants are becoming mature. At some point we expect to receive applications to extend the i
operating life of older units, and we must be prepared to review and make decisions on these applications. Also, corrosion, radiation embrittlement, and fatigue have raised specific questics about the continued safety of some currently operating plants. Other operational problems include cracked piping at boiling water reactors, steam generator degradation at pressurized water reactors, defective valves and relays, and inadequate means for detecting and 2
characterizing flaws. Many of these questions are being resolved by research and regulatory action, but they are likely to continue to arise. Further, there may be other presently unrecognized degradation mechanisms occurring, thus more questions are likely to be raised in the future. The NRC as well as j-industry must be prepared for these and other new safety issues. As such, a stable, properly balanced research program is essential for the Comission to carry out its responsibilities for effective nuclear safety regulation.
Absent needed safety information developed by our own research program, we could be forced into a very undesirable regulatory posture -- one that could 1
require the NRC to either shut down some operating facilities or delay licensing others until the necessary technical data have been obtained to resolve identified safety issues. Either alternative would be more costly to the public than the adequate funding of our research program.
The Comission's $478 million FY 1987 budget request includes $12 million for the defueling and deactivation of the Power Burst Facility (PBF). This funding was deleted from the NRC's FY 1986 btdget request as a result of OMB directed i
reductions. NRC testing at the PBF (acility was completed in mid-FY 1985. The facility is now being maintained in a limited standby condition pending final 4
resolution of the funding for deactivation. The NRC proposes that these funds be made available to the Department of Energy in FY 1987 for this activity concurrent with OMB directed agreement for assumption of responsibility for this facility by D0E.
3 This budget request will enable NRC to perform the activities essential to j
proper regulation. However, NRC's capacity to respond to new technical questions and to resolve expeditiously the many engineering issues that continue to arise is severely strained.
In summary, our FY 1987 request is for $478 million (comprised of $460 million consistent with our January 1985 estimate, $12 million for defueling and deactivation of PBF, and $6 million for consolidation and telecomunications improvement) and 3,491 full-time equivalent staff. The enclosed material describes our budget request in detail. We are prepared to discuss the request at the convenience of your staff.
The plan for improvements to our financial managemeat systems required by OMB i
circular A-127 is being provided under separate cover.
1
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. As required by section 1311 (b) of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1955, as amended (31 U.S.C. 200(b)), I am reporting that all statements of obligations furnished to the Office of Management and Budget in connection with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's requests for proposed appropriations for the fiscal year 1987 consist of valid obligations as defined in section 1311(a) of that Act.
Sincerely, i
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Nunzio J. Palladino Chairman
Enclosure:
Budget Estimates Fiscal Year 1987 I
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