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EnergySolutions, Inc. (NYSE: ES) announced today that $22.9 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding has been allocated to the Moab UMTRA project. The total amount of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for the Moab project is $108 million. The funding is being used to accelerate removal of uranium mill tailings away from the banks of the Colorado River. Thus far 160 jobs have been created this year as a result of Recovery Act funding. "We are thrilled that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has allocated sufficient funding to the Moab project to accelerate the cleanup of the site. This is great news for the community and for all who use the Colorado River and Lake Powell," said Steve Creamer, CEO and Chairman of EnergySolutions. The Recovery Act funding is being used to excavate, transport and dispose of additional mill tailings from the Moab site to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission-approved disposal cell at Crescent Junction. This additional work began in June and will continue through September 2011. Additionally, this additional funding supports increasing the size of the disposal cell as well as crushing, transporting, and placing final rock cover on the disposal cell. This portion of the work began in August and continues through September 2011. Sixteen million tons of uranium mill tailings will eventually be relocated 30 miles north of Moab to a location designated by the DOE.

EnergySolutions, Inc. (NYSE: ES) announced today that $22.9 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding has been allocated to the Moab UMTRA project. The total amount of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for the Moab project is $108 million. The funding is being used to accelerate removal of uranium mill tailings away from the banks of the Colorado River. Thus far 160 jobs have been created this year as a result of Recovery Act funding. "We are thrilled that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has allocated sufficient funding to the Moab project to accelerate the cleanup of the site. This is great news for the community and for all who use the Colorado River and Lake Powell," said Steve Creamer, CEO and Chairman of EnergySolutions. The Recovery Act funding is being used to excavate, transport and dispose of additional mill tailings from the Moab site to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission-approved disposal cell at Crescent Junction. This additional work began in June and will continue through September 2011. Additionally, this additional funding supports increasing the size of the disposal cell as well as crushing, transporting, and placing final rock cover on the disposal cell. This portion of the work began in August and continues through September 2011. Sixteen million tons of uranium mill tailings will eventually be relocated 30 miles north of Moab to a location designated by the DOE.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted Entergy Nuclear's plan to make up the $87.4 million shortfall in Vermont Yankee's decommissioning trust fund. Entergy, the parent company of Entergy Nuclear, has agreed to provide a "guarantee" worth $40 million, and the company says the trust fund has recovered more than $80 million in value since February, but is still $80 million behind original projections. The most recent figures released by the Department of Public Service put the fund at $428 million as of the end of November. The fund had hit a high of $440 million in September 2007, and projections then said it would hit $500 million by November 2009. "The NRC staff determined that the trust fund balance, projected to the time of permanent cessation of operations in 2012, plus the parent company guarantee will cover the projected shortfall," wrote James Kim, project manager for Vermont Yankee for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted Entergy Nuclear's plan to make up the $87.4 million shortfall in Vermont Yankee's decommissioning trust fund. Entergy, the parent company of Entergy Nuclear, has agreed to provide a "guarantee" worth $40 million, and the company says the trust fund has recovered more than $80 million in value since February, but is still $80 million behind original projections. The most recent figures released by the Department of Public Service put the fund at $428 million as of the end of November. The fund had hit a high of $440 million in September 2007, and projections then said it would hit $500 million by November 2009. "The NRC staff determined that the trust fund balance, projected to the time of permanent cessation of operations in 2012, plus the parent company guarantee will cover the projected shortfall," wrote James Kim, project manager for Vermont Yankee for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Hanford nuclear site was established in 1943 in the town of Hanford, Washington along the Columbia River. Plutonium manufactured at the site was used in the nuclear bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. The plant's waste disposal procedures were woefully inadequate. To this day, millions of gallons of high-level radioactive waste remains at the site and comprises the largest Hanford decomission activities 1964-71environmental clean up in Uited States history since being decommissioned between 1964 and 1971. On September 30, 2009: U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) a senior member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Committee, announced that the final version of a spending bill that funds Hanford cleanup will include more than $87 million more for cleanup than the President's Fiscal Year 2010 budget request. Murray, who was part of the Conference Committee and Appropriations Subcommittee that crafted the final legislation, fought for the inclusion of the additional funding after the House version of the bill cut Hanford funding to $51.8 million below the President's budget request. The additional funding secured by Murray will go primarily toward groundwater cleanup and K Basin sludge treatment and disposal.

The Hanford nuclear site was established in 1943 in the town of Hanford, Washington along the Columbia River. Plutonium manufactured at the site was used in the nuclear bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. The plant's waste disposal procedures were woefully inadequate. To this day, millions of gallons of high-level radioactive waste remains at the site and comprises the largest Hanford decomission activities 1964-71environmental clean up in Uited States history since being decommissioned between 1964 and 1971. On September 30, 2009: U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) a senior member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Committee, announced that the final version of a spending bill that funds Hanford cleanup will include more than $87 million more for cleanup than the President's Fiscal Year 2010 budget request. Murray, who was part of the Conference Committee and Appropriations Subcommittee that crafted the final legislation, fought for the inclusion of the additional funding after the House version of the bill cut Hanford funding to $51.8 million below the President's budget request. The additional funding secured by Murray will go primarily toward groundwater cleanup and K Basin sludge treatment and disposal.

NRC requested $1.071 billion for fiscal 2010, up about 2% from the $1.046 billion approved for FY-09. Both of the agency's program areas -- nuclear reactor safety, and nuclear materials and waste safety -- would receive modest funding increases under the proposed budget. The agency anticipates making about $5.3 million in cuts to some of its programs, including the Office of General Inspector's budget, which would receive about $758,000 less than the FY-09 funding. In the budget proposal released May 7 by President Barack Obama's administration, NRC asked for $56 million from the Nuclear Waste Fund for reviewing DOE's high-level waste repository application. NRC Chief Financial Officer Jim Dyer said the requested funding would not be an increase over the $49 million allocated in FY-09 because NRC has an additional $10 million in carryover funds from FY-08, bringing the total available funding through September to $59 million.

The NRC has contacted 18 nuclear power plants to clarify how the companies will address the recent economic downturn's effects on funds to decommission reactors in the future. Nuclear power plant operators are required to set aside funds during a reactor's operating life to ensure the reactor site will be properly cleaned up once the reactor is permanently shut down. The NRC's review of the latest reports on decommissioning funding assurance suggests several plants must adjust their funding plans. "We'll discuss this with the plants over the next few weeks so they can explain to us how they'll get the funds back on track to account for their decommissioning cost estimates," said Tim McGinty, director of Policy and Rulemaking in the NRC's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. "This is not a current safety issue, but the plants do have to prove to us they're setting aside money appropriately." The letters for the affected plants will be available in the NRC's electronic documents database, ADAMS, by entering each letter's accession number (indicated below) here: http://adamswebsearch.nrc.gov/dologin.htm.

Businesses that handle some of Utah's most dangerous materials are being inspected less often because of dwindling funds to pay for the work. State monitoring of hazardous and radioactive waste has for years been funded by fees collected from commercial waste companies. That fund - which reached nearly $6 million in 2006 - has fallen off with the down economy, dwindling to just $30,000 at the end of the last fiscal year. Utah is still adequately regulating hazardous waste operations but is no longer able to inspect them as often as in the past, said Dennis Downs, director of the state's hazardous and solid waste division. That not only includes monitoring of large hazardous waste disposal sites in Utah but also regular checks on hundreds of smaller operations - from autobody shops and dry cleaners to oil refineries - that generate and store dangerous materials.

Businesses that handle some of Utah's most dangerous materials are being inspected less often because of dwindling funds to pay for the work. State monitoring of hazardous and radioactive waste has for years been funded by fees collected from commercial waste companies. That fund - which reached nearly $6 million in 2006 - has fallen off with the down economy, dwindling to just $30,000 at the end of the last fiscal year. Utah is still adequately regulating hazardous waste operations but is no longer able to inspect them as often as in the past, said Dennis Downs, director of the state's hazardous and solid waste division. That not only includes monitoring of large hazardous waste disposal sites in Utah but also regular checks on hundreds of smaller operations - from autobody shops and dry cleaners to oil refineries - that generate and store dangerous materials.

"The Obama Administration is attempting to get $9 billion more in loans for new nuclear reactor construction. They're trying to sneak this money on to an emergency supplemental funding bill intended to provide funds for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and to provide additional disaster relief money. But there is no emergency requiring new nuclear loans! The Department of Energy is playing sleazy politics by asking for this money on an emergency basis. To try to appease clean energy advocates, the administration is tying the nuclear loans to an equal amount of loans for renewable energy projects--but renewable energy projects have barely begun to tap their existing loan authority. Unlike for nuclear projects, which are extraordinarily expensive, there is currently plenty of money available for renewables loans. The House Appropriations Committee was scheduled to meet on May 27 to consider this bill but postponed the meeting at the last moment. It now isn't clear when or if the meeting will be rescheduled. One possibility is that the House will simply take up a similar Senate emergency funding bill--one that does not include taxpayer loans for dirty new nuclear reactors. Your actions can stop this unnecessary nuclear bailout: Tell your Representative to pass a "clean" emergency funding bill--one that provides funding only for actual emergencies, not for unnecessary and polluting nuclear reactors."

This Notice announces the Department of Energy (DOE) acceptance of claims in FY 2009 from eligible active uranium and thorium processing sites for reimbursement under Title X of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. For FY 2009, Congress has not completed the appropriation process for DOE, including funds for the reimbursement of certain costs of remedial action at these sites. If no funds are appropriated, the approved amount of claims submitted during FY 2008 and unpaid approved balances for claims submitted in prior years will be carried forward for payment in FY 2010, subject to the availability of funds. If FY 2009 funds are appropriated, and if the available funds are less than the total approved claims, these payments will be prorated based on the amount of available FY 2009 appropriations, unpaid approved claim balances (approximately $8.6 million), and claims received in May 2008 (approximately $34 million).

As of Sept. 30, 2008, the total assets in the BJC pension fund for grandfathered employees were $219 million, according to info provided by Bechtel Jacobs. "The pension plan is not fully funded at this time," Bechtel Jacobs said, but declined to put a percentage on it. Company spokesman Dennis Hill said the company was meeting its requirements. "For a multi-employer plan, the funding regulations require a minimum funding level of 80%," BJC said in a statement. "As required under federal law, all multi-employer plans must provide an annual funding notice to the participants of the pension plant, which will be done in the next few weeks." There are 2,114 participants or beneficiaries covered by the plan

The U.S. Department of Energy today released a fiscal year 2010 budget request that increases funding for developing next-generation nuclear power plants and used nuclear fuel recycling, but does little to support construction of reactors that are expected to be built over the next two decades, according to The Nuclear Energy Institute. The FY10 budget proposal -- the first released by the Obama Administration -- also cuts funding for DOE's used nuclear fuel management program to $196.8 million, only $98.4 million of it from the federal Nuclear Waste Fund. The fund, established in 1983 to finance the federal government's program to manage used nuclear fuel, is paid for by users of nuclear-generated electricity through a monthly surcharge on their electric bills. The $196.8 million request is only one-fifth of the interest that accrues annually on the $22 billion fund. The Nuclear Power 2010 program -- a cost-shared, industry-government partnership designed to reduce the technical and regulatory uncertainties associated with construction of advanced nuclear power plant designs -- would receive only $20 million in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The program receives $177 million in the current year, a sum matched by industry. The industry intends to invest $121 million in the program in FY10 and had expected DOE to match that commitment, which would complete the program.

"New Mexico's House delegation has identified a potential way to free up funds for cleaning up abandoned uranium mine sites in New Mexico. Congressmen Harry Teague, Ben Ray Luján, and Martin Heinrich introduced legislation Friday that would make available Surface Mine and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) funds that currently can't be used for uranium mine remediation until the state has certified that all coal remediation has been completed. The measure could bring $14.5 million to help clean up 137 uranium sites across the site. In a statement, the three explained why freeing up the funds is important. "Cleaning up the legacy of the uranium mines and mills is something we owe to our land, our people, and our water," said Harry Teague, who represents all of Cibola county and part of McKinley County where many of the sites in need of remediation are located. "Making these funds available for uranium site remediation would create jobs in areas where people need to be put back to work, and we would be able to do it using existing funds.""

"The Energy Department will reduce the size of former nuclear waste sites needing environmental cleanup by 40 percent by the end of 2011, fueled largely by Recovery Act funding, a top official said. The footprint of Cold War-era sites to be cleaned up will be reduced from 900 square miles to 540 square miles during fiscal 2011, said Ines Triay, assistant Energy secretary of environmental management. The department's goal is to clean up 90 percent of contaminated areas by 2015. Energy received $6 billion in Recovery Act funds to accelerate cleanup efforts. To date, $5.6 billion in stimulus funds has been obligated and $1.7 billion has been spent, Triay told the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces at an April 21 hearing. Stimulus funds will be used for many projects: Accelerate by seven years the removal of radioactive waste at 11 sites; remove 2 million tons of waste material from the uranium mill in Moab, Utah; and build the infrastructure required to support high-level waste processing operations. In addition, Recovery Act funds will be used to speed up completion of cleanup activities at three small sites: Brookhaven National Laboratory and Separations Process Research Unit in New York, and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in California."

Regulation » Inspections of businesses that handle disposal are becoming less frequent. Salt Lake City » Businesses that handle some of Utah's most dangerous materials are being inspected less often because of dwindling funds to pay for the work. State monitoring of hazardous and radioactive waste has for years been funded by fees collected from commercial waste companies. That fund -- which reached nearly $6 million in 2006 -- has fallen off with the down economy, dwindling to just $30,000 at the end of the last fiscal year. Utah is still adequately regulating hazardous waste operations but is no longer able to inspect them as often as in the past, said Dennis Downs, director of the state's Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste. That includes not only monitoring of large hazardous-waste disposal sites in Utah but also regular checks on hundreds of smaller operations -- from auto body shops and dry cleaners to oil refineries -- that generate and store dangerous materials.

Regulation » Inspections of businesses that handle disposal are becoming less frequent. Salt Lake City » Businesses that handle some of Utah's most dangerous materials are being inspected less often because of dwindling funds to pay for the work. State monitoring of hazardous and radioactive waste has for years been funded by fees collected from commercial waste companies. That fund -- which reached nearly $6 million in 2006 -- has fallen off with the down economy, dwindling to just $30,000 at the end of the last fiscal year. Utah is still adequately regulating hazardous waste operations but is no longer able to inspect them as often as in the past, said Dennis Downs, director of the state's Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste. That includes not only monitoring of large hazardous-waste disposal sites in Utah but also regular checks on hundreds of smaller operations -- from auto body shops and dry cleaners to oil refineries -- that generate and store dangerous materials.

The US Department of Energy on Wednesday said it would use $44 million to fund 71 nuclear energy research and development projects. The funding will go to 31 universities and fund projects for the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative, the Next Generation Nuclear Plant, Light Water Reactor Sustainability, as well as Investigator-Initiated Research, according to DOE. "As a zero-carbon energy source, nuclear power must be part of our energy mix as we work toward energy independence and meeting the challenge of global warming," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement. "The next generation of nuclear power plants -- with the highest standards of safety, efficiency and environmental protection -- will require the latest advancements in nuclear science and technology." Chu has voiced his support for nuclear energy since becoming energy secretary in January, but the administration's decision to stop pursuing a national nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain has led some to charge that DOE no longer supports nuclear power. The $44 million in funding announced Wednesday will be provided over three years and the project contracts will be awarded by Idaho National Laboratory contractor Battelle at the end of September.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced $6 billion in new funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate environmental cleanup work and create thousands of jobs across 12 states. Projects identified for funding will focus on accelerating cleanup of soil and groundwater, transportation and disposal of waste, and cleaning and demolishing former weapons complex facilities. "These investments will put Americans to work while cleaning up contamination from the cold war era," said Secretary Chu. "It reflects our commitment to future generations as well as to help local economies get moving again." These projects and the new funding are managed by the Department's Office of Environmental Management, which is responsible for the risk reduction and cleanup of the environmental legacy from the nation's nuclear weapons program, one of the largest, most diverse and technically complex environmental programs in the world. The states and DOE sites that will receive this funding include:

The nuclear industry funds the special armed police force which guards its installations across the UK, and secret documents, seen by the Guardian, show the 750-strong force is authorised to carry out covert intelligence operations against anti-nuclear protesters, one of its main targets. The nuclear industry will pay £57m this year to finance the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC). The funding comes from the companies which run 17 nuclear plants, including Dounreay in Caithness, Sellafield in Cumbria and Dungeness in Kent. Around a third is paid by the private consortium managing Sellafield, which is largely owned by American and French firms. Nearly a fifth of the funding is provided by British Energy, the privatised company owned by French firm EDF. Private correspondence shows that in June, the EDF's head of security complained that the force had overspent its budget "without timely and satisfactory explanations to us". The industry acknowledges it is in regular contact with the CNC and the security services.

The nuclear industry funds the special armed police force which guards its installations across the UK, and secret documents, seen by the Guardian, show the 750-strong force is authorised to carry out covert intelligence operations against anti-nuclear protesters, one of its main targets. The nuclear industry will pay £57m this year to finance the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC). The funding comes from the companies which run 17 nuclear plants, including Dounreay in Caithness, Sellafield in Cumbria and Dungeness in Kent. Around a third is paid by the private consortium managing Sellafield, which is largely owned by American and French firms. Nearly a fifth of the funding is provided by British Energy, the privatised company owned by French firm EDF. Private correspondence shows that in June, the EDF's head of security complained that the force had overspent its budget "without timely and satisfactory explanations to us". The industry acknowledges it is in regular contact with the CNC and the security services.

Industry » Legislature should close loophole that pumps waste fees into general fund, group says. It's been a long-standing principle in Utah to have hazardous waste operators cover the cost of state oversight. But with the economic slump and waste fees lagging, the self-supporting fund for hazardous waste regulation is short some $2.3 million. An industry group has been looking since spring for a way to stanch the flow, and its focus has landed on the Utah Legislature. Turns out lawmakers have been reaching into the fund, called the Environmental Quality Restricted Account, for millions to cover other programs, some unrelated to the environment. "The bottom line for us," said Bill Sinclair, deputy director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, "is, if we can't meet our revenue needs through fees, there will be consequences."

Industry » Legislature should close loophole that pumps waste fees into general fund, group says. It's been a long-standing principle in Utah to have hazardous waste operators cover the cost of state oversight. But with the economic slump and waste fees lagging, the self-supporting fund for hazardous waste regulation is short some $2.3 million. An industry group has been looking since spring for a way to stanch the flow, and its focus has landed on the Utah Legislature. Turns out lawmakers have been reaching into the fund, called the Environmental Quality Restricted Account, for millions to cover other programs, some unrelated to the environment. "The bottom line for us," said Bill Sinclair, deputy director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, "is, if we can't meet our revenue needs through fees, there will be consequences."

EnergySolutions, Inc. today announced it has signed a contract with a major east coast nuclear utility company to package, transport and dispose of eight retired steam generators from its site, a project valued at $23.8 million. EnergySolutions worked together with its customer to identify and secure an appropriate funding mechanism for the disposal of these large components that does not rely on NRC-regulated decommissioning trust funds. The state utilities commission approved the use of funds from a decommissioning trust fund under its purview for this project.

"The Navajo Nation is going to greatly benefit from that," she said. Among other programs the Navajo EPA is working on with federal funding is: * Drinking Water - $3 million for phase 1 for Sweetwater-to-Shiprock drinking water. This will serve 93 homes without piped water near three unregulated water sources that have been contaminated with uranium, 845 homes served by public water systems that exceed the arsenic drinking water standard, and 982 homes with inadequate water supply. * Waste Water - $9.7 million through the global Interagency Agreement through HIS. * Tribal Drinking Water Set Aside Funding Projects: Dennehotso New Water System - $2 million from U.S. EPA and $2 million from HUD to construct a new 50-mile water system to serve 102 homes without piped water, near 2 unregulated water sources contaminated with Uranium. * Water Hauling Feasibility Study/Pilot Project to serve 4,000 homes without piped water. USEPA is expected to soon provide funding to the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources to develop a water hauling feasibility study and pilot project to serve residents in uranium-impacted areas, and to develop safe water hauling guidelines and conduct outreach. * Black Falls Water Line Extension - U.S. EPA provided $830,000 to construct a water line and safe water hauling point to serves 40 homes without piped water near four unregulated water sources contaminated with uranium. * Clean Water Act/Wastewater Tribal Set Aside Projects: $1.75 million award - $1 million will be in a direct grant to NTUA's Stimulus proposal submitted for Window Rock Wastewater Treatment plant upgrades; $752,867 into inter-agency agreement with IHS to fund other wastewater treatment facility projects.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday it has filed a suit in a U.S. court to prevent Constellation Energy (CEG.N) from convening a shareholders meeting due to vote on a takeover by MidAmerican. Norway's fund owns 4.8 percent in Constellation, whose value it said was undervalued by the offer by MidAmerican Energy, a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N). Since MidAmerican's move was proposed and backed by Constellation's board, French power company Electricite de France (EDF.PA) made an offer for Constellation assets "that values it substantially higher" than MidAmerican's offer, the Norwegian oil fund said.