Thursday, September 15, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

DOE denies budget cuts single out Yucca geologists

U.S. Geological Survey expects big work reduction at repository

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy is not singling out federal geologists for budget cuts in its planned Yucca Mountain spending for next year, a spokesman said Wednesday.

All contractors for the nuclear waste project are being scrutinized as the DOE forms work goals, spokesman Allen Benson said.

"There may be reductions for some and there may not be reductions for some, it all depends on the scope of work," Benson said.

Officials at the U.S. Geological Survey said they have been told to expect an 89 percent reduction in its work at the proposed nuclear waste repository in the 2006 fiscal year. The cutbacks would force layoffs and could drive the agency off the project, they said.

The USGS supplies scientists to the Energy Department for specific research and monitoring tasks. The agency has conducted nuclear waste-related examinations at Yucca Mountain since 1979.

The deep reductions have drawn attention in part because they have been proposed just months after the discovery of Yucca Mountain e-mails written by several USGS hydrologists.

In the messages, composed between 1998 and 2000, the scientists write of disgruntlement and frustration and mention the possibility of falsifying quality assurance documentation of their work.

The e-mails embarrassed DOE and USGS officials and have caused frictions in the bureaucracies. A House subcommittee and inspectors from the Energy Department and the Interior Department continue to investigate the messages.

The episode also has contributed to Yucca Mountain delays. DOE officials have said they will not seek a repository license until the matter is closed.

Asked if there was a connection between the proposed USGS budget cuts and the e-mails, Benson said, "No comment."

Benson said the Energy Department routinely reviews needs for each budget, which affects all Yucca Mountain participants, including national laboratories in California and New Mexico that contribute to the repository effort.

"We are not singling out USGS. All our participants are undergoing the same review," Benson said.

He wouldn't discuss internal numbers affecting other contractors.

Since 1983, the Energy Department has funded USGS $379 million for research, Benson said. Spending levels have decreased as the project has shifted its focus from on-site studies to repository licensing.

Congress has not set a Yucca Mountain budget level for the 2006 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The Bush administration has requested $651 million, but lawmakers are not expected to pass an Energy Department appropriation bill until later this fall.