H.R. 1138 would authorize the appropriation of $75 million annually over the 2020-2026 period for the Department of Energy (DOE) to continue cleanup activities at the West Valley Demonstration Project, a nuclear waste remediation site in New York.
In 2019, DOE allocated $75 million for cleanup activities at the site. Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, and based on historical spending patterns for similar programs, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1138 would cost $319 million over the 2019-2024 period.
The act also would require the Government Accountability Office to report to the Congress on options for disposing of the site’s nuclear waste. Based on the costs of similar tasks, CBO estimates that any costs to complete the report would be insignificant; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The costs of the legislation (detailed in Table 1) fall within budget function 270 (energy).
