Platts - Friday, July 18, 2003 http://www.platts.com ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--18Jul2003 DOE early waste acceptance off the table House provisions on early spent fuel storage were dropped as a concession to Nevada, Rep. David Hobson's (R-Ohio) office said July 18. Hobson, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over DOE spending, announced the move on the House floor before lawmakers approved a $27.3-billion energy and water funding bill for fiscal 2004, keeping intact appropriators' $765-million allocation for the DOE waste program. He pledged that the $4-million earmarked in the bill report for DOE work on planning early waste acceptance at a high-level waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev. would be spent instead on improving the safety of spent fuel casks. Lawmakers defeated an amendment that would have moved $30-million from the waste program to DOE's renewable energy program. ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--18Jul2003 IAEA board votes for significant budget increase The IAEA's board agreed July 18 to a $15-million budget increase for the agency. According to an IAEA press release, the increase over the current $245-million is anticipated to grow further, to a total increase of $27- million in future years. In a statement, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said, "The bulk of the increase goes to the verification program, because that program has been experiencing the greatest demand for additional resources and…has for years been the most chronically underfunded and has relied excessively on extrabudgetary resources." In addition to the regular budget, drawn from assessments levied upon its member states, the IAEA receives funds through "voluntary" contributions by some states. The press release said the funding level that the Board of Governors approved July 18 represents the first significant budget increase in more than 15 years. ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--17Jul2003 South Texas-1 waiting for NRC concurrence, owners' okay to restart South Texas-1 is ready to restart, but won't begin this month, STP Nuclear Operating Co. (STP) officials said July 17 during a meeting with NRC staff. The 1,315-MW PWR has been down since April when evidence of small reactor coolant leaks were found on the reactor's pressure vessel bottom penetrations while the unit was in a refueling outage. Company officials said they will wait for NRC's concurrence on restart and for direction from the four owners of the two-unit station on how to proceed. STP officials noted, however, that STP still aims to restart the unit by late summer. NRC staff will next meet with STP officials July 28 at the plant to discuss the agency's inspection team report, which is expected to be ready by then. ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--17Jul2003 Senate appropriators approve $619-million for NRC in FY- 04 NRC would receive $619-million for fiscal 2004 under a spending bill approved July 17 by the Senate Appropriations Committee. NRC is "doing an outstanding job" and is "the marvel of regulatory commissions across the world," Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) said July 17 during the mark-up of the spending bill. Domenici is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Energy & Water Development subcommittee, which approved the spending bill yesterday. ------------