WASHINGTON – The West Valley Nuclear Reprocessing Site in Cattaraugus County may soon be getting additional federal funding for its ongoing cleanup effort. On Wednesday night, the House of Representatives voted 223 to 195 on an amendment to the 2013 Energy and Water Appropriations bill that would increase funding for clean-up efforts at the West Valley site. The amendment was introduced by both Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) and Congressman Brian Higgins (D-Buffalo).
The amendment transfers $36 million in funds from administrative accounts to the non-defense environmental cleanup fund, which supports West Valley remediation. It is similar to an amendment passed last year to the 2012 Energy and water Appropriations bill. That amendment was also co-sponsored by Reed and Higgins.
Reed said the remediation work at West Valley and other nuclear sites cannot slow down, with any delay increasing the danger and cost. Higgins said that the amendment was a common sense, bipartisan amendment that protects the environment and the Great Lakes and prevents the cost of cleanup from multiplying.
The West Valley site was established in the 1960s in response to a federal call for efforts to commercialize the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from power reactors. While the site was in operation, approximately 640 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel was reprocessed. Reprocessing operations were halted between 1972 and 1976 to support facility modifications, but operations never resumed. The site is about 20 miles north of Olean.
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