Nuke site cleanup still short $10.1M

FAYETTEVILLE — No federal funding is yet in place to complete cleanup of a nuclear reactor site in rural Washington County, said Mike Johnson, associate vice chancellor for facilities.

Funding is in place to pay for ongoing work through March, Johnson said in a December community meeting about the UA-owned Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor, often referred to as SEFOR, a nuclear reactor test site built in the late 1960s.

He said $10.1 million is needed to finish the job estimated by UA to cost $26.1 million.

In an email, Johnson noted continued uncertainty regarding the federal budget. Federal lawmakers in January approved a stopgap funding measure maintaining government funding through Feb. 8, according to a statement from the House Appropriations Committee.

Without funding lined up, UA must decide soon to either shut down cleanup at the end of March or keep the specialized crew from Utahbased Energy Solutions waiting in the wings in anticipation of receiving the federal funds.

Johnson said “none of these options are very good when you see what $10.1 M in [Fiscal Year 2018] funds could do to fully complete this project” in 10-12 months. He said Energy Solutions and UA “have pretty much agreed to needing to have this final decision made by late [this month].”