The Environmental Management (EM) budget of the Oak Ridge Operations Office (ORO) of the Department of Energy (DOE) does not tell the complete story of the lack of progress in the remediation of the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). A summary of the budget history as obtained from DOE/ORO is given in Attachment 1. The numbers have been adjusted for various budgeting changes over the years. From FY95 through FY99 the ORO budget has decreased by 17.4 % while the DOE/EM budget has decreased by only 6.5 %. DOE management  has stated that the ORO allocation is consistent with the regulatory compliance drivers across the DOE complex. We think this is incorrect.

• The plans and schedule for the remediation of ORR assumes a level funding of $600 million at the PBS level. Attachment 1 shows that ORO has fallen well below this number. It is not surprising that agreed upon Federal Facilities Agreement milestone schedules have been faulted and DOE is seen as non-compliant. Unfortunately, it is the final cleanup actions that are delayed or halted. Should DOE/ORO's budget not equal or exceed $600M it is expected that they will miss scheduled deadlines more and more often. DOE management also states that the DOE/ORO remediation schedule can be renegotiated, but the State of Tennessee and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are not renegotiating in place of compliance with agreed upon milestones.
•  Due to a substantial and obvious shortage of funds, ORO does not even request the money necessary to remediate much of the East Tennessee Technology Park in the normal manner. DOE/ORO has been forced to resort to the reindustrialization process whereby a lessee contracts to complete the cleanup of the leased area or, in the case of the process buildings, is allowed to recoup some of the cleanup cost via the sale of salvaged equipment or materials. The reindustrialization process has been of considerable concern to the regulators who challenge the legal basis for the actions. It has also been of concern to many of the ORR stakeholders. However these problems are never reflected in the budget process as the money for alternative cleanup is never requested.
• The equity of perceived regulatory compliance drivers across the DOE complex involves both the objective violation of the regulations and the subjective position of the concerned regulators (and stakeholders). Clearly, on the ORR, the surface waters of all ponds and tributaries to the Clinch River and all the ground waters are in violation of the state standards in some manner. The same is true for a small section of the Clinch River. These are current, not future, violations. Any perception of the lack of regulatory compliance drivers is due to the patience of the regulators and the stakeholders. This patience is based on a DOE/ORO schedule for remediation, which has now slipped to the degree that the state regulators are loosing patience, as is the governor of the state. The imposition of fines and penalties are the next step.  The stakeholders are also becoming impatient. The past era of patient understanding in Oak Ridge is drawing to an end.
• An examination of the Attachment 1 shows that the responsibility for the current under funding of the ORR/EM program lies not with DOE/ORO, but falls to the Congress and DOE/HQ. The DOE/ORO EM budget requests have never fallen below the planning figure of $600 million. The reduced EM budgets actually increase the total cost of remediation as the reduction of annual mortgage costs is delayed. Congress should adequately fund the DOE EM program and DOE HQ should allocate the funds based on site needs and requirements.
• Insufficient funding of the DOE/ORO budget will cause more delays in remediation schedules, increased regulatory fines and other penalties, increased overall costs, and increased stakeholder disapproval. Congress and the Department of Energy need to cooperate so that the environmental management program moves forward to a timely conclusion.

Sen William Frist, 416 Russell Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Sen Fred Thomson, 523 Dirksen Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Rep. Zach Wamp, 423 Cannon Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Rep John Duncan, 2400 Rayburn Office Building, Washington, DC 20515-4202
Rep Van Hilleary, 114 Cannon Office Building, Washington, DC 20515

Mr. James Owendoff, Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management,
       U. S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. S. W., Washington, DC 20585
Mr. Rod Nelson, DOE/ORO/EM, 55 Jefferson Ave., Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Ms. Jeanne Wilson 2362 RHOB, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515