July 7, 2011

Performance of Recovery Act Funds at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

The Department of Energy's (Department) Carlsbad Field Office (Carlsbad) manages the transuranic (TRU) waste activities of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and the National TRU Program. The WIPP, located outside Carlsbad, New Mexico, is the final repository for contact-handled and remote-handled TRU waste, and manages the final disposal of waste received from the Department's waste generator sites. The National TRU program manages both characterization and certification through mobile characterization units and contracts for transportation of TRU waste. Baseline funding for these activities was $230 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) increased Carlsbad funding by $172.4 million to accelerate the Department's TRU waste disposal goals.

Topic: Environmental Cleanup