July 20, 2018 5:00PM # Multi-Billion Dollar Boondoggle at DOE By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) --- SHARE The federal government spends an unreal amount of taxpayer money cleaning up nuclear weapons sites. [In this study at Downsizing Government](https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/energy/energy-subsidies), I noted that between 1990 and 2016, Congress spent $152 billion on nuclear cleanup, with about $6 billion more every year. Where does the money go? About $5 billion has been spent at a facility in South Carolina called the Savannah River Site. In the study, I said, “The facility has a negligent safety culture, and environmental issues such as water contamination plagued it for years. Cleanup costs have soared. The construction of a mixed oxide fuel facility at the site was supposed to cost $5 billion, but the price tag has soared to $17 billion.” The *Wall Street Journal* [provided an update](https://www.wsj.com/articles/south-carolina-fights-u-s-plan-to-abandon-nuclear-project-employing-1-800-1531906201) on the Savannah River boondoggle today: > The U.S. Energy Department says it is spending $1.2 million a day on a partially built South Carolina nuclear facility that it wants to abandon due to soaring costs. > > > Congress has continued funding construction of the plant, which would be used to dispose of surplus weapons-grade plutonium, despite a series of reviews casting doubt on the financial logic involved. > > > … The recent jousting marks the latest twist for the troubled Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility. In 2007, U.S. officials said the so-called MOX plant would cost $4.8 billion and be completed by 2016. DOE officials today estimate it would cost $17.2 billion and take until 2048, assuming $350 million a year in federal funding. > > > … In 2014, the Energy Department concluded that plutonium could be disposed far more cheaply using a different method, known as “dilute and dispose.” The shift is opposed by South Carolina officials and members of the state’s congressional delegation, including Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. > > > … From 2014 to 2016, Congress gave the Energy Department the same message: Keep building the MOX plant. Last year, Congress authorized the energy secretary to stop construction if evidence showed another method would cost less than half as much. > > > In May, Energy Secretary Rick Perry invoked the provision and prepared to halt construction in June. South Carolina sued, and U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs granted a preliminary injunction June 7 in the state’s favor, pending further litigation. For more on energy spending, see [www​.down​siz​ing​gov​ern​ment​.org/​e​n​e​r​g​y​/​e​n​e​r​g​y​-​s​u​b​s​idies](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/energy/energy-subsidies). ##### Related Tags [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy), [Department of Energy](https://www.cato.org/department-energy), [Downsizing Government](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).