At the Hanford Site, chromium was used as a corrosion inhibitor in the reactor cooling water and was introduced into the groundwater as a result of planned and unplanned discharges from reactors during plutonium production since 1944. Beginning in 1995, groundwater treatment methods were evaluated leading to the use of pump and treat facilities with ion exchange using Dowex 21 K, a regenerable strong base anion exchange resin. This required regeneration of the resin, which is currently performed offsite. Resin was installed in a 4 vessel train, with resin removal required from the lead vessel approximately once a month. In 2007, there were 8 trains (32 vessels) in operation. In 2008, DOE recognized that regulatory agreements would require significant expansion in the groundwater chromium treatment capacity. Previous experience from one of the DOE project managers led to identification of a possible alternative resin, and the contractor was requested to evaluate alternative resins for both cost and programmatic risk reductions. Testing was performed onsite in 2009 and 2010, using a variety of potential resins in two separate facilities with groundwater from specific remediation sites to demonstrate resin performance in the specific groundwater chemistry at each site. The testing demonstrated that a …

Permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorize various types of development projects in wetlands and other waters of the United States. The Corps' regulatory process involves two types of permits: general permits for actions by private landowners that are similar in nature and will likely have a minor effect on wetlands, and individual permits for more significant actions. The Corps uses general permits to minimize the burden of its regulatory program: they authorize landowners to proceed with a project without the time-consuming need to obtain standard individual permits in advance. About 90% of the Corps' regulatory workload is processed in the form of general permits.

Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) is developing and deploying Mobile Arm Retrieval System (MARS) technologies solutions to support retrieval of radioactive and chemical waste from underground single shell storage tanks (SST) located at the Hanford Site, which is near Richland, Washington. WRPS has developed the MARS using a standardized platform that is capable of deploying multiple retrieval technologies. To date, WRPS, working with their mentor-protege company, Columbia Energy and Environmental Services (CEES), has developed two retrieval mechanisms, MARS-Sluicing (MARS-S) and MARS-Vacuum (MARS-V). MARS-S uses pressurized fluids routed through spray nozzles to mobilize waste materials to a centrally located slurry pump (deployed in 2011). MARS-V uses pressurized fluids routed through an eductor nozzle. The eductor nozzle allows a vacuum to be drawn on the waste materials. The vacuum allows the waste materials to be moved to an in-tank vessel, then extracted from the SST and subsequently pumped to newer and safer double shell tanks (DST) for storage until the waste is treated for disposal. The MARS-S system is targeted for sound SSTs (i.e., non leaking tanks). The MARS-V is targeted for assumed leaking tanks or those tanks that are of questionable integrity. Both versions of MARS are being/have been developed in …

Oversight of the Federal Reserve's (Fed's) monetary policy decisions rests with Congress. But oversight is encumbered by the absence of a straightforward relationship between interest rates and economic performance. Further, the Fed's policy decisions are discretionary, meaning there is no objective, transparent “yardstick” for evaluating their decisions. A simple rule of thumb guide to monetary policy decisions called a “Taylor rule” is an intuitive way to judge actual policy against some objective, albeit simplistic, ideal. Taylor rules prescribe a federal funds target based on inflation and the output gap (i.e., the difference between actual gross domestic product [GDP] and potential GDP) and can be adjusted to reflect a variety of policy goals.

This report evaluates collapse evolution for selected Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) underground nuclear tests at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS, formerly called the Nevada Test Site). The work is being done to support several different programs that desire access to the ground surface above expended underground nuclear tests. The programs include: the Borehole Management Program, the Environmental Restoration Program, and the National Center for Nuclear Security Gas-Migration Experiment. Safety decisions must be made before a crater area, or potential crater area, can be reentered for any work. Evaluation of cavity collapse and crater formation is input into the safety decisions. Subject matter experts from the LLNL Containment Program who participated in weapons testing activities perform these evaluations. Information used included drilling and hole construction, emplacement and stemming, timing and sequence of the selected test and nearby tests, geology, yield, depth of burial, collapse times, surface crater sizes, cavity and crater volume estimations, ground motion, and radiological release information. Both classified and unclassified data were reviewed. The evaluations do not include the effects of erosion that may modify the collapse craters over time. They also do not address possible radiation dangers that may be present. Various amounts of information …

The Obama Administration identifies Iran as a major threat to U.S. national security interests. The sense of imminent crisis with Iran which greeted the beginning of 2012 follows three years in which the Obama Administration first offered Iran's leaders consistent and sustained engagement in exchange for limits to its nuclear program but, since 2010, has emphasized pressuring Iran through economic sanctions. This report discusses the effects of economic sanctions against Iran; support to the Iranian democracy movement; and opposition against Iranian human rights violations and Iranian support for Syrian human rights violations.

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The Federal Reserve (Fed) defines monetary policy as the actions it undertakes to influence the availability and cost of money and credit. Since the expectations of market participants play an important role in determining prices and growth, monetary policy can also be defined to include the directives, policies, statements, and actions of the Fed that influence how the future is perceived. In addition, the Fed acts as a “lender of last resort” to the nation's financial system, meaning that it ensures continued smooth functioning of financial intermediation by providing financial markets with adequate liquidity. This role has become of great importance following the onset of the recent financial crisis. Congress has delegated responsibility for monetary policy to the Fed, but retains oversight responsibilities to ensure that the Fed is adhering to its statutory mandate “maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.” This report looks at the background and influences of current legislation that would affect the Fed's practices.

Tools and techniques that provide improved performance and reduced costs are important to government programs, particularly in current times. An opportunity for improvement was identified for preparation of cost estimates used to support the evaluation of response action alternatives. As a result, CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company has developed Tool for Response Action Cost Estimating (TRACE). TRACE is a multi-page Microsoft Excel{reg_sign} workbook developed to introduce efficiencies into the timely and consistent production of cost estimates for response action alternatives. This tool combines costs derived from extensive site-specific runs of commercially available remediation cost models with site-specific and estimator-researched and derived costs, providing the best estimating sources available. TRACE also provides for common quantity and key parameter links across multiple alternatives, maximizing ease of updating estimates and performing sensitivity analyses, and ensuring consistency.

Under U.S. Department of Energy Cooperative Agreement No. DE-NT0005262 Foster Wheeler North America Corp conducted a laboratory test program to determine the effect of oxy-combustion on boiler tube corrosion. In this program, CFD modeling was used to predict the gas compositions that will exist throughout and along the walls of air-fired and oxy-fired boilers operating with low to high sulfur coals. Test coupons of boiler tube materials were coated with deposits representative of those coals and exposed to the CFD predicted flue gases for up to 1000 hours. The tests were conducted in electric tube furnaces using oxy-combustion and air-fired flue gases synthesized from pressurized cylinders. Following exposure, the test coupons were evaluated to determine the total metal wastage experienced under air and oxy-combustions conditions and materials recommendations were made. Similar to air-fired operation, oxy-combustion corrosion rates were found to vary with the boiler material, test temperature, deposit composition, and gas composition. Despite this, comparison of air-fired and oxy-fired corrosion rates showed that oxy-firing rates were, for the most part, similar to, if not lower than those of air-firing; this finding applied to the seven furnace waterwall materials (wrought and weld overlay) and the ten superheater/reheater materials (wrought and weld …

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The change in Russia's trade status will require legislation to lift the restrictions of Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 as they apply to Russia, which includes the “freedom-of-emigration” requirements of the Jackson-Vanik amendment. The process for Russia's accession has been completed. As a result, Members of the 112th Congress confront the issue of whether to grant Russia permanent normal trade relations (PNTR).

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has been collaborating with Brookhaven National Laboratory since 2007 to develop a realistic seismic risk evaluation system which includes the consideration of aging of structures and components in nuclear power plants (NPPs). This collaboration program aims at providing technical support to a five-year KAERI research project, which includes three specific areas that are essential to seismic probabilistic risk assessment: (1) probabilistic seismic hazard analysis, (2) seismic fragility analysis including the effects of aging, and (3) a plant seismic risk analysis. The understanding and assessment of age-related degradations of structures, systems, and components and their impact on plant safety is the major goal of this KAERI-BNL collaboration. Four annual reports have been published before this report as a result of the collaboration research.

Russia has been invited to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) by July 23, 2012. This report looks at policy issues for Congress, and concerns for the US regarding conditions ensuring that Russia fulfills its obligations and provides meaningful trade and investment opportunities for U.S. firms.

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This report discusses the windfall elimination provision (WEP) reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. Its purpose is to remove an advantage or “windfall” these workers would otherwise receive as a result of the interaction between the Social Security benefit formula and the workers’ relatively short careers in Social Security-covered employment. Opponents contend that the provision is basically imprecise and can be unfair.

Deep vadose zone contamination poses some of the most difficult remediation challenges for the protection of groundwater at the Hanford Site where processes and technologies are being developed and tested for use in the on-going effort to remediate mobile contamination in the deep vadose zone, the area deep beneath the surface. Historically, contaminants were discharged to the soil along with significant amounts of water, which continues to drive contaminants deeper in the vadose zone toward groundwater. Soil desiccation is a potential in situ remedial technology well suited for the arid conditions and the thick vadose zone at the Hanford Site. Desiccation techniques could reduce the advance of contaminants by removing the pore water to slow the rate of contaminants movement toward groundwater. Desiccation technologies have the potential to halt or slow the advance of contaminants in unsaturated systems, as well as aid in reduction of contaminants from these same areas. Besides reducing the water flux, desiccation also establishes capillary breaks that would require extensive rewetting to resume pore water transport. More importantly, these techniques have widespread application, whether the need is to isolate radio nuclides or address chemical contaminant issues. Three different desiccation techniques are currently being studied at Hanford.

HVAC Retrofit and Energy Efficiency Upgrades at Clark High School, Las Vegas, Nevada The overall objectives of this project are to increase usage of alternative/renewable fuels, create a better and more reliable learning environment for the students, and reduce energy costs. Utilizing the grant resources and local bond revenues, the District proposes to reduce electricity consumption by installing within the existing limited space, one principal energy efficient 100 ton adsorption chiller working in concert with two 500 ton electric chillers. The main heating source will be primarily from low nitrogen oxide (NOX), high efficiency natural gas fired boilers. With the use of this type of chiller, the electric power and cost requirements will be greatly reduced. To provide cooling to the information technology centers and equipment rooms of the school during off-peak hours, the District will install water source heat pumps. In another measure to reduce the cooling requirements at Clark High School, the District will replace single pane glass and metal panels with ‘Kalwall’ building panels. An added feature of the “Kalwall” system is that it will allow for natural day lighting in the student center. This system will significantly reduce thermal heat/cooling loss and control solar heat gain, …

The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), and Association of State Energy Research and Technology Transfer Institutions (ASERTTI) signed an intergovernmental agreement on November 14, 2002, that allowed states and territories and the Federal Government to better collaborate on energy research, development, demonstration and deployment (RDD&D) projects. The agreement established the State Technologies Advancement Collaborative (STAC) which allowed the states and DOE to move RDD&D forward using an innovative competitive project selection and funding process. A cooperative agreement between DOE and NASEO served as the contracting instrument for this innovative federal-state partnership obligating funds from DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Office of Fossil Energy to plan, fund, and implement RDD&D projects that were consistent with the common priorities of the states and DOE. DOE's Golden Field Office provided Federal oversight and guidance for the STAC cooperative agreement. The STAC program was built on the foundation of prior Federal-State efforts to collaborate on and engage in joint planning for RDD&D. Although STAC builds on existing, successful programs, it is important to note that it was not intended to replace other successful joint DOE/State initiatives such as the State Energy Program …

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Richland Operations Office (RL) has adopted the 2015 Vision for Cleanup of the Hanford Site. The CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company's (CHPRC) Waste and Fuels Management Project (W&FMP) and their partners support this mission by providing centralized waste management services for the Hanford Site waste generating organizations. At the time of the CHPRC contract award (August 2008) slightly more than 9,000 cubic meters (m{sup 3}) of legacy waste was defined as ''no-path-forward waste.'' A significant portion of this waste (7,650 m{sup 3}) comprised wastes with up to 50 grams of special nuclear materials (SNM) in oversized packages recovered during retrieval operations and large glove boxes removed from Hanford's Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP). Through a collaborative effort between the DOE, CHPRC, and Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. (PESI), pathways for these problematic wastes were developed and are currently being implemented.

The principal federal program to aid municipal wastewater treatment plant construction is authorized in the Clean Water Act (CWA). In appropriations legislation, funding for EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) wastewater assistance is contained in the measure providing funds for the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. This report summarizes, in chronological order, congressional activity to fund items in the State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) account since 1987.

The objective of this grant was to further the development of Montana’s vast wind resources for small, medium, and large scale benefits to Montana and the nation. This was accomplished through collaborative work with wind industry representatives, state and local governments, the agricultural community, and interested citizens. Through these efforts MT Dept Environmental Quality (DEQ) was able to identify development barriers, educate and inform citizens, as well as to participate in regional and national dialogue that will spur the development of wind resources. The scope of DEQ’s wind outreach effort evolved over the course of this agreement from the development of the Montana Wind Working Group and traditional outreach efforts, to the current focus on working with the state’s university system to deliver a workforce trained to enter the wind industry.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Most lobbyists were able to provide documentation to demonstrate compliance with disclosure requirements. This finding is similar to GAO’s results from prior reviews. There are no specific requirements for lobbyists to create or maintain documentation related to disclosure reports they file under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 as amended (LDA). Nonetheless, and similar to last year’s results, for two key elements of the reports (income and expenses), GAO estimates that lobbyists could provide documentation to support approximately 93 percent of the disclosure reports for the third and fourth quarters of 2010 and the first and second quarters of 2011. According to documentation lobbyists provided for income and expenses, GAO estimates that the amounts disclosed were properly reported and supported for 63 percent of the quarterly lobbying disclosure (LD-2) reports. For lobbyists and lobbying firms listed on the LD-2 report, an estimated 86 percent filed year-end 2010 or midyear 2011 reports of federal political campaign contributions (LD-203) reports as required. For LD-203 political contributions reports, GAO estimates that a minimum of 4 percent of all LD-203 reports omitted one or more reportable political contributions that were …