CARD DIVISION UTILITY PROPOSAL FOR POWERPLANT PRODUCTION REACTOR 1.S. Congress. 4- JUL 19 HEARINGS Copy BEFORE THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON ATOMIC ENERGY. CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES EIGHTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON THE UTILITY PROPOSAL FOR POWERPLANT ADDITION TO HANFORD NEW PRODUCTION REACTOR JULY 10 AND 11, 1962 Printed for the use of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy 62-61878 86517 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1962 JOINT COMMITTEE ON ATOMIC ENERGY CHET HOLIFIELD, California, Chairman JOHN O. PASTORE, Rhode Island, Vice Chairman MELVIN PRICE, Illinois THOMAS G. MORRIS, New Mexico RICHARD B. RUSSELL, Georgia HENRY M. JACKSON, Washington BOURKE B. HICKENLOOPER, Iowa HENRY DWORSHAK, Idaho JAMES T. RAMEY, Executive Director II CONTENTS HEARING DATES Page Schwartz, Bertram, Chief, Chemical Processing Branch, Division of Hurd, Owen W., managing director, WPPSS_ Luce, Charles, Administrator, Bonneville Power Administration__. Weinberg, Edward, Associate Solicitor for Water and Power____ STATEMENTS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD Biemiller, Andrew J., director, Department of Legislation, AFL-CIO, in Rosellini, Albert D., Governor of Washington State, in support of the CORRESPONDENCE INSERTED IN THE RECORD Hennessey, Joseph F., Acting General Counsel, AEC, to Congressman Chet Holifield, dated July 11, 1962, on the effect the preference provisions of the act might have on Senator Jackson's proposal with respect to the proposed arrangement with WPPSS- Hurd, Owen W., managing director, WPPSS, to Congressman Chet Holi- field, dated July 12, 1962, supplying information on subjects raised at the hearing on July 11, 1962. Luce, Charles F., Administrator, Bonneville Power Administration, to Con- gressman Chet Holifield, dated July 12, 1962, enclosing an opinion of the Associate Solicitor for Water and Power of the Interior Department on the pullback provisions of the Bonneville Project Act to exchange agree- ments with private utilities___. Luedecke, A. R., General Manager, AEC, to Joseph Campbell, Comptroller General of the United States, dated June 4, 1962, asking for his views concerning the Commission's authority to enter into arrangements based Swidler, Joseph C., Chairman, Federal Power Commission, to Glenn T. Udall, Stewart L., Secretary of the Interior, to Congressman Chet Holifield, dated July 12, 1962, reporting on the progress of negotiations with locally owned utilities for financing construction of facilities at the Hai.ford 62-61898 III Weitzel, Frank H., Assistant Comptroller General of the United States, to Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, AEC, dated July 6, 1962, transmitting the Attorney General's opinion in the matter of the WPPSS proposal to Appendix 1: Amendments adopted by the Joint Committee in executive session on July 13, 1962. Also included is an analysis of the proposed amendments and the program justification data. (These documents are also printed on pp. 12591-12598 of the Congressional Record of Appendix 2: AEC letter to JCAE, dated July 13, 1962, concerning advanced Appendix 3: JCAE press release of July 14, 1962, announcing the Presi- dent's endorsement of the proposal to construct generating facilities at JCAE Chairman Holifield's letter to the GAO, dated July 13, 1962, requesting opinion on BPA authority to execute the power ex- GAO letter to Chairman Holifield, dated July 16, 1962, containing opinion on BPA authority to execute a power exchange contract Appendix 5: Interoffice memorandum, dated July 16, 1962, from James T. Ramey, executive director, JCAE, to Chairman Holifield, concerning Note.-The Joint Committee staff has recently prepared a compendium of the basic documents related to the proposed electric plant addition to the new production reactor at Hanford, Wash. This material is contained in Joint Committee print entitled "Utility Proposal for Powerplant Addition to Hanford New Production Reactor," July 1962. All references to pages in JCAE print in this hearing refer to the above-mentioned print. UTILITY PROPOSAL FOR POWERPLANT ADDITION TO HANFORD NEW PRODUCTION REACTOR The Joint Committee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to call, in room AE-1, the Capitol, Hon. Chet Holifield (chairman of the Joint Committee) presiding. Present: Senators Jackson and Aiken; Representatives Holifield, Price, Aspinall, Morris, Van Zandt, Hosmer, Bates, and Westland. Present also: James T. Ramey, executive director; Edward J. Bauser, technical adviser; David Toll, staff counsel, and Jack R. Newman, professional staff member. Chairman HOLIFIELD. The committee will be in order. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony on proposed arrangements for the construction and operation of electric generating facilities at the Hanford new production reactor by a group of utility districts in the Pacific Northwest. These utility districts in the State of Washington, which comprise the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS), propose to build and operate the NPR electric generating facilities at their own expense. They would buy the otherwise wasted NPR steam from the AEC and generate electricity which will be transmitted, at their own expense, to the Bonneville Power Administration under appropriate power exchange agreements. For purposes of convenience, we can refer in these hearings to the proposed arrangements between AEC and WPPSS as phase I. We can refer to the arrangements between Bonneville and WPPSS as phase II. We understand that the contract terms for these arrangements have been carefully negotiated over the past year, and that all contract terms have been mutually agreed upon. The contracts are ready for signature, although no signing has taken place as yet. Copies of these contracts are before each member of the committee and will be found in the Joint Committee print on this subject. (Contracts will be found on JCAE print, p. 9.) Chairman HOLIFIELD. On Friday, July 7, in response to a request from the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission for an opinion as to the legality of these arrangements, the Comptroller General ruled that the AEC could not proceed with this proposal without further congressional authorization. Copies of the AEC letter and 1 |