(a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States
that—
(1) Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New
Mexico, is the Plutonium Science and Production Center of
Excellence for the United States; and
(2) Los Alamos National Laboratory will produce a minimum
of 30 pits per year for the national pit production mission
and will implement surge efforts to exceed 30 pits per year
to meet Nuclear Posture Review and national policy.
(b) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OF PLUTONIUM STRATEGY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act [August 13, 2018], the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Administrator for Nuclear Security, shall
seek to enter into a contract with a federally funded research
and development center to conduct an assessment of the plutonium
strategy of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
The assessment shall include—
(A) an analysis of the engineering assessment and
analysis of alternatives, including an analysis of each of
the four major options contained within the engineering
assessment;
(B) an assessment of the risks and benefits involved
in each such option, including risks and benefits related
to cost, schedule, licensing, labor availability, and workforce development, and effects on and from other programs;
(C) a description of the strategies considered by the
National Nuclear Security Administration to reduce those
risks; and
(D) an assessment of the strategy considered for manufacturing
up to 80 pits per year at Los Alamos National
Laboratory through the use of multiple labor shifts and
additional equipment at PF–4 until modular facilities are
completed to provide a long-term, single-labor shift capacity.
(2) SELECTION.—The Secretary may not enter into the contract
under paragraph (1) with a federally funded research
and development center for which the Department of Energy
or the National Nuclear Security Administration is the primary
sponsor.
(3) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The federally funded
research and development center with which the Secretary
enters into the contract under paragraph (1) shall have full
and direct access to all information related to pit production,
including information of the National Nuclear Security
Administration and its management and operating contractors.
(4) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than April 1, 2019, the
federally funded research and development center with which
the Secretary enters into the contract under paragraph (1)
shall submit to the Secretary, the Administrator, and the
Nuclear Weapons Council established under section 179 of title
10, United States Code, a report containing the assessment
required by paragraph (1).
(5) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than April 15,
2019, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense
committees the report required by paragraph (4), without
change.
(c) REPORT ON PIT PRODUCTION AT LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL
LABORATORY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act [August 13, 2018], the Administrator shall submit
to the congressional defense committees a report containing—
(A) a detailed plan to produce 30 pits per year at
Los Alamos National Laboratory by 2026, including—
(i) equipment and other construction already
planned at the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research
Replacement Facility;
(ii) additional equipment or labor necessary to
produce such pits; and
(iii) effects on and from other ongoing programs
at Los Alamos National Laboratory; and
(B) a detailed plan for designing and carrying out
production of plutonium pits 31–80 at Los Alamos National
Laboratory, in case the MOX facility is not operational
and producing pits by 2030.
(2) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 120 days after the submission
of the report required by paragraph (1), the Director for
Cost Estimating and Program Evaluation of the National
Nuclear Security Administration shall submit to the congressional
defense committees an assessment of that report,
including an assessment of the effect of increased ARIES
activity in support of the dilute and dispose program on the
plutonium pit production mission.
(d) BRIEFING.—Not later than March 1, 2019, the Chairman
of the Nuclear Weapons Council and the Administrator shall jointly
provide to the congressional defense committees a briefing detailing
the implementation plan for the plutonium strategy of the National
Nuclear Security Administration, including milestones, accountable personnel for such milestones, and mechanisms for ensuring transparency
into the progress of such strategy for the Department
of Defense and the congressional defense committees.
(e) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—Not later than April 1, 2019, and
each year thereafter through 2025, the Chairman shall submit
to the Secretary, the Administrator, and the congressional defense
committees a written certification that the plutonium pit production
plan of the National Nuclear Security Administration is on track
to meet—
(1) the military requirement of 80 pits per year by 2030,
or such other military requirement as determined by the Secretary;
(2) the statutory requirements for pit production timelines
under section 4219 of the Atomic Energy Defense Act (50 U.S.C.
2538a); and
(3) all milestones and deliverables described in the plans
required by subsection (c)(1).
(f) FAILURE TO CERTIFY.—
(1) NWC NOTIFICATION.—If in any year the Chairman is
unable to submit the certification under subsection (e), the
Chairman shall submit to the congressional defense committees,
the Secretary, and the Administrator written notification
describing why the Chairman is unable to make such certification.
(2) NNSA RESPONSE.—Not later than 180 days after the
date on which the Chairman makes a notification under paragraph
(1), the Administrator shall submit to the congressional
defense committees, the Secretary, and the Chairman a report
that—
(A) addresses the reasons identified in the notification
with respect to the failure to make the certification under
subsection (e); and
(B) includes presentation of either a concurrent backup
plan or a recovery plan, and the associated implementation
schedules for such plan.
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) ARIES.—The term ‘‘ARIES’’ means the Advanced
Recovery and Integrated Extraction System method, developed
and piloted at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos,
New Mexico, for disassembling surplus defense plutonium pits
H. R. 5515—660
and converting the plutonium from such pits into plutonium
oxide.
(2) DILUTE AND DISPOSE APPROACH.—The term ‘‘dilute and
dispose approach’’ means a method of blending plutonium oxide
made from surplus defense plutonium with an inert mixture,
then packaging and indefinitely disposing of the combined
material in a geologic repository.
(3) MOX FACILITY.—The term ‘‘MOX facility’’ means the
mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility at the Savannah River
Site, Aiken, South Carolina.
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