Department of Energy

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Status Brief
History/Origins:

Developmental Milestones/Developments to Date:

Current Assessment/State of the Field:

Problems/Challenges:

Proposals:

2012

Dolley, Steven, “US export reform would boost nuclear sales: NEI,” October 4, 2012, Nucleonics Week, Platts Magazine, Vol. 53 No. 40, Last Checked February 2, 2013.

  1. ” The US Department of Commerce estimates the world market for nuclear power technology, fuel and related services and equipment to be “upwards of” $750 billion over the next 10 years, Richard Myers, vice president for policy development, planning and supplier programs at NEI, said at a news conference in Washington October 1 on a report commissioned by NEI and released that day.”
  2. ” US licensing and regulatory reviews of nuclear exports, however, are “unduly burdensome,” have confusing “layers of jurisdiction” shared by at least four federal agencies, and typically take at least a year to complete, “months longer” than reviews in other exporter countries, he said.”
  3. ” The report prepared by the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman for NEI said that “US agencies should be able to increase the efficiency of their license processing through stronger Executive Branch procedures. By signaling to potential customers that US exports may be licensed on a schedule comparable to those of foreign export control regimes, such an improvement could significantly ‘level the playing field’ for US exporters in the near term.””
  4. ” The US Department of Energy is amending some of its export regulations at 10 CFR Part 810, and reforming that rule could provide significant opportunities to US exporters, Glasgow said.”
  5. ” US nuclear technology firms have been hesitant to export to some countries, particularly India, that have legal regimes the exporters feel do not sufficiently shield them from potential liability (NW, 24 Nov. ’11, 1).”

Export Control, Law, Department of Energy, Nuclear

 

Wald, Matthew, “Exam Said to Be Leaked to Guards at Nuclear Site,” NYT, October 31, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/us/guards-at-breached-nuclear-site-in-tennessee-cheated-on-exam-report-says.html Last checked 11/2/12.

  1. ”The security guards at a nuclear weapons plant who failed to stop an 82-year-old nun from reaching a bomb fuel storage building earlier this year were also cheating on a recertification exam, according to an internal investigation by the Department of Energy, which owns the weapons plant.”
  2. ”A federal security official sent the exam by encrypted e-mail to “trusted agents” at the management contractor, B&W, but did not instruct those executives to keep it secret from the people who would have to take it, according to the report..”
  3. ”The security contractor was Wackenhut, but its contract was terminated after a security breach on July 28, when the nun, Sister Megan Gillespie Rice, and two accomplices cut through three layers of fence, splashed blood on a building housing bomb-grade uranium, performed a Christian ritual and then waited to be apprehended. A subsequent investigation found that many security cameras had been disabled long before the break-in.”
  4. ”The inspector general, Gregory Friedman, said the failure to secure the exam before it was administered was “inexplicable and inexcusable.” Contractor officials treated the test “as if it were a training aid,” he wrote. Part of the problem, he said, was “contractor governance” by the Energy Department. Almost all the work done by the department is performed by contractors..”
  5. ”The inspector general added that “the issue at Y-12 does not appear to be unique to that site.” Sending exams to the contractor for checking is common because federal officials often lack the knowledge to check the tests themselves before they are administered, the report said. Similar episodes may have happened elsewhere but not been discovered, the inspector general found.”

Nuclear, Lab Security, Department of Energy

2013

Geman, Ben, “Senate bill would greenlight natural gas exports to US allies,” January 31, 2013, The Hill, Energy and Environment Blog http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/280429-senate-bill-would-green-light-gas-exports-to-nato-allies-japan#ixzz2JlxPBh99 Last Checked February 2, 2013

  1. ”A group of Senate Republicans and two centrist Democrats shook up political debates over U.S. natural gas exports Thursday with new legislation that would ensure federal approval of exports to NATO countries and Japan.”
  2. ”Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and several colleagues floated the bill as the Energy Department (DOE) reviews 16 applications to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that don’t have free-trade deals with the U.S.”
  3. ”The “Expedited LNG for American Allies Act” would put NATO allies and Japan, which is seeking to expand imports as most of its nuclear capacity remains offline, on equal footing with the formal free-trade partners.”
  4. ”In addition to Japan and NATO countries, the new Senate bill would also require DOE to approve exports to other countries if the State Department, in consultation with the Defense Department, determines that it would promote U.S. security interests.”

Export Control, Law, Department of Energy, Japan

 

Irwin, Andy, “United States: DOE Publishes DEAR Proposed Rule Regarding Contractors’ Compliance With Export Control Laws“, Mondaq, USA, International Law, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, July 3, 2013. http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/248274/Export+controls+Trade+Investment+Sanctions/DOE+Publishes+DEAR+Proposed+Rule+Regarding+Contractorsx0027+Compliance+With+Export+Control+Laws. Last checked July 17, 2013.

  1. “On June 12, 2013, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a proposed rule to amend the Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (DEAR) to explicitly incorporate pre-existing export control requirements into DOE contracts…The proposed rule would not impose additional substantive export control requirements on DOE contractors, with the exception of an export restriction notice, discussed below, but would add clauses to DOE contracts to ensure that contractors are reminded of their export control obligations when working on DOE contracts, similar to a rule that was implemented in the DFARS in 2010 following several years of proposed and interim rules. DOE is soliciting written comments on the proposed rule, including whether additional export control laws, regulations, or directives should be added to those listed in the proposed rule. Comments are due by the close of business on July 12, 2013.”
  2. “The proposed amendments set forth DOE policy that DOE and its contractors must comply with applicable export control laws, regulations, and directives, including, among others listed, the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).  The proposed amendments would also add an export control clause to DOE contracts, including to DOE M & O contracts and to any contract that may involve the export of “items” (including unclassified information, materials, technology, equipment, or software).  The export control clauses would require contractors to comply with applicable export control laws, regulations, and directives, noting that such responsibility exists independent of, and is not established or limited by, the DEAR.”
  3. “The proposed export control clauses would also require an “Export Restriction Notice” be included in all transfers, sales or other offerings of items pursuant to a DOE contract.  The language of the Export Restriction Notice is provided in the proposed rule and is designed to put a recipient on notice that the use, disposition, export, and re-export of the property attached to the notice are subject to export control laws, regulations, and directives.”
  4. “Overall, as we noted with respect to similar changes in the DFARS, the existence of the clause may be a helpful means for primes to remind smaller and perhaps less experienced subcontractors of the need for export control compliance, including in situations where potential export activity may not be so apparent, e.g., when export-controlled technical data, technology or software source code is released to foreign nationals even in the United States.”

Export Control, Department of Energy, Compliance