According to EENews, Senator Pete Domenici RNM successfully attached an amendment to the Military Construction appropriations bill H.R. 4425 that released DOEs principal Waste Isolation Pilot Plant WIPP contractor, Westinghouse, from a $100 million bonding requirement. The New Mexico Environment Departments bonding requirement was intended to guarantee that the WIPP facility will be cleaned up upon its closure. The amendment was designed to free up a $20 million annual DOE payment to the state for road construction and nuclear safety training a payment that DOE was withholding in anticipation of paying for the bond. According to Domenici, the bond was unnecessary because the full faith and credit of the federal government stands behind the eventual closure of WIPP. 62900; revised 1301 .

Website: http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/wipp.html