Environmental Management Liability Reduction and Technology Development Act of 2021

Environmental Management Liability Reduction and Technology Development Act of 2021

This bill establishes programs and requirements concerning the development and deployment of technology to assist the Office of Environmental Management within the Department of Energy in managing and directing the cleanup of contaminated nuclear weapons manufacturing and testing sites.

Specifically, the office must obtain from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers an independent assessment of the lifecycle costs and schedules of the office's cleanup programs. The office must use the assessment to reevaluate the major cleanup challenges faced by the office, make any adjustments to the programs that are necessary to address those challenges, and evaluate potential savings from the development of new technologies over the life of the cleanup programs.

In addition, the office must design and implement a science and technology management process for identifying, prioritizing, selecting, developing, and deploying the new knowledge and technologies needed to address the cleanup challenges.

The office must also establish an Incremental Technology Development Program to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the cleanup processes of the office. In carrying out the program, the office may provide grants for technology development, demonstration, and deployment projects to improve such technologies.

Additionally, the office must establish a High-Impact Technology Development Program and a Fundamental Research Program to award grants to address cleanup challenges. The office must also establish the Environmental Management University Program and may provide research grants under the program.