The U.S. Navy is about to undertake a landmark dismantling and disposal project for its very first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the ex-USS Enterprise (CVN 65). The project is highly significant; it requires many moving parts in an effort that will break new ground for the precedent in the future.
The Navy is currently considering, for dismantlement and disposition, two major options for CVN 65: The reactor compartment which contains the eight discharged reactors and all the nuclear-related material, would be dismantled by the personnel at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. After getting prepared for shipment by the personnel at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Hanford, Washington, would receive the shipment. A commercial company would take the rest – that is, the non-nuclear parts – in the second option. A full commercial approach, according to the second option, involves a commercial company taking down the whole ship, and radioactive materials as well, and having the same recycled or disposed of. Preliminary cost estimates of the Navy for these options are $1.05 billion to $1.55 billion for the naval shipyard option and $750 to $1.4 billion for the full commercial option.
However, there is also a dispute between the Navy and the NRC about which regulatory authority, the Navy’s or the NRC’s, should have an effective right of review and approval of the full commercial option. While Navy Reactors is arguing that the NRC regulatory authority has to apply to the full commercial option, the NRC opposes that point. The coordination of the two bodies is of the greatest importance for accountability, ironclad cost estimates, and facilitation of a decision for CVN 65.
The Navy’s practices for documenting and reporting budgeted ship dismantlement and disposal are, for a project of this size, not currently adequate for purposes of surveillance. Specifically, the Navy’s budget request documentation does not provide decision-makers with data to monitor trends in dismantlement costs versus an established baseline or evaluate funding plans for future years. Furthermore, the Navy lacks the reporting requirements to hold the activities of CVN 65 accountable. Adapting practices from large defense acquisition programs might provide necessary oversight for this multiyear, billion-dollar project.
Rear Adm. Casey Moton, Program Executive Officer for Aircraft Carriers, explained the gravity of the job: “Dismantling and disposing of The first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to serve the nation a monumental task and a historic milestone for the Navy.” Lessons learned will be fed into possible options to dispose of the ten Nimitz-class ships within the aircraft carrier fleet when they retire over time.
To lead this effort, the Navy has officially set up the Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier (CVN) Inactivation and Disposal Program Office (PMS 368). Taking the helm of this new office will be Capt. William B. Cleveland, a seasoned leader in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. The program office, in particular, will focus on planning, budgeting, and solicitation of new workforces for carrying out its mission.
A decision to hire commercial industry to dismantle and dispose of CVN 65 will save the Navy many millions of dollars in years of labor, plus crucial dock space at public shipyards. Bradley Martin, a RAND Corporation researcher, said such a decision could ultimately pay off. “I think this, if it works out, it’ll be a good model. The capacity of Navy shipyards to deal with everything they’re supposed to be dealing with is already pretty strained.”
This process of disassembling the vessel will begin in 2025 and continue into the end of 2029. What is particularly significant about this timeline is that the second NAC, the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), is expected to retire from the operating fleet in 2026, followed within a relatively short time by the USS Eisenhower (CVN-69). The steps that the Navy will take in this chain of dismantling and disposal of the CVN 65 will, while coming to terms with the immediate challenge, establish benchmarks for the future nuclear enterprise of the Navy.