Cortez Masto, DOE reach deal to remove secretly-shipped plutonium from Nevada beginning in 2021
The Nevada Independent | 4/30/2019
Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto brokered a deal with the Department of Energy to begin removing a half metric ton of weapons-grade plutonium from the Nevada National Security Site by 2021 and received assurances from DOE not to ship any more plutonium to the state.
The time between now and 2021 will allow the site in New Mexico, where the plutonium will be shipped, to be prepared, according to Cortez Masto’s office. The agreement was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Cortez Masto had been working with DOE to get an agreement in writing since shortly after the agency disclosed in January that it secretly shipped the plutonium to the site sometime last year.
LEGISLATIVE
Bipartisan Senate Coalition Reintroduces Comprehensive Nuclear Waste Legislation
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources | 4/30/2019
U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., today reintroduced bipartisan legislation to safeguard and permanently dispose of the nation’s stockpiles of spent nuclear fuel from sites across the country.
S. 1234, the Nuclear Waste Administration Act (NWAA) of 2019, will provide a path forward for nuclear energy in America by addressing the longstanding failure to implement an effective plan for the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle.
Among the provisions in NWAA are:
Nuclear Waste Administration
- Establishes an independent agency to manage the country’s nuclear waste program in place of the Department of Energy (DOE). This agency would be headed by an administrator selected by the president and subject to Senate confirmation.
Consent-Based Process for Consolidated Storage Facilities and a Repository
- Directs the Nuclear Waste Administration to build a pilot storage facility to hold spent fuel from decommissioned nuclear power plants and emergency shipments from operating plants.
- Directs the agency to build consolidated storage facilities for non-priority spent fuel for utilities or defense wastes for DOE on a temporary basis.
- Establishes siting processes for storage facilities and repositories.
Linkage Between Storage Facilities and Repository
- Authorizes the administrator to begin siting a pilot storage facility for priority waste immediately, and does not set waste volume restrictions on storage.
- Provides that for 10 years following enactment, the administrator may continue to site new storage facilities for non-priority waste as long as funds have been obligated to carry out a parallel repository program.
- After 10 years, the administrator may site new storage facilities only if at least one site has been selected for evaluation as a potential location for a permanent repository.
Nuclear Waste Fund
- Establishes a new working capital fund in the U.S. Treasury, into which the fees collected from utilities would be deposited.
- These funds will be available to the administration without further appropriation. Fees already collected will remain in the Nuclear Waste Fund, where they will continue to be subject to appropriation.
Defense Wastes
- Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to revisit the decision to commingle defense waste with commercial spent fuel.
- If the Secretary determines that separate waste facilities are necessary or appropriate for efficiently managing defense wastes, the administrator may site, construct, and operate one or more facilities for that purpose in accordance with the siting-concurrence process in the Act.
Similar legislation was introduced in the 113th and 114th Congresses. The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a full committee hearing on the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2013 in the 113th Congress.
Click here for the bill text.
ENERGY COMMUNITIES ALLIANCE
ECA Publishes March/April 2019 Bulletin
ECA Staff | 5/1/2019
ECA has published the March/April 2019 ECA Bulletin, a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and recent major events from across the DOE complex.
In this issue:
- ECA Publishes Paper: Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High-Level Waste Interpretation;
- Legislative Update: FY 2020 Budget Request Released, Secretary Perry Testifies in Series of Hearings, Nuclear Energy Leadership Act Re-Introduced, & more;
- Nuclear Safety Board Raises Concerns to DOE about Seismic Hazards at Nevada Site;
- ECA Members Lead with Policy Recommendations at Waste Management Symposia;
- And much more...
Catch up on previous editions of The Bulletin here.
With questions, comments, or suggestions for future editions, contact ECA Program Manager Megan Casper.
|
Learn more about cleanup sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local
governments.
|
|
|
|
