Federal nuclear board nixes request for hearing on New Mexico waste facility
Santa Fe New Mexican | 5/7/2019
A federal board that oversees commercial nuclear materials and licenses said Tuesday it has rejected a request by a group of opponents over a proposed nuclear waste storage site in Southern New Mexico.
Holtec International, a New Jersey-based company specializing in nuclear reactor technology, is waiting on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve its license for an expansive facility that could be used to hold all of the nation’s spent nuclear fuel — radioactive uranium left over from power production.
Holtec is partnering with the Eddy Lea Energy Alliance, a coalition of local government officials in Southern New Mexico.
During a three-day hearing earlier this year in Albuquerque, an unlikely alliance of critics, including environmental and anti-nuclear groups as well as a nuclear fuel technology company and an oil and gas producer, raised concerns about the project.
The Sierra Club, Beyond Nuclear Inc., Texas-based Fasken Land and Minerals Ltd. and Georgia-based NAC International Inc. were among those who petitioned the commission to hold a hearing.
The facility is poised to violate federal law and could pose significant public health and safety danger from a radioactive accident, the groups argued. They also were concerned that an accident in Southern New Mexico would threaten the local economy, particularly for ranchers and mineral extraction operations in the region.
An evidentiary hearing would have allowed the groups to challenge Holtec’s licence.
CONTRACTING & ACQUISITON
Communities Should be Heard on End-State Contracting, ECA Says
Exchange Monitor | 5/6/2019
Communities around Energy Department nuclear cleanup sites deserve a voice in the agency’s much-discussed end-state contracting model, according to the Energy Communities Alliance.
Local input is important “particularly in regard to DOE’s plans to implement any updated or revised approaches to waste management and disposal,” the ECA said in a recent report on radioactive waste policy.
The ECA said end-state contracting, with its emphasis on rewarding vendors with increased fees for reaching remediation milestones quicker, together with a fresh look at what material should be treated as high-level waste, present an opportunity for the DOE Office of Environmental Management. The office is under pressure because, despite spending billions annually, its environmental liability continues to grow.
If handled properly the two changes together could present a “much-needed sea change in addressing the highest risk and highest cost waste in the DOE cleanup program,” according to the Energy Communities Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based nongovernmental group that represents communities near DOE facilities.
With competitively bid contracts scheduled to be awarded over the next two years at most of the 16 nuclear sites managed by the Environmental Management office, it is critical the process “be fully informed by community input and DOE’s risk-informed plans,” ECA said.
NEW NUCLEAR
STORAGE & DISPOSITION
ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP
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Read ECA's Latest Publication
Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High-Level Waste Definition:
A Guide for Communities and Recommendations for DOE
This paper was developed as a guide for communities to understand a new interpretation of the statutory definition of high-level nuclear waste proposed by DOE in October 2018. This new interpretation could speed up cleanup at several sites, develop a path forward for waste stranded in interim storage and tanks, and potentially save tens of billions of dollars. The paper provides local communities and other DOE
stakeholders with information needed to enable informed decisions and constructive input to the Department as it determines next steps and implementation.
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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.
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