DOE-NE Transportation Core Group Meets in Washington, D.C.

On March 1-2, Committee co-chairs and staff attended the DOE-NE Transportation Core Group meeting in Washington, D.C.

Meeting attendees took part in business sessions, heard updates on the Integrated Waste Management Program (formerly the Nuclear Fuels Storage & Transportation Planning Project), and were given presentations on the West Valley Demonstration Project Melter Shipment and DOE's preliminary spent nuclear fuel (SNF) de-inventory analyses for shutdown sites.

The meeting began with a recap of a workshop that took place the day before the meeting, where Core Group members were invited to learn more about DOE's Execution Strategy Analysis (ESA) tool that supports the Department's management of SNF. The states and tribes were able to provide input on the activities, risk probabilities, and likely risk consequences being considered in the ESA tool.

Participants also discussed their goals and objectives for the meeting. Ken Niles (Oregon) served as spokesperson for the SRGs and relayed comments that had been coordinated by the groups during an earlier planning call. He acknowledged that there was a lot of uncertainty currently surrounding the integrated waste management program, but the SRGs were still hoping to receive information on Yucca Mountain, the consent-based siting effort, and overall funding for the program. He added that he hoped maintaining the working relationship between DOE and the SRGs was something that would be prioritized when making funding decisions. Ken said the SRGs were looking forward to discussions on the consultation and cooperation paper, the Section 180c AHWG, a potential Transportation Security AHWG, and what is being done in regards to the Transportation, Aging, and Disposal canister system. DOE's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Spent Fuel & Waste Disposition Andy Griffith, affirmed the value of DOE's relationship with the states and tribes.

Mr. Griffith continued his remarks later; much of which centered around DOE-NE's activities amidst the transition to a new presidential administration, including the then-anticipated confirmation of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as the next Secretary of Energy. (Perry was  confirmed the next day, March 2.) Mr. Griffith noted that, during his nomination hearing, Secretary Perry seemed ready to move forward with establishing a solution for nuclear waste storage and disposal. Mr. Griffith said there was still no explicit word about the future direction of the waste management program, but regardless, DOE's relationship with the Core Group would be essential in the coming years.

Another item of note on the meeting agenda was a presentation by Matt Feldman (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) on DOE's preliminary SNF de-inventory reports. The reports, contracted through AREVA, analyze SNF transportation options from five shutdown sites to a centrally-located rail yard (since sites for an interim storage facility or permanent repository have not yet been determined). Matt gave an overview of the initial reports, which had been done on Connecticut Yankee (CY), Big Rock Point (BRP) in Michigan, Maine Yankee (MY), Humboldt Bay (HB) in California, and Trojan in Oregon. He said DOE was in the process of making public the reports on MY, HB, and Trojan, but the reports on CY and BRP were being revised to incorporate a multi-attribute utility analysis that had been done on the other sites. Matt said the next site to be analyzed would be Kewaunee in Wisconsin.

Another major item of discussion was the SRGs' and Tribal Caucus' proposed actions for recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and Blue Ribbon Commission regarding the transportation of SNF and high-level waste (HLW). The discussion was focused on the recommendations that the SRGs and Tribal Caucus had suggested assigning to the Core Group for either discussion or further monitoring. One item discussed at length was the NAS recommendation that an independent examination of the security of SNF and HLW transportation be carried out prior to shipments taking place. The SRGs and tribes supported that recommendation, and asked that DOE consider working with a new Transportation Security AHWG. It was determined that DOE was interested in doing this in the future, but did not currently have the staff capacity to lead an additional AHWG.

The Transportation Core Group is determining the dates for the next meeting, which will be this summer in Colorado.

Residents of Haakon County, SD, took advantage of a public meeting last week to weigh-in on the deep borehole drilling project being proposed by engineering firm RESPEC, reports the Capital Journal. RESPEC was one of four firms chosen by DOE to explore the feasibility of a deep borehole project, a major factor of which is community support. Such support is required by DOE as a result of the two prospective sites for the first proposed borehole project being rejected by host communities in 2016. 

Despite explicit assurances from DOE that the project will not involve nuclear waste, some community members aren't convinced. According to the Journal, one resident stated "if there's proof the borehole works, the federal government can move in on eminent domain, similar to what they did with the Minuteman missile silos near Ellsworth Airforce Base during the Cold War." The Journal says Haakon County commissioners want registered voters to decide whether the project should be allowed to proceed or not.

Michigan Senators Urge Federal Action on SNF and HLW