Ken Yale (Michigan)

During the state roundtable, members learned that Ken Yale, the committee's gubernatorial appointee from Michigan, retired from his job with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality at the end of November. Ken is taking on an exciting new role as the Director of Planning and Training at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for Radiological Field Operations in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ken did great work on the committee and we wish him all the best. Over the next few months, Lisa Janairo will be sending out gubernatorial appointment requests to any states with vacancies, and to the newly elected governors in Indiana, Missouri, and North Dakota.

A more detailed meeting recap can be found in the newsletter's third article. The final agenda, final attendance list, action items, speaker presentations, and other materials are now posted on the meeting web page. A complete meeting summary will be posted by the end of the year.

Finally, if you have not already done so, please remember to update your state-specific information from the Planning Guide and return to Katelyn Tye by Friday, December 30, so it can be included in the next online edition of the guide.

MRMTC Fall 2016 Meeting Recap

Following the field trip, committee members met for a regional roundtable to briefly share information about transportation-related activities in their states, and members of the various NTSF AHWGs summarized the work being done in those.

In addition, members were tasked with choosing three Midwestern cities to recommend to the NTSF Planning Committee as a location for the 2018 annual meeting, which the Midwest will host. Prior to the meeting, members suggested the following cities be considered: Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Grand Rapids (Michigan), Indianapolis, Kansas City (Missouri), Milwaukee, and Minneapolis. The committee ultimately chose to recommend Indianapolis, followed by Cleveland and Grand Rapids. Kaci Studer and Laura Dresen will relay these suggestions to the Planning Committee during a December 19 conference call.

On the second day of the meeting, members heard updates from DOE programs. Joanne Lorence and Mike Wangler from DOE's Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) shared information about ongoing cleanup activities at EM sites. Erica Bickford (DOE-NE) shared that DOE's deep borehole experiment would be moving forward after having received proposals from interested jurisdictions in October. In addition, Tim Runyon (DOE Carlsbad Field Office) provided updates on WIPP resumption activities, and David Pstrak (NRC) discussed the agency's review of the WCS proposed construction of an interim spent fuel storage facility.

In another session, the committee had the unique opportunity of hearing from two speakers who oversaw the multi-modal shipment of four steam generators from Point Beach Nuclear Plant in northeastern Wisconsin to the WCS disposal facility. Edward Posivak (WMG) and Gene LeClair (NextEra Energy Point Beach) described preparing for the shipment, which traveled partially by barge through Lake Michigan.

Next, Mr. Runyon led a discussion among select state and tribal participants regarding the actions each one would need or want to take in preparation for one or more spent fuel shipments traveling through their jurisdiction by rail. The exercise replicated the highly-acclaimed breakout session, "What to Expect When You're Expecting a Rail Shipment of Spent Nuclear Fuel," that took place during the NTSF 2016 Annual Meeting. Committee staff is working on a written compilation of best practices identified during the discussion.

The committee closed the meeting with the very important business of electing a new co-chair. As noted in the Committee Happenings article, Kelly Horn completed his two-year term, first as junior, then as senior co-chair. At this meeting, Kelly handed over senior co-chair duties to Teri Engelhart, and the committee elected Kevin Leuer as the junior co-chair, starting in 2017. Kevin brings experience to his role as co-chair, as he previously held the position in 2008-2009.

A complete summary of the fall meeting will be available to members by the end of the year. Other meeting materials, including a final agenda, attendance list, and copies of speaker presentations are posted on the committee's website.

Entergy Corporation and Consumers Energy made an unexpected announcement today that the Palisades Power Plant in Covert Township, Michigan, will permanently cease operations in October 2018.

According to the news release, the companies have agreed to an early termination of a power purchase agreement that would have required Consumers Energy to purchase power from Palisades through April 2022. Entergy officials cited the availability of cheaper energy alternatives as the reason for the shutdown.

Palisades employs approximately 600 employees and the companies "will provide a total of $10 million over several years in economic development funding for the Southwestern Michigan region" to support the community during the transition.

Meanwhile, on December 7, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed legislation that will provide $235 million in ratepayer subsidies to allow Exelon Corp. to keep open its Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear plants, reports the Quad-City Times. As mentioned in last month's newsletter, Exelon announced that, absent financial support from the state, the company planned to close the Clinton plant in 2017, followed by the Quad Cities plant in 2018. The new policies will take effect on June 1, 2017.

Thank you to Greg Gothard (Michigan) for sharing the news about Palisades.

U.S. GAO Completes Review of Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Info Carried by Trains
Earlier this month, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a completed review of emergency response information in selected documents carried by trains that transport hazardous materials. 

The report specifically examined how emergency responders use two types of documentation: 1) the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG); and 2) supplemental emergency response information provided by the Association of American Railroads' (AAR) Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Database. Congress requested the GAO study after a 2012 train derailment in New Jersey resulted in the release of 20,000 gallons of vinyl chloride, a hazardous material.

According to the report highlights, "GAO found that the emergency-response information in the ERG and the GAO-reviewed train documents of the selected railroads were generally similar, but differed somewhat in the level of specificity and type of information."

The report made note that the AAR decided in August 2016 to discontinue its database to remove the potential for discrepancies with the ERG.

Thank you to Mike Stead (Illinois) for sharing this news.

NRC Continues Evaluation of Waste Control Specialists' Proposed SNF Storage Facility
The NRC announced in a November 14 press release that it was seeking public comment on potential environmental impacts associated with Waste Control Specialists' (WCS) proposed interim spent fuel storage facility in west Texas.

According to the release, while the NRC is still reviewing supplemental information provided by WCS and has not yet accepted and docketed the application, the agency agreed to begin an environmental review to allow for "additional time to consult with federal, tribal, state and local government agencies."

If the NRC decides to docket the information, a public meeting will be announced in the Federal Register, along with an end date for comments on the environmental review.

Thank you to Paul Schmidt (Wisconsin) for sharing this news.