| Important Dates |
March 11-12: DOE-NE Core Group Meeting, Washington, DC
May 11: Section 180(c) Policy Implementation Exercise Workshop, Albuquerque, New Mexico
May 12: MRMTC 2015 Spring Meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico
May 12-14: NTSF 2015 Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico:
Register Here
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COMMITTEE HAPPENINGS
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Committee Happenings
We have received appointments to the Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee from Kansas and Nebraska! Please give a warm welcome to Jonathan York, Response and Recovery Branch Director with the Kansas Division of Emergency Management. Congratulations to Jon Schwarz from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency on his reappointment. We hope to have our appointees from Illinois and Missouri in the near future.
Committee members from Indiana, Nebraska and Wisconsin came to last month's Midwest's Section 180(c) Application Meeting at the Council of State Government's Midwestern Office in Lombard, IL. The meeting gave the state volunteers participating in the exercise an opportunity to work on their mock applications with assistance from DOE consultant Tim Runyon. It proved to be a very productive meeting and the Midwest was able to provide suggestions for the 180(c) policy implementation exercise workshop that will take place on May 11 in conjunction with the National Transportation Stakeholders Forum (NTSF) meeting. The Section 180(c) Ad Hoc Working Group adopted those recommendations.
This month, the MRMTC will have representatives at the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Core Group meeting in Washington, DC, on March 11-12. The Core Group meetings bring together the leadership and staff from the four regional committees and the NTSF Tribal Caucus to discuss recent progress on transportation planning activities and preview upcoming activities, including ways for DOE-NE to engage states and tribes effectively. Committee co-chair Laura Dresen (Indiana) will represent the Midwest along with Lt. Carla Schreiber (Nebraska). Preceding the Core Group meeting will be a half-day session for the members of the State and Tribal Transportation Consultation Working Group to advance their work on defining "consultation and cooperation" and developing a model approach for states, tribes, and DOE to work together.
The November 2014 meeting summary is now available - click here to view the proceedings. We'll continue working on the plans for the committee's spring meeting in Albuquerque on May 12 in conjunction with the 2015 Annual Meeting of the NTSF (see the second article). If any committee members or other state attendees need letters of invitation, please contact Lisa Janairo.
Committee members should keep an eye out for requests from Katelyn Tye for updates to the state-specific information in the Midwest Planning Guide. We hope to have it completed by the spring meeting.
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NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION STAKEHOLDERS FORUM |
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 Registration is Open!
Registration for the 2015 Annual Meeting of the NTSF is now open. Click here to go to the registration page. The Planning Committee has developed an agenda with broad appeal, covering topics ranging from advances in transportation technology to consultation and cooperation in planning shipments. The meeting will take place on May 12-14 at the Embassy Suites in Albuquerque, New Mexico. All four regional committees and the NTSF Tribal Caucus will hold their spring meetings on May 12. In addition, several NTSF working groups will take the opportunity to meet while in Albuquerque.
The new "Information and Communications Ad Hoc Working Group" has been established. This will replace the Communications Ad Hoc Working Group, which has sunsetted. The new AHWG will make sure there is continuity between past and current communication efforts and will also expand to target an internal, as well as external, audience.
If you weren't able to attend the NTSF Webinar on WIPP Recovery you can view the full presentation via the Webinars page on the NTSF wiki site. The featured speaker was Alan Jines, Federal Project Director/Operations Activity Manager at DOE's Carlsbad Field Office. Mr. Jines provided the latest updates on DOE's efforts to get the WIPP site back in operation. The webinar has the highest attendance of any NTSF webinar thus far and also received the highest ratings. We are currently working with the NRC to develop a webinar on the Yucca Mountain Safety Evaluation Report - stay tuned!
For up to date information about NTSF events and ad hoc working groups, visit the NTSF wiki site. If you aren't a member of the wiki site, visit the link and click on the button to apply to join.
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FOCUS THIS MONTH
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The Future of Nuclear in Illinois
Members of the Illinois General Assembly this month introduced legislation to provide additional revenue to keep Exelon's Illinois nuclear power plants running. State Representative Larry M. Walsh is the primary sponsor of Exelon-backed HB3293, which has the bipartisan support of over a dozen other House members. Rep. Walsh, a Will County democrat, represents a district with many nuclear plant workers.
This legislation is the newest development in the Illinois nuclear plant saga following a January joint report from multiple state agencies entitled "Potential Nuclear Plant Closings in Illinois." The report addressed the negative economic and environmental impacts of closing the state's existing nuclear power stations and suggested market-based solutions to avoid doing so. Exelon previously warned that it would be forced to close three of its six Illinois sites (Byron, Clinton and Quad Cities) unless low-carbon energy sources, like its power plants, receive more funding.
HB3293 would create a "low-carbon portfolio standard" that the Illinois Power Agency, the state's independent power purchaser, would administer. This would ensure that at least 70 percent of the energy distributed from the state's two electric utilities, Commonwealth Edison and Ameren, comes from a low-carbon source, like Exelon's nuclear plants. If the legislation passes, starting in 2016, customers of ComEd and Ameren would be charged about $2 extra on their monthly electric bills, according to a Crain's article. That money would then be used by the two utilities to purchase energy from low-carbon producers.
According to a Chicago Tribune article, the bill has been criticized by some as simply being a bailout for Exelon. Opponents of HB3293 are in support of two other bills they say are more comprehensive, would cost consumers less and would create jobs in other fields. This legislation, HB2607 and its Senate companion bill SB1385, was introduced in February by Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Buffalo Grove) and Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park).
Local municipalities that are home to Exelon's power plants have vocalized the importance of keeping the sites running. Kim Gouker, Ogle County Board Chairman said in an interview with WREX that the county would lose more than $300,000 in revenue and hundreds of jobs if the Byron Nuclear Generating Station were to close.
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| NUCLEAR NEWS |
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 Hank Jenkins-Smith Presents on Public Preferences for Spent Nuclear Fuel Management On February 19, DOE hosted an exciting webinar, "Evolving Public Support for SNF Management Options: Analysis of Survey, Social Media, and Search Data," featuring Hank Jenkins-Smith and Kuhika Gupta from the University of Oklahoma's Center For Energy, Security, and Society. Mr. Jenkins-Smith and Ms. Gupta presented their findings on public perception of nuclear energy and related activities. Using internet search trends, social media, and newsfeeds they were able to determine the public's understanding of current SNF policy, preference for nuclear energy and its transportation methods, familiarity with the WIPP incident, level of trust for certain organizations, and ideal public engagement process. If you would like to view the webinar slides, please visit the DOE Information page on the NTSF wiki site.
West Texas Facility Applying for License for Interim Storage of Used Nuclear Fuel
On February 7, Waste Control Specialists (WCS) announced it would be submitting a license application to the NRC for the interim storage of used nuclear fuel at its facility in Andrews County, Texas. WCS has operated low-level radioactive waste storage, processing and disposal facilities since 2012 and is looking to expand its services. The project has the support of the community of Andrews County (click here for resolution), the Nuclear Energy Institute, and the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition. WCS plans to submit its final license application by April 2016 and expects the licensing, regulatory requirements and construction process to be completed by December 2020. Visit the WCS website for complete project information.
Michigan House Resolution No. 21
On February 25, Michigan State Rep. Jason Sheppard introduced House Resolution No. 21, which urges the United States Congress to reinstate funding for the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository.
Michigan Congressman Fred Upton, who serves as the House Energy and Commerce Chairman, has also been supportive of using Yucca Mountain as a federal waste repository.
Thanks to Ken Yale for the information from Michigan!
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Thanks for reading! Watch for the next edition to
come out on April 7, 2015.
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Please do not reproduce or create new content from this material without the prior express written permission of CSG Midwest.
This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Numbers DE-NE0000555, DE-EM0002121, and DE-EM00002327.
This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.
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