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Important Dates
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April 8:
10:00 am CDT, Planning Committee
Conference Call
April 16:
1:00 pm CDT, Management Plan Conference Call
April 23:
10:00 am CDT, NTSF Webinar: NRC Yucca Mountain Safety Evaluation Report
: Register Here
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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Join Our List
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COMMITTEE HAPPENINGS
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Last month, the MRMTC had representatives at the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Core Group meeting in Washington, DC, on
March 11-12. The Core Group meetings brought together the leadership and staff from the four regional committees and the NTSF Tribal Caucus to discuss recent progress on transportation planning activities and to preview upcoming activities, including ways for DOE-NE to engage states and tribes effectively. Committee co-chair Laura Dresen (Indiana) represented the Midwest along with Lt. Carla Schreiber (Nebraska). John Kotek, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of DOE-NE, visited with the group and Ms. Dresen kindly volunteered to share some of the states' thoughts on transportation with him. Preceding the Core Group meeting was 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.
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.
A special thanks to committee members for sending their updates to the state-specific information in the
Midwest Planning Guide. We hope to have it ready for distribution by the spring meeting.
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NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION STAKEHOLDERS FORUM
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It's Not Too Late to Register!
Registration for the 2015 Annual Meeting of the NTSF is still open.
If you haven't already done so, click
here
t
o 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 meet while in Albuquerque.
Note to committee members and Midwestern travelers: Due to unexpected travel conflicts among the staff
at Sandia National Lab
o
ratories, the tour at Sandia has unfortunately been cancelled. If this development affects your travel plans and requires flight changes, please contact Lisa Janairo.
On Thursday, April 23 at 10:00 am CDT, Jim Rubenstone, Deputy Director of the Yucca Mountain Directorate in the NRC's Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards of NRC will present a webinar on the recently completed Yucca Mountain Safety Evaluation Report. You can register here for the webinar.
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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Secretary Moniz' Announcements
On March 24, DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz
announced
he received authorization from President Obama that day to "move forward with the planning for a consent-based, defense-only repository for some of the DOE-managed high-level wastes." In his
remarks
to the Bipartisan Policy Center, Moniz said the department now has separate, but parallel timelines for high-level defense waste and commercial waste repositories. DOE released a
Path Forward fact sheet in conjunction with the announcement. Moniz said the decision arose because of the differences between defense waste and commercial waste. He noted the inventory of high-level defense waste is finite and some waste is cooler and easier to handle than commercial waste. This could mean greater flexibility in site selection and a simpler design, such as deep borehole disposal. Moniz emphasized that DOE would still be moving forward with a consent-based process to find a pilot interim storage facility with an initial focus on storing fuel from shut down nuclear reactor sites. He said the administration's ultimate goal is to establish one or more long-term geologic repositories for both spent fuel and high-level defense waste. For video of the Secretary's presentation, click here. |
NUCLEAR NEWS
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 WIPP Report Released
On March 26, DOE-EM released the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Technical Assessment Team Report
, which evaluated the circumstances behind the February 14 radiation release at WIPP. The report, which was done by an independent team of technical experts, determined that one drum was the source of radioactive contamination. According to a
DOE fact sheet, the contents of Drum 68660 (nitrate salts, Swheat Scoop
?
kitty litter, and a neutralization agent) were chemically incompatible, and the drum breached as a result of internal chemical reactions. An Albuquerque Journal
article
reports that the Technical Assessment Team has said it's unlikely but still possible for another nuclear waste drum, either at WIPP or Los Alamos National Laboratory, to fail and cause damage.
Senator Harry Reid Announces Retirement
After nearly three decades in office, Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced he would not be seeking another term, leaving the nuclear energy community wondering what implications that might have for Yucca Mountain. During his years as Senate majority leader, Reid blocked all attempts of movement when it came to accepting waste at the repository. According to
an article
from The Hill, Reid has worked to cut funding for the application and planning process; fought to stop spending bill riders for Yucca; and sought to ensure the appointment of Yucca skeptics to the NRC. Yucca advocates seem to be growing in Congress on both sides of the aisle the article went on say. However, a Las Vegas Review-Journal
article
reports that Nevada's junior senator Dean Heller has vowed to pick up the fight where Reid leaves it. Either way, the repository remains a hot topic in U.S. politics.
Group of Lawmakers Plan Visit to Yucca Mountain
This month, members of Congress will tour Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. Rep. John Shimkus, an Illinois Republican, is leading the April 9 tour and will be joined by other delegates, including Republican Reps. Cresent Hardy and Mark Amodei of Nevada, Bob Latta (R-Ohio), Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.). According to an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Shimkus, who chairs the House environment and the economy subcommittee, predicts lawmakers will be surprised by the location's remoteness and plans to emphasize that nuclear experiments have long been conducted at the adjoining Nevada National Security Site. This will be Shimkus' third visit to Yucca Mountain.
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Thanks for reading! Watch for the next edition to
come out on May 5, 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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