Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (MRMTC) co-chair Teri Engelhart (Wisconsin) retired from the Wisconsin Emergency Management Agency at the end of September. Teri will be taking on a new role as a contractor with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where she will travel to disaster areas and perform damage assessments on personal property.

Teri was elected co-chair of the MRMTC during the committee's fall 2015 meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, and was an active participant on the National Transportation Stakeholders Forum's (NTSF) ad hoc working groups (AHWG). Teri recently dedicated much of her time and efforts as a volunteer in the Section 180c Policy Implementation Exercise, which was completed earlier this year.

"I've enjoyed my time on this committee immensely and am grateful for the opportunity to serve as a co-chair for the last two years," says Teri. "I've made some great friends, learned a lot, and hope that I can still be involved in this effort in the future."

The committee's junior co-chair, Kevin Leuer (Minnesota), took over as senior co-chair on October 1 and a new junior co-chair will take office immediately after the election held during the Midwest's fall meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza on December 13-14. The committee will meet for a full day on December 13 and a half day on December 14.

Registration for the meeting opened yesterday and a preliminary agenda is available on the registration page. In addition to the standard business sessions, committee staff is recruiting speakers to discuss nuclear plant decommissioning and DOE's depleted uranium hexaflouride conversion project at the Portsmouth and Paducah Sites.

In other committee news, the new edition of the Planning Guide for Shipments of Radioactive Material through the Midwestern States has been published and was mailed out to committee members, DOE partners, leaders of Tribes located in Midwestern states, and other interested parties. An electronic version of the Planning Guide is available online now.

Finally, committee members will be asked to complete a survey indicating their satisfaction with and preferences for committee activities and the services CSG Midwest provides. The survey will be emailed to members next week and the results will be presented during the December meeting.

The NTSF Planning Committee continues to plan for next year's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 4-7. The meeting will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Omaha Downtown and is being co-hosted by the Midwest and the Tribal Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (TRMTC). The Planning Committee members recently approved a preliminary meeting agenda and the session leads will soon begin recruiting speakers for plenary and breakout sessions. The state regional group (SRG) meetings will be held on June 5 and the TRMTC will meet on June 4.

In ad hoc working group (AHWG) news, the newest edition of the redesigned NTSF Newsletter was sent to NTSF participants on October 3.  For this edition, newsletter production was overseen by members of the new Communications AHWG and articles were authored by DOE, TRMTC, and SRG staff. The October 2017 issue featured a roundup of news from the state and Tribal groups, updates from the various NTSF AHWGs, and a calendar of upcoming events. It also included a link to a survey to allow readers to give feedback that will be incorporated into future editions of the newsletter. Please check out the redesigned newsletter and complete the survey to let us know what you think!

As noted in the October 2017 NTSF Newsletter, on  its September 28 web-meeting, the members of the Spent Fuel Transportation Materials AHWG agreed to suspend the group's activities for six months due to the uncertainty surrounding the path forward for the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's integrated waste management activities. Group members felt that c ommunicating with the public about transportation will be a more fruitful activity for DOE-NE, Tribes, and the states to undertake after Congress and the Trump Administration provide clear program direction.  The group will reconvene after the March 2018 meeting of the DOE-NE Transportation Core Group or sooner, if Congress acts on national nuclear waste policy. Ken Niles (Oregon), Jay Jones (DOE-NE), and Lisa Janairo (CSG Midwest) co-lead the AHWG.

U.S. House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on

Nuclear Waste Management and Storage 

On September 26, the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Interior, Energy, and Environment held a hearing to examine the challenges of managing the nation's increasing amount of nuclear waste. The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), is part of the larger House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform.

Hearing witnesses included Anthony J. O'Donnell (National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners), Chuck Smith (Energy Communities Alliance), David G. Victor (UC San Diego School of Global Policy & Strategy), Dr. Edwin Lyman (Union of Concerned Scientists), and Katie Tubb (The Heritage Foundation).

In his testimony, Dr. Lyman emphasized that a national nuclear waste management and disposal policy should include "requirements for the safe and secure shipment of spent nuclear fuel from reactor sites to a final repository," calling transportation "the weakest link in the chain" of spent nuclear fuel security. He specifically urged that Congress require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to re-evaluate the safety requirements for shipping casks and determine whether new security standards are needed.

Mr. Victor, who chairs the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Community Engagement Panel (CEP), noted in his testimony the need for a robust transportation system and urged Congress to support DOE's efforts to test and build railroad cars for moving spent fuel casks. He also stated that "very little to none of the necessary spadework for local, state, and regional planning of spent fuel shipments has been done," but that the Western Governors' Association and "regional state associations in other parts of the country" could be tapped to coordinate these activities. Mr. Victor recommended that Congress ensure that "the states are encouraged if not mandated to get organized."

A recording of the hearing and copies of all witness testimonies are available on the subcommittee's website.

On September 28, Entergy Corporation announced that it will continue operating Palisades Power Plant, located in Covert, Michigan, until spring 2022. The company had announced last December that the plant would be shuttered ahead of schedule, in October 2018.

According to a press release released by Entergy, the decision to keep the plant open was made after a proposed buyout transaction between the company and Consumers Energy was terminated. 

Thanks to Greg Gothard (Michigan) for sharing the press release from Entergy.   

New Federal Bill Would Compensate Towns With Shutdown Sites

Please give a warm welcome to Melanie K. Snyder, the newest staff member of the Western Interstate Energy Board (WIEB) High-Level Radioactive Waste Committee!

Melanie will replace Jim Williams as Principal Investigator in WIEB's high-level radioactive waste transportation program. Jim is set to retire at the end of the 2017 calendar year. Holly Taylor and WIEB's Executive Director Maury Gailbraith will continue to provide program support.

Melanie began working at WIEB in August 2017. She earned both her J.D. and her B.S. in chemistry from the University of Denver (DU). Prior to joining WIEB, Melanie worked as a librarian at DU for almost twelve years. She grew up in Phoenix, but was born in Longmont, Colorado, and considers herself a Colorado native.

The Midwest looks forward to welcoming Melanie at its fall meeting in Cincinnati!