Final preparations are being made for the NTSF 2019 Annual Meeting taking place in Arlington, Virginia, next week on June 10-13. The NTSF Planning Committee and this year's host, TRMTC, are hard at work every day making sure the meeting goes off without a hitch. For those who have not attended an NTSF meeting in the past, or are not familiar with the organization, a "Newcomers Orientation 2019" webinar was held last week. Speakers for the webinar were Demitrous Blount of DOE, Rob Burnside of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Ron Johnson of the Prairie Island Indian Community. If you missed the Newcomers Orientation webinar live, you can find the slides and recording for this and all NTSF webinars on the NTSF wiki site. The webinar will be complemented by a Newcomers Orientation Breakfast on Wednesday, June 12 at the NTSF 2019 Annual Meeting. 

We look forward to seeing everyone in Arlington next week! 

Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Transportation Tabletop Exercise

The last remaining nuclear reactor at south-central Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island (TMI) will shut down before the end of September. Much like the experience of nuclear power plants in other states across the country, Three Mile Island has struggled to compete with electricity provided by cheaper alternatives like natural gas and renewable energy. Unlike the experience of nuclear power plants in states like Illinois, Connecticut, and New Jersey, Exelon (TMI's owner) was unable to convince the Pennsylvania legislature to subsidize some of its operations. The argument that nuclear effectively and efficiently produces carbon-free electricity while employing thousands of employees was not enough to overcome Pennsylvania's legislature and natural gas industry. With no signs of a subsidy coming, Exelon announced the permanent shut down on May 8. 

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant Photo Courtesy of the Boston Globe

Additionally, Entergy's Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts, shut down for the final time last Friday. Announced in 2015, the company also cited financial hardships and competition from other energy sources. The plant operated for 47 years on Cape Cod. With its closure, Connecticut's Millstone and New Hampshire's Seabrook are the only remaining nuclear power plants in New England. More than 50 Pilgrim employees will continue working with Entergy at other locations. The NRC is reviewing the company's proposal to sell its license to a private company who will do the decommissioning. 

Meanwhile, Minnesota's SF 1692 energy omnibus bill, which would have lifted the state's ban on new nuclear power plants, failed to pass this Spring session. The bill seemed on track for easy passage in the Republican-controlled Senate, which argued that nuclear is the most reliable form of carbon-free energy. The Democratic-controlled House, however, did not support the bill, arguing that nuclear energy is too expensive to produce and that the uncertain future of spent nuclear fuel puts the state at risk. 

NPR has further coverage of the TMI closing.  More information about Pilgrim's closing can be found on Daily Energy Insider and WCVB . Finally, Minnesota Public Radio has coverage of the failed SF 1692. 

In Other Legislative News...

United States Congressmen Jerry McNerney (D-CA) and John Shimkus (R-IL) introduced H.R. 2699 on May 14, otherwise known as the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019. This legislation seeks to advance both the interim storage and permanent disposal of the nation's nuclear waste. It directs DOE to move forward with one or more consolidated interim storage facilities while determining if Yucca Mountain is the best site to be licensed and constructed for a permanent repository. Aware of Nevada's disapproval of how previous attempts to move forward with the Yucca Mountain site have progressed, this legislation seeks to engage Nevada, local stakeholders, and affected Tribes with the federal government. It also hopes to change the way current interim storage facilities are financed, in which ratepayers are usually footing the bill. H.R. 2699 is very similar to H.R. 3053 of 2018, which easily passed the House but died in the Senate. 

Find Rep. Shimkus' press release here. Follow this legislation and others at MRMTC's legislative tracker. If you know of any legislation that should be included on the legislative tracker, please contact Mitch Arvidson. 

Look to the North for Inspiration 

	Spent Nuclear Fuel at the Bruce Power Plant Photo Courtesy of Nick Vyfschaft / Global News

North of the border, Canada is also working on a solution to its 57,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), created in 2002, proposed and received governmental support in 2007 to establish one deep geological repository (DGR) for all of Canada's spent fuel. Unlike America's search for a DGR, Canada is seeking to inform the public and find a "willing host" community for their DGR. 

More than 20 communities expressed interest, and that original 20 has been narrowed down to five. In northern Ontario, there are Ignace, Manitouwadge, and Hornepayne. In southwestern Ontario, there are Huron-Kinloss and South Bruce. Both the billion-year-old granite in the Canadian Shield of northern Ontario and the 300-million-year-old sedimentary limestone of southwestern Ontario are ideally stable geologic formations. While there are opponents to Canada's proposed DGR, most people in the host communities are reassured in large part by representative from the NWMO who often carry out town hall meetings and informational sessions. Additionally, the NWMO is seeking to engage and consult First Nation communities near the proposed sites. This is a big change from many decades ago, when nuclear plants like Bruce Power were built on First Nation land without their consultation. 

Global News has very in-depth and accessible coverage of Canada's search for a DGR.