July 2021 | The Council of State Governments (CSG) | Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee
Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee Newsletter
Upcoming Events
*All times are Central Time
July 7:
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Webinar: Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Information System (SRIS): Benefits for Members States, Benefits for Collaboration between International Organizations - 6:30 AM*
July 7:
July 8:
2021 National Transportation Stakeholders Forum (NTSF) Virtual Event: Nuclear Power Plant Site Evaluations Overview and Status Report - 12 PM*
July 12:
NTSF Rail/Routing Ad Hoc Working Group (R/R AHWG) Meeting - 11:30 AM
July 13:
Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Transportation Core Group Call - 12 PM*
July 19:
World Nuclear Transport Institute (WNTI) and NUTRANSTOR Workshop: International spent fuel shipment experience: Information sharing of lessons learned and best practices - 9:30 AM*
July 21:
IAEA Webinar: Nuclear Decommissioning in the Context of Sustainability and Circular Economy - 6:30 AM*
July 21:
2021 NTSF Virtual Event: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Aging Management Program for Dry Cask Storage and Transportation/Transportation Regulatory Readiness Review Project - TBD
July 22:
Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (MRMTC) Regional Tribal Engagement (RTE) Work Group Quarterly Meeting - 11 AM*
August 11:
September 20 - 21:
September 22 - 24:
2021 Radwaste Summit - Las Vegas, NV
October 11:
MRMTC RTE Work Group Quarterly Meeting - 2 PM*
October 26-27:
Northeast High-Level Radioactive Waste Transportation Task Force Meeting - Philadelphia, PA
November 30 - December 1:
MRMTC Fall 2021 Meeting - Chicago, IL (Tentative dates and location)
June 6-9, 2022:
2022 Annual Meeting of the NTSF - Philadelphia, PA
Committee Happenings
On June 14, the Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (MRMTC) virtually held its Spring 2021 Meeting. This final virtual meeting (fingers crossed) provided a great opportunity for committee members to catch up, welcome newcomers, hear updates from our federal partners, and set the committee on a good path as we return to normal activities. The meeting summary is forthcoming but several meeting materials are available now. This includes the MRMTC Newcomers' Orientation 2021 which covered the what's what, the who's who, and the why it matters of radioactive materials transportation. Additionally, the Program Update from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE): Office of Integrated Waste Management (IWM) and the meeting recording are also available.

During the meeting, the full committee voted to approve the 2021 Planning Guide Review Work Group's suggested changes to "Part II. Recommended Practices" of the Planning Guide for Shipments of Radioactive Material through the Midwestern States. DOE is now reviewing these changes and CSG Midwest Program Manager Mitch Arvidson is working to publish the 2021 edition of the Planning Guide online in the next few weeks. Keep an eye out! The other major bit of committee business decided upon involves the next committee meeting. Mark your calendars for the MRMTC Fall 2021 Meeting, tentatively scheduled to be held November 30 - December 1 in Chicago, IL! These dates are subject to change but a hotel search has been commenced and more information will come out soon. The fall meeting will include a transportation tabletop workshop like, the one held in Indianapolis, IN, in 2019. The committee hopes this workshop will continue to help states prepare and plan for the eventual shipment of spent nuclear fuel (SNF).

In other committee news, we would like to thank Kansas Rep. Mark Schreiber, who has accepted the Co-Chairs' appointment to serve as the MRMTC Legislative Liaison to the Midwestern Legislative Conference (MLC). In this role, Rep. Schreiber will have the responsibility of reporting to the MLC on the committee's activities, progress in resolving issues related to DOE's shipments of radioactive waste and material, and the need for legislative action of any kind. Rep. Schreiber will provide a report this month during the 75th Annual Meeting of the MLC in Rapid City, SD.

Last month, the MRMTC submitted comments to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in support of a petition for rulemaking submitted by the Tribal Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (TRMTC). This petition seeks to revise NRC regulations to ensure consistency regarding advance notification of certain radioactive material shipments to affected Tribes. Currently, 10 CFR Parts 71.97 and 73.37 requires advance notification of shipments to the NRC, states, and Tribes. However, 10 CFR Part 37.77 only requires notification to the NRC and states.

Finally, MRMTC Co-Chair Michael Snee (Ohio) will be providing the introduction to a virtual workshop being held on July 19 at 10:30 AM Central Time. The World Nuclear Transport Institute (WNTI) and NUTRANSTOR will host International Spent Fuel Shipment Experience: Information Sharing of Lessons Learned and Best Practices. Attendees will hear best practices and lessons learned in shipping SNF from international organizations like SKB in Sweden and Orano NPS in France. Topics to be covered include operations, communications among stakeholders and engagement with the public, and emergency preparedness and response.
National Transportation Stakeholders Forum
The National Transportation Stakeholders Forum (NTSF) Planning Committee (PC) held its last meeting on June 9. In addition to discussing the ongoing 2021 NTSF Virtual Meeting series and the 2022 Annual Meeting, the PC heard status updates on two NTSF Ad Hoc Working Groups (AHWG). First, the Management Plan AHWG has completed its draft of the new NTSF Management Plan and has asked PC members to review the revisions before the next meeting. During the next meeting, there will be a vote to accept or not accept the revisions. Second, the latest draft Rail Safety Inspection Protocol completed internal DOE reviews and is now under review by members of the Rail/Routing (R/R) AHWG. The R/R AHWG will next meet on July 12 to discuss the draft and determine next steps.

Since the last newsletter, there have been two sessions in the 2021 NTSF Virtual Meeting series. First, on June 17, Mike Valenzano with Orano TN Americas presented the "Vermont Yankee RadWaste Canister (RWC) Shipment" session. This covered the loading, transport, and disposal of the reactor vessel and reactor vessel internal structures from the decommissioning Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, VT. The presentation also discusses the lessons learned, challenges, and successes of shipping these canisters to Waste Control Specialists (WCS) in west Texas. There are four total shipments left to be completed, including two category 1 shipments.

Then, on June 29, Ed Gulbransen of Fluor Idaho, Chris Williams with the Idaho State Police, and Bobby St. John with Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC presented the "Day in the Life of a WIPP Shipment" session. This very informative presentation walked attendees through the process of shipping transuranic (TRU) waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, NM. From characterization, preparation, and loading waste at Idaho National Lab (INL), to conducting Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Level I and Level VI inspections, and finally receiving and emplacing the packages, attendees learned why the WIPP shipping campaigns have become a model for radioactive material transportation in the U.S.

Two more sessions remain in the 2021 NTSF Virtual Event series. On July 8, Steve Maheras with Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) will present the "Nuclear Power Plant Site Evaluations Overview and Status Report." You can register for this session here. Finally, on July 21, employees from the NRC will present the "NRC Aging Management Program for Dry Cask Storage and Transportation/Transportation Regulatory Readiness Review Project" session. The exact time for this session has not been set so registration is not yet available. Keep an eye out for a registration announcement soon.

Finally, during the same week the MRMTC held its Spring 2021 Meeting, TRMTC held its Virtual Annual Meeting on June 15 and the Western Interstate Energy Board (WIEB) High-Level Radioactive Waste Committee (HLRWC) held its Spring 2021 Virtual Meeting on June 16. As always, the MRMTC thanks its state regional group (SRG) and TRMTC partners for including the Midwest in its meetings. The MRMTC would also like to congratulate former WIEB HLRWC Program Manager Melanie Snyder on her new position with the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects. Good luck Melanie! TRMTC and the SRGs will next come together on July 13 for a meeting of the DOE-NE Transportation Core Group.
Screenshot from the "Vermont Yankee RadWaste Canister (RWC) Shipment" virtual event
Focus This Month
Last edition's "Focus This Month" inaccurately described President Biden's FY22 budget request as only allocating $7.5 million for commercial SNF disposal activities. In reality, the budget requests $38 million for DOE to pursue interim storage for SNF, with another $7.5 million to manage the nuclear waste fund, administer the standard contract, and secure the Yucca Mountain Site. This is the same amount as FY21 but instead of separating out the funds, this request is all for the DOE Office of Integrated Waste Management (IWM). Thank you to our DOE partners for correcting the mistake. More information about DOE-IWM's funding in the request can be found here.
Illinois General Assembly Adjourns Without Passing a Clean Energy Bill
On June 1, the Illinois General Assembly adjourned their spring session with a major task left on their to-do list. Negotiations took place all spring on an energy plan that would meet Gov. J.B. Pritzker's goal of Illinois achieving 100% carbon-free power by 2050 and keeping two Exelon-owned nuclear power plants operating. Exelon says it will shut down its Bryon and Dresden nuclear plants in 2021 without financial assistance from the state. That assistance was not coming when the General Assembly first adjourned on June 1. However, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon said the assembly would reconvene on June 15 to pass the energy bill and address some other unfinished business.

In that interim period, Gov. Pritzker put forward a proposal to spend $694 million to keep the Byron, Dresden, and Braidwood nuclear power plants running. The proposal would also phase out all coal power plants by 2035 and all natural gas power plants by 2045. This included the Prairie State coal plant, the $5 billion plant owned by municipalities across the state like Naperville, Geneva, and Winnetka. If shuttered by 2035, the towns would still be paying off the bonds used to build the plant. Springfield's City Water, Light, and Power (CWLP) also expressed their dismay at the proposed 2035 shutdown of a city-owned coal plant. The fate of these two coal plants became a major sticking point in negotiations.

Another sticking point came up between environmental activists, ostensibly represented by Gov. Pritzker's proposal, and organized labor, ostensibly represented by Sen. Harmon. Labor organizations expressed concerns that the bill, as proposed by Pritzker, would lead to immediate layoffs at coal and natural gas plants without a proper path to jobs in the clean energy industry. Negotiations between all interested parties led the Governor's Office to propose a compromise allowing the Prairie State and CWLP coal plants to continue operating until 2045 if they could remove 90% of carbon emissions by 2034. Still, these negotiations did not reach a consensus and the Illinois General Assembly once again adjourned on June 15 without a deal. Sen. Harmon remained optimistic and said the state would get a deal done by the end of the summer.

Meanwhile, Exelon filed a deactivation notice for Byron with PJM Interconnection, a transmission organization, the day after the assembly adjourned without a deal. The company also filed a deactivation notice for Dresden several months ago. If a deal is not reached, Exelon aims to shut down Byron 1 on September 14, Byron 2 on September 16, and Dresden at some point in November. If that happens, the region should prepare for a major increase in radioactive material shipments coming out of Illinois.

More information on the ongoing clean energy legislation negotiations can be found on the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, the State Journal-Register, and World Nuclear News.
Dresden Generating Station, scheduled to close in November without financial assistance from the State of Illinois
Nuclear News
Even Plants That Want to Stay Open Are Having a Tough Time
Next Era, the owner of Point Beach Nuclear Plant near Manitowoc, WI, are seeking an extension of their operating license for the two reactor units at the plant. The extension would keep Wisconsin's last nuclear plant going until the 2050s, two decades beyond their current licenses. However, the Wisconsin chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). are asking the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to conduct an extensive review of the plant before deciding on the extension. PSR says the 50 year old plant's reactor coolant pressure boundary needs to be tested and that there should be an analysis into converting the plant to a solar panel farm. Lawyers for Next Era contend that PSR's requests are inadmissible and outside the scope of the license renewal. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board said it will issue a recommendation within 45 days of PSR's request.

WUWM Milwaukee has more details.

Xcel Energy Updates Its Plans
Xcel Energy recently revised its integrated resource plan (IRP) and submitted it to regulators. The Minneapolis-based energy company still plans to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the new IRP proposes reducing emissions by 85% by 2030. Instead of building a new combined cycle gas turbine plant in Becker, MN, the new IRP would build four small natural gas plants. A new plant would be built in Lyon County, MN, a new plant would be built in Fargo, ND, and two existing plants would be repowered. The new IRP maintains the original IRP's plan to close all coal plants by 2030 and notably keeps the Monticello Nuclear Generating Station operating through 2040.

Power Engineering has more coverage.

Michigan and the Feds Try to Mitigate Damage of Losing Nuclear Power Plant
$1.2 million is heading to Van Buren County, in southwest Michigan. This is under the state's Energy Transition Impact Project (ETIP). ETIP was established last year via Executive Order and seeks to help communities recover from the reduced tax base, lost jobs, and reduction in services accompanied by the loss of an aging power plant. In this case, the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, which is expected to close in 2022. About $969 thousand will come from the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration (EDA) with the other roughly $242 thousand coming form the Michigan Department of Treasury, Michigan State Housing and Development Authority, and Consumers Energy.

Michigan Live has more.
Point Beach Nuclear Power Station, north of Manitowoc, WI. Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin State Journal
Thank you for reading. Watch for the next edition to come out on
August 5, 2021.
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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-NE0008604,
DE-EM0004869, and DE-EM0005168.

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.