Midwestern Tribes Seek to Minimize Potential Radioactive Harms

The Prairie Island Indian Community sits on about 300 livable acres of land on the banks of the Mississippi River, near Red Wing, Minnesota. The reservation had much more land when it was established in 1889, but two federal government projects have significantly shrunk its size since then. First, the Lock and Dam No. 3 was built just downstream by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1938. The lock and dam made commercial navigation of the Mississippi possible, but also permanently flooded several hundred acres of land belonging to the Prairie Island Indian Community. Later, in 1973, further land was taken to build the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant. 

Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant, photo courtesy of Xcel Energy

Additionally, the annual flooding near and on the reservation has been more severe and lasted longer in recent years. Concerns about the constant flooding and the nearby nuclear power plant have led the Prairie Island Indian Community to buy 1,200 acres of land about 35 miles south of Prairie Island, and request that the federal government add the land to the reservation. If Congress approves this request, Prairie Island would give up its ability to sue the federal government for flooding damages. The new land near Pine Island, Minnesota, would allow the Tribe to continue its growth and accommodate 120 members currently on the housing waitlist. Local officials near the newly bought land support the plan and members of Minnesota's congressional delegation have introduced H.R. 4752 which would accept the land into trust. The legislation has not yet been debated in committee. 

Minnesota Public Radio has more details. 

About 600 miles west of Prairie Island, another Native American Tribe is working against a uranium mine near Edgemont, South Dakota. The Oglala Sioux Tribe contended that the site needed to be surveyed for "cultural resources of concern" before it could be licensed. In December, federal judges with the U.S. Atomic Safety and Licensing Board decided that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) had sufficiently attempted to conduct a cooperative survey of the site with the Oglala Sioux Tribe. The judges claimed it had become apparent the Tribe was refusing to cooperate. Unless overturned by the five NRC Commissioners or in an appeals court, the December decision will give the proposed mine its NRC license. Powertech, the company proposing the mine, still needs licenses and permits from the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Oglala Sioux Tribe has until January 6 to file an appeal. 

The Rapid City Journal has the full story. 

Interim Storage Not Included in 2020 Appropriations

Despite apparent bipartisan and bicameral support earlier in 2019, the FY 2020 spending package will not include funding for DOE to pursue SNF interim storage. For decades, the House of Representatives has generally been a major proponent of finishing the licensing of Yucca Mountain as the nation's only SNF repository. During this same period, the Senate has generally supported authorizing one or more interim storage facilities while work on a permanent repository is completed. When the House's FY 2020 funding bill attached $25 million to interim storage, the two chambers matched for the first time. However, certain provisions of the Senate's bill were untenable for some House members. The main stumbling block was the use of the Nuclear Waste Fund to pay for interim storage. In addition, Reps. Jerry McNerney, Ben Ray Lujan, Deb Haaland, John Shimkus, Joe Courtney, Fred Upton, and Jeff Duncan all signed a letter affirming their opposition on the grounds that Congress should "create a solution to our nation's nuclear waste problem that is durable [and] science-based" rather than establish policy "through the inclusion of language in the appropriations process." DOE's Office of Integrated Waste Management (IWM) may be tasked to pursue new studies as a result of this impasse.

Environment & Energy News has further coverage. 

Thanks to Erica Bickford for sharing this story!

Related op-ed from The Hill: "Life after Yucca Mountain: The time has come to reset US nuclear waste policy"*

*Note: this op-ed was written before the appropriations bill abandoned interim storage. 

ICYMI: IAEA Edition

Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released two reports that may be of interest to members of the MRMTC and others. First, there is the "Review of Fuel Failures in Water Cooled Reactors (2006-2015)." This is relevant to SNF storage and transportation because damaged fuel must be placed in damaged fuel cans and typically placed in specific positions in dry storage canisters. Furthermore, the number of damaged fuel assemblies within a single dry storage canister is typically limited. Second, there is "Developing Cost Estimates for Environmental Remediation Projects." According to the IAEA, "This publication addresses costs arising during individual phases of an environmental remediation project, how they can be calculated, and how they can be structured and documented." 

Thanks to Steve Maheras for sharing these reports! 

In Memoriam 

	David Cooper Blee