In the dead chill of Winter, we all look to a groundhog's shadow to see if it'll warm up anytime soon... happy Groundhog Day! Midwesterners often try to slip away to warmer climes this time of year. And if you're able to get some productive work done at the same time, all the better! That is exactly what Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (MRMTC) Co-Chair Rodney Pitchford (Illinois) did last month as he traveled to San Antonio, TX, to attend the Tribal Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (TRMTC) 2023 Midyear Meeting (meeting attendees pictured above).

During this meeting, Mr. Pitchford heard many presentations and took part in discussions on a variety of topics; including the possible resumption of remote-handled (RH) waste shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in the near future, full-size spent nuclear fuel (SNF) cask testing by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) receiving a route evaluation request from Clinton Power Station in Illinois to Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Midwestern Tribes that attended the meeting included Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, and Prairie Island Indian Community.

Speaking of WIPP, the DOE Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) recently released its Semi-Annual Notification Letter (SANL), which projects the number of transuranic (TRU) waste shipments that will be sent to WIPP over the next 12 months. From February 2023 to January 2024, it is expected that up to five TRU waste shipments will go from Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in Illinois to WIPP in New Mexico.

Thank you to all the MRMTC members who completed the survey helping to decide which communities will be analyzed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) using their Preparedness and Planning Pilot Framework Tool. While other factors must be considered, the highest priority communities for MRMTC members were:

1. Gary, IN
2. North Chicago, IL
3. St. Louis Metro, MO & IL
4. Benton Harbor, MI
5. Indianapolis, IN
6. Joliet, IL
7. Kansas City Metro, MO & KS
8. Fort Wayne, IN
9. North Platte, NE
10. Fargo, ND

Finally, last month, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Midwest submitted its application for a new five-year cooperative agreement with DOE-CBFO. In the past, this agreement has helped fund MRMTC activities and help the states of Illinois and Iowa prepare for TRU waste shipments to WIPP.

The Midwest is happy to share some great news on the National Transportation Stakeholders Forum (NTSF) front! The preliminary agenda for the 2023 Annual Meeting of the NTSF has been approved by the NTSF Planning Committee! This meeting will be co-hosted by the MRMTC and DOE and will be held on May 22 - 25 in St. Louis, MO.

Attendees can look forward to plenary sessions on "Transparency, Openness, and Accountability," a demonstration and presentation of the "ARG-US Live Truck Tracking" system, the "Future of Nuclear Energy, Radioactive Waste Management, and Workforce Retention," and an update on "Consent-Based Siting & Community Engagement Funding Opportunity." Some breakout session topics to highlight include "2021 North Carolina Uranium Hexafluoride Transportation Accident and Response" and "Tribal/State Emergency Prep and Incident Response During a Radioactive Materials Shipment." Keep an eye on your inboxes in the next few days because registration for the meeting should be launching very soon. You can also find updated information and links on the meeting's webpage on the NTSF website.

In other NTSF news, the Planning Committee met on January 11 and February 1 and the Annual Meeting Agenda Subcommittee met on January 24. During these meetings, members finalized the preliminary agenda, determined who would be the individual session leads, discussed upcoming NTSF webinars, and heard very preliminary information about the 2024 Annual Meeting of the NTSF. Finally, the NTSF Section 180(c) AHWG will be meeting on February 22 to review the transportation timeline work that DOE has been working on. This timeline highlights the activities needed to be completed prior to DOE shipments of SNF.

DOE Office of Environmental Management's (EM) 2022 Scorecard and 2023 Mission & Priorities

Each year, DOE-EM updates its mission & priorities for the current calendar year while scoring itself on the previous year's priorities. According to DOE-EM, the office completed or partially completed 27 of its 30 goals under five priorities in 2022. These priorities were to achieve significant construction milestones, to execute key cleanup projects, to reduce the EM footprint, to award contracts that enable accelerated progress, and to drive innovation and sustainability and improve performance.

Some of the completed goals that would be of most interest to the Midwest include completing demolition of the X-326 process building at Portsmouth, disposing one million pounds of hazardous refrigerant from Paducah, and awarding a new WIPP Transportation Contract.

In 2023, DOE-EM's mission statement is "To complete the safe cleanup of the environmental legacy brought about from decades of nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research." 2023's 30 goals fall under the same five priorities from 2022. While all 30 goals are important and worthwhile, some will be of greater importance to Midwestern stakeholders. They are:

• Award Portsmouth Deactivation & Decommissioning (D&D) Contract
• Award Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Operations & Site Mission Support Contract
• Complete removal of one million pounds of hazardous refrigerant at Paducah
• Complete 400 transuranic waste shipments at WIPP while ensuring there is no backlog of shipments from Los Alamos

As always, the state and tribal stakeholder community appreciates the openness, transparency, and accountability that is provided by these annual mission and priorities updates.

Nuclear News

DOE Increases Consent-Based Siting Funding Opportunity

Way back in September, DOE issued a $16 million funding opportunity announcement (FOA), to "provide resources for communities interested in learning more about consent-based siting, management of spent nuclear fuel, and interim storage facility siting considerations." Six to eight awardees were to be given $1 to $2 million each for a period of roughly two years.

On December 7, DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) announced that it would extend the application deadline to January 31. Then, on January 19, DOE-NE announced that $10 million more would be added to the opportunity, amounting to $26 million for up to 16 awardees. According to the announcement, the awardees will be tasked with:

• The "organization, leadership, and maintenance of meaningful, inclusive community engagement processes related to the management of spent nuclear fuel;"
• "Identifying public values, interests, and goals to promote and enable effective collaboration and community-driven feedback on the consent-based siting process for a potential consolidated interim storage facility;" and,
• "Developing, implementing, and reporting outcomes and strategies that support mutual learning among stakeholders, communities, and experts on spent nuclear fuel-related topics."

For more coverage of the funding increase, check out AP News.

Holtec Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) Update

Last month, Holtec International received some good news and bad news regarding their proposed HI-STORE CISF for SNF in Lea County, NM. First, the good news. Six years after Holtec's initial application, and several revisions and supplements, the NRC has announced that they expect to publish the final safety evaluation report (SER) and the final licensing decision for the proposed site by the end of March 2023.

Now, the bad news. The New Mexico Legislature has introduced legislation, Senate Bill 53, that would amend the state's Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Act to prevent the issuing of permits to facilities storing SNF and high-level radioactive waste. In a recent poll of just over 1,000 New Mexicans, 60% oppose the project while 30% support it. Additionally, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham supports the measure and has urged legislators to pass the bill for her to sign it. A substitution for the bill passed the Senate Conservation Committee and has now been referred to the Judiciary Committee.

Searchlight New Mexico has more details on the legislation.

In other Holtec news, the company recently debuted HI-CUT, a new technology for more efficient segmentation of decommissioning reactors. Additionally, the company announced details about its small modular reactor (SMR)-160 nuclear steam supply system, which is hoped to be able to repurpose coal power plants that are shutting down nationwide.

Midwest Nuclear News Dump

Finally, this newsletter aims to cover any news regarding nuclear power in the Midwest. Here are a few highlights from the last month:

• World Nuclear News: "Nebraska begins SMR siting study"
• Cooper nuclear power plant's operator, Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), has begun the process of identifying 15 locations in the state that are best situated for SMRs based on geographic data and preliminary licensing criteria. Then, evaluations based on ease of construction and environmental considerations will narrow the 15 site down to four.
• WOODTV8: "Going nuclear? MPSC to hire outside firm to study Michigan's energy future"
• The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) received $250,000 from the Michigan Legislature last July to lead a study exploring if the state should allow for the construction of a new nuclear power plant. Starting March 3, MPSC will begin accepting bids from consulting firms to lead the study, which needs to be submitted to the legislature by April 2024.
• Monticello Times: "Xcel Energy applies to extend Monticello nuclear plant license"
• The Minnesota-based utility has submitted an application with the NRC to keep its Monticello nuclear power plant operating until 2050, at which point the plant would be nearly 80 years old. Xcel has stated that Monticello, along with Prairie Island, generate about half of the utility's carbon-free energy and are vital to their future clean energy plans.

Monticello Nuclear Power Plant in Minnesota (photo courtesy of the NRC).