Hello from the Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (MRMTC)! In the last month, the committee has received two new appointments, meaning there are once again appointees from all 12 states in the region. Ruhamah Bauman, Planning Supervisor at Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM), was appointed by Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers to be the state's gubernatorial appointee. In turn, Ruhamah then appointed Mark Paulson, Radiation Protection Section Manager at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, to be the state's alternate. 

Ruhamah began their state service at Serve Wisconsin where they led efforts to increase sustainability and increasing statewide engagement with voluntary organizations active in disasters along with developing the state's AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team. Ruhamah received a Meritorious Service Medal from the Adjutant General in 2021 for their exceptional achievement while on reassignment to the Wisconsin State Vaccine Task Force as the lead volunteer vaccinator coordinator. At WEM, they previously served as the Lead All Hazards Planner, leading the Wisconsin Emergency Response Plan's update process. Originally from Ohio, Ruhamah has been a Wisconsinite for over a decade now. Welcome to the MRMTC Ruhamah! (Mark will be profiled next month.)

In other committee news, MRMTC Liaison to the Midwestern Legislative Conference (MLC) and Kansas Rep. Mark Schreiber gave the committee's annual report to the MLC Executive Committee in Wichita, KS, on July 10. Rep. Schreiber reviewed the MRMTC Spring 2022 Meeting and previewed the MRMTC Fall 2022 Meeting and the 2022 U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Transportation Core Group Meeting. Finally, he informed the group of legislators about DOE-NE's relaunched consent-based siting initiative for one or more interim spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage sites.

Twice a year, the MRMTC receives a notification letter from the DOE Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) projecting the number of transuranic (TRU) waste shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) during the next 12 months. In a letter received this week, DOE-CBFO projects up to three shipments of TRU waste leaving Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in Illinois between now and July 2023. Shipments from ANL to WIPP traverse the Midwest states of Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. 

Finally, please note that the MRMTC Fall 2022 Meeting is tentatively scheduled to take place on October 12 - 13 in Rapid City, SD. The hotel contract is being finalized and committee members will receive more information soon. 

MRMTC Liaison to the MLC and Kansas Rep. Mark Schreiber addresses the MLC Executive Committee in Wichita, KS, on July 10

In April of 2021, the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) published a report to the U.S. Congress and the Secretary of Energy called "Six Overarching Recommendations for How to Move the Nation's Nuclear Waste Management Program Forward." You can find a brief summary of the report in this newsletter's May 2021 edition. In June of 2022, DOE responded to the NWTRB with a letter covering "Relevant Existing Activities" and "Potential Future Actions" that are aimed to address the recommendations. 

Of particular interest to newsletter readers is the response to "NWTRB Recommendation #6: Embrace Openness, Transparency, and Engagement" and particularly the response to "NWTRB Recommended Action Item 6a: Inform and engage the public and other affected stakeholders early in the planning and review of all aspects of the nuclear waste management program."

• "Relevant Existing Actions:
• ... [DOE Office of Spent Fuel Waste Disposition] SFWD funding to [Tribal Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee] TRMTC and the [state regional groups] SRGs supports the operation of their respective committees, as well as participation in DOE's [National Transportation Stakeholders Forum] NTSF and its associated topical ad hoc working groups. 
• Potential Future Actions:
• In FY22, SFWD plans to resume operation of the NTSF Section 180(c) ad hoc working group to continue collaborations with State and Tribal governments and work toward a final Departmental policy for how DOE will provide funds to States and Tribes through whose jurisdictions DOE transports spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, consistent with the intent of Section 180(c) of the [Nuclear Waste Policy Act] NWPA." 

This response shows that when questioned by independent review agencies like the NWTRB, DOE points to the NTSF as its premier example of stakeholder engagement. It also shows the department's commitment to supporting and expanding the NTSF in the future. 

In other NTSF news, the Planning Committee held its most recent meeting on July 21. Based on this meeting, you can expect a save-the-date announcement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of the NTSF soon as well as an announcement about a DOE Order 460.2B webinar to be held in September or October of this year. Furthermore, the NTSF SNF Rail/ Routing Ad Hoc Working Group (AHWG) will hold its next virtual meeting on September 20 and the NTSF Section 180(c) AHWG will hold its next virtual meeting on September 22. 

Speaking of meetings, at the end of this month, the MRMTC will co-host the 2022 Transportation Core Group Meeting with DOE-NE) in Cincinnati, OH. Attendees will receive updates and presentations on integrated waste management, consent-based siting, nuclear power plant infrastructure evaluations, the history of SNF transportation in the U.S. and abroad, conceptual interim storage facility designs, DOE railcar development, etc. The Transportation Core Group generally consists of DOE-NE staff and TRMTC and SRG Co-Chairs and staff. 

Finally, attendees at the MRMTC Spring 2022 Meeting (which was held in conjunction with the 2022 Annual Meeting of the NTSF) will recall a Portsmouth Site Update from Dr. Jyh-Dong (J.D.) Chiou. Well, the organization that Dr. Chiou works for, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth, was recently awarded $16.6 million from the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) for its decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) performance at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in southern Ohio. Congratulations to Dr. Chiou and his team! 

NWTRB Updates National Programs' Survey

Last month, the NWTRB published a report to Congress and the Secretary of Energy titled, Survey of National Programs for Managing High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: 2022 Update. This survey was originally conducted in 2009 and was updated in 2016 as well as this year. 13 countries' nuclear waste programs are analyzed under 30 technical and institutional attributes. While the NWTRB makes no judgements of the individual programs, the goal is to provide useful comparative information to American decision-makers. 

The 13 countries analyzed are Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (U.K.), and the U.S. The 30 attributes are divided into 15 institutional arrangements and 15 technical aspects. Some of the 15 institutional arrangements include legislation specific to radioactive waste management, implementing organization, and independent regulator. Some of the 15 technical aspects include operating nuclear reactors/ generating capacity, reprocessing included in fuel cycle, and, most interesting to us, transportation system in place to move SNF/high-level radioactive waste (HLW) to a deep geologic repository (DGR). 

In 11 countries, no decision has been made on the transportation system. The survey noted that Finland has readily available options by sea, truck, and rail; that Switzerland's implementer (Nagra Cooperative) is considering road and rail options; that the U.K.'s implementer (Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) Limited) is considering road, rail, or sea; and that the U.S.'s system depends on where the repository is developed, also noting that no rail transportation system is currently available for the Yucca Mountain site. 

Only France and Sweden currently have a transportation system in place. In France, the implementer (Andra) has stated that most of the waste packages will be transported by rail to the Cigeo (Industrial Center for Geological Disposal) DGR. In Sweden, SNF and HLW will be transported to the Östhammar site by Sigrid, a specially designed ship. 

While the survey only spends a short amount of time discussing transportation, it is an interesting read for anyone interested in this subject area. 

New Company Awarded WIPP Management Contract

Since 2012, the WIPP TRU waste disposal site near Carlsbad, NM, has been managed by Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP). NWP's five-year contract, which was extended for an additional five years, was worth $1.3 billion. That contract is expiring on September 30 and DOE issued a solicitation for a new management contract earlier this year. 

The four-year base contract with six optional one-year extensions could be worth up to $3 billion. DOE received five proposals and awarded the contract to Tularosa Basin Range Services (TBRS), a single purpose offshoot of Bechtel National Inc. TBRS will be required to work on the centralized characterization project, transportation activities, WIPP operations, testing activities, etc. 

World Nuclear News has more information on the award. 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Recommends Approving Holtec Storage Site

Last month, the NRC published its final environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec's proposed SNF consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in Lea County, NM. In the EIS, NRC staff recommend issuing the license, subject to the site's safety review. The EIS considers impacts to land use, transportation, geology and soils, surface waters and wetlands, groundwater, ecological resources, historic and cultural resources, environmental justice, etc. While the initial application proposes holding only 500 canisters of SNF, the EIS assessed the entire project, which could include holding up to 10,000 canisters and the eventual CISF decommissioning. 

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham opposes the NRC's recommendation and has said that "a 40-year license with the opportunity for renewal will threaten the health and safety of generations of New Mexicans." She has asked the state legislature to pass legislation that would ban the storage of SNF in the state. 

To the east, the NRC is also facing pushback from the State of Texas about its issuance of a license to Interim Storage Partners (ISP) for a 5,000 ton SNF CISF located near Andrews, TX. Texas Attorney General Kenneth Paxton is suing the NRC and ISP, saying the NRC lacks statutory authority to issue the license. Legal observers believe the U.S. Supreme Court's recent West Virginia v. EPA decision could severely curb federal regulators like the NRC. The defendants had until yesterday to file their briefs in the U.S. Appellate Court of New Orleans. 

You can read the NRC's press release on the Holtec EIS here. Nuclear Newswire also has coverage of the EIS. Engineering News-Record has details on the state vs. federal battles. 

Ohio HB6 Scandal Update

In newly released records, it is shown how former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Chair Sam Randazzo worked with, and received bribery payments from, Energy Harbor, the owner of two nuclear power plants in Ohio. Randazzo actively lobbied against a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rule that was meant to discourage states from subsidizing electric utilities. He also initially resisted ordering a state investigation into the company after the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) corruption probe into HB6 went public. Last July's deferred prosecution agreement with the utility had company officials admit that they paid $20 million over a decade, including a $4.3 million bribe shortly before becoming PUCO Chair in exchange for favorable treatment. 

Cleveland.com has extensive coverage of the recently released records and a good review of the whole scandal.