We are delighted to announce new appointments from Nebraska and Minnesota to the Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (MRMTC)!

Nebraska's Mr. Mack Johnson has been a Radiological Planning and Training Specialist for the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) since August 2021. Prior to that, he was a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) defense specialist in the Marine Corps where he worked with Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) response and decontamination teams for national security events in the Nation's Capital.

The Honorable Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger is a new appointee from the Minnesota House of Representatives. Rep. Hemmingsen-Jaeger worked as a forensic scientist for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from 2011 to 2020, and as an analyst for the Minnesota Departments of Public Safety and Human Services. Her university studies focused on the sciences, and she holds degrees in cell biology and development; genetics; and science, technology, and environmental policy. She was elected to the Minnesota House in 2022. Please extend a warm welcome to Mr. Johnson and Rep. Hemmingsen-Jaeger!

The end of May was an exciting time for the MRMTC: the Spring 2023 Meeting was held on Thursday, May 25th, in St. Louis, MO, and took place in conjunction with the 2023 Annual Meeting of the National Transportation Stakeholders Forum (NTSF). Both meetings were a resounding success. A significant portion of the MRMTC meeting included an on-site training of the Stakeholder Tool for Assessing Radioactive Transportation (START), a web-based geographic information system (GIS) tool that enables users to visualize more than 50 data layers relevant to radioactive materials transportation planning. START included modal options, transportation infrastructure conditions, and emergency response assets. MRMTC members had the opportunity to explore the tool's functionality under the guidance of Department of Energy (DOE) experts.

Meeting attendees learned about the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) Transport Security Unified Stakeholders Group (TSUSG), whose mission is to provide a forum for stakeholders to identify transport security concerns and identify best practices. They also received an update on Southwest Research Institute’s (SwRI) work on the Community Preparedness and Planning Pilot Framework Tool project. Check out past newsletters to learn more about this project. 

At the conclusion, a vote was taken on the location for the MRMTC Fall 2023 meeting. Attendees voted overwhelmingly in favor of Carlsbad, NM, and expressed a desire to tour the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

(WIPP). A reminder that stakeholders should consult their calendars and

identify any extant conflicts that should be considered before the dates for

the Fall meeting are finalized. Please send those conflicts to Mitch Arvidson or Melissa Shahzadeh as soon as possible.

The 2023 Annual Meeting of the NTSF was held May 22-25 in St. Louis, MO. The 4-day event was attended by nearly 188 stakeholders and was a terrific opportunity for networking and discussion of the issues that bear upon the transportation of radioactive waste within the nation.

One NTSF session hosted a panel discussion of the Department of Energy's Consent-Based Siting Process (DOE-CBSP). Dr. Kim Petry, who leads the DOE's Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition, participated along with other members of the DOE's and DOE's national labs interdisciplinary team of experts involved with CBSP. The lively discussion explored the ways in which the process will help communities determine whether hosting a facility to store spent nuclear fuel aligns with local goals. The panel emphasized that the DOE is leveraging lessons learned, both nationally and internationally, in an effort to ensure transparency as well as community buy-in.

Additionally, attendees had the privilege of hearing Mr. Mark Bollinger, Manager of the Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO), speak about the work being completed at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, NM. Mr. Bollinger updated the forum on current waste volume and plans to construct additional "panels" for further storage of the nation's transuranic waste. Attendees also had the opportunity to tour the Weldon Spring Site. The tour included the history of the site, an exploration of the interpretive center, and the chance to climb atop the disposal cell pyramid in which approximately 1.13 million cubic meters of radioactive waste is safely contained.

The NTSF meeting concluded with the announcement that next year's meeting will be held in Denver, CO, and will be hosted by Tribal Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (TRMTC).

Weldon Spring Site's disposal cell pyramid, photographed during the 2023 Annual Meeting of the NTSF's site visit

Holtec Awarded NRC Final License for Interim Storage Whilst New Mexico Says the Fight is On

In 2017, Florida-based Holtec International submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Committee (NRC) for a 40-year license to build and operate the Hi-STORE consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) at a site between Carlsbad and Hobbs in Lea County, NM on land owned by the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA). The NRC issued that license to Holtec in May 2023, and it allows them to "receive, possess, transfer and store 500 canisters holding approximately 8,680 metric tons of commercial spent nuclear fuel for 40 years." Eventually, the CISF will be expanded to store up to 10,000 canisters over the course of 90 subsequent phases, with each expansion requiring a license amendment and additional safety and environmental reviews.

The CISF will use Holtec's Hi-STORE UMAX below-ground storage system, which the company states is "so environmentally unobtrusive that all industrial activities such as fracking, drilling and potash mining in the area can continue without obstruction." Indeed, the company says that the "strength-welded and hermetically closed canisters are designed, qualified, and tested to maintain their integrity and prevent the release of radioactive material under the most adverse accident scenarios postulated by NRC regulations for both storage and transportation."

Holtec suggests that the project will generate 400 new jobs and bring approximately $3 billion into the area. These statistics may explain why Eddy and Lea counties, along with Hobbs and Carlsbad city councils, had formed a group to bring Holtec to New Mexico. One local New Mexican news outlet writes "[that group] pushed hard for it." Patrick O'Brian, a spokesperson for Holtec, indicates that the local support in Eddy and Lea counties remains strong.

Yet, the New Mexico Congressional delegation, state officials, and environmental groups all vow to fight the license.

In the 2023 legislative session, New Mexico passed Senate Bill 53, which will go into effect on June 15. The law forbids state agencies and local governments from granting permits, contracts or leases for building a high-level nuclear waste storage facility. According to the bill's sponsor, State Sen. Jeff Steinborn (Las Cruces), this is within the state's authority. However, Holtec lobbyists claimed during the legislative session that the legal doctrine of preemption applies. The preemption doctrine refers to the idea that a higher authority of law will displace the law of a lower authority of law when the two authorities come into conflict. Holtec's argument, therefore, hinges on the idea that the federal government has final authority over nuclear permitting.

A joint statement issued by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Attorney General Raul Torrez asserts that New Mexico's concerns were "wholly ignored and went unaddressed" by both Holtec and by the NRC. Opponents of the facility argue that the absence of any permanent storage site for high-level nuclear waste virtually guarantees that any "interim" facility will become de facto "permanent." US Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM), who last year joined with US Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM) and Texas lawmakers to introduce a bill in both houses that would prevent federal funds from being used for interim storage of nuclear waste, asserts that NRC used the "interim" standards to approve what will become indefinite nuclear storage in New Mexico.

All five members of the New Mexico congressional delegation opposed the NRC's license in a joint statement and called the decision "unacceptable."

Read more about Holtec's plans and New Mexico's opposition here and here.

Nuclear News

Great Lakes Coalition Proposes to Use Nuclear Power to Produce Clean Hydrogen

The Great Lakes Clean Hydrogen Hub (GLCH) Coalition submitted an application for funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to create nuclear-powered clean hydrogen hubs. The GLCH's application outlines a $2 billion plan to develop a hydrogen hub that will serve Ohio, Michigan, and portions of both Pennsylvania and Indiana. The proposal will develop low-carbon hydrogen via electrolysis at Energy Harbor's Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ohio, supplemented with clean hydrogen produced through solar energy projects currently under development in the region. GLCH aims to help major industries across the Midwest decarbonize regional industries such as manufacturing, power generation, refining, and mobility. Read more about the GLCH plan here.

NRC Investigates Ground Settlement at Davis-Besse Nuclear Plant

Ohio's Davis-Besse Nuclear Plant suffered failures in its fire protection water piping system in October 2022 and March 2023, and NRC inspectors determined that those failures were attributable to stress caused by ground settling. Whilst the NRC did verify that the plant was safe, a new special inspection has been announced that will establish a timeline of ground-settling events, will assess the action taken by the operating company (Energy Harbor Corp.) to evaluate the situation, and will attempt to mitigate the impact of ground settlement on equipment. The NRC has not announced an anticipated completion date for the special inspection, but it has said that findings will be shared publicly when they come available. Read more here.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Updates its Consent-Based Siting Process (CBSP) and Strategic Vision

The CBSP is used by the Federal Government to identify sites for the temporary storage of the nation’s spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive waste, and it is consistent with direction provided by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2021, 2022, and 2023. There are four essential differences between the newest iteration distributed in early May 2023 and the original draft published in 2017, though arguably the most significant for readers of this newsletter is the decision to focus efforts exclusively on the siting of federal consolidated interim storage facilities rather than also exploring permanent disposal facilities.

Additionally, on May 18 the DOE office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) released its Strategic Vision 2023-2033, which functions as a blueprint for the program's anticipated cleanup activities in the coming decade. The Strategic Vision outlines targets for the vital nuclear cleanup mission, and identifies four sites for completion of legacy cleanup activities: the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project in Utah; the EM-Nevada mission at the Nevada National Security Site; the Sandia National Laboratories site in New Mexico; and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory site in California. Additionally, the document identifies steps toward further environmental remediation at Ohio's Portsmouth Site by demolishing two former uranium enrichment process buildings.

Read more about the CBSP here and the Strategic Vision here.

Lastly in noteworthy DOE events from May, the Office of Integrated Waste Management (DOE-IWM) posted updates to some initial site-specific de-inventory reports for facilities storing spent nuclear fuel (SNF). These reports, initially published in 2019, present an updated examination of private industry recommendations for moving SNF and are written from the perspective of a contractor. Reports for La Crosse, WI and Zion, IL, among others, are available for perusal here.

Rail Safety Bill Proposed in Response to East Palestine, OH Accident

A group of Ohio senators are working to pass legislation that will establish robust safety regulations for trains carrying hazardous loads. The newly proposed Railway Safety Act will likely encounter strong headwinds as it wends its way through Congress, but the bipartisan group of sponsors remains optimistic for its success and the achievement of meaningful improvements to railway safety. Indeed, on May 10, the bill was passed by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Whilst the environmental consequences resulting from the hazardous train derailment on February 3, 2023, remain a topic for speculation and study, the residents of East Palestine continue to suffer dislocation and trauma associated with the accident. Read more about the proposed legislation and the ongoing plight of East Palestine residents here and here.

Purdue University Considers Advanced Nuclear Technology to Achieve Zero Carbon Emissions Goals

Indiana's Purdue University and Duke Energy Indiana released an interim report on May 10, 2023, stating that small modular reactors (SMRs) represent a "promising, carbon-free energy option for Purdue University" and that such technology should be explored as a mechanism for meeting the university's future, long-term power needs. The report also explores challenges to pursuing nuclear options including public acceptance, regulatory conditions, and workforce availability, as well as acknowledging that any future nuclear effort will require public and stakeholder input as essential to the process. Read more about Purdue's interim report here.

Photo courtesy of rootsofprogress.org