[CPEO-MEF] ECA Calls on DOE to Analyze the Impacts of HLW in our Communities

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

From Energy Communities Alliance


High-Level Waste:  ECA Calls on DOE to Analyze the Impacts and Begin 
Discussions with Communities

On February 25, ECA sent Secretary Chu a letter stating that DOE must 
address high-level waste and spent fuel issues with local communities. 
In the letter, ECA called on DOE to begin to analyze the safety and 
impact on the environment in communities forced to store high level 
waste and spent fuel as a result of the decision to terminate Yucca 
Mountain.  ECA communities are concerned about the potential risks and 
safety hazards of keeping high-level waste at our sites, and are 
frustrated by the lack of communication that has come from DOE on the issue.

ECA believes DOE should:
-Begin to analyze the safety impacts of leaving the waste at our sites
-Engage in a formal discussion with communities and local governments to 
discuss safety issues and the path forward for communities

To download the original letter, go to 
http://www.energyca.org/PDF/HiLevelWasteSecChu.pdf


Full Text of the Letter:
February 25, 2010
The Honorable Steven Chu
Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue
Washington, DC  20585

Subject: Department of Energy Must Address High-Level Waste and Spent 
Fuel Issues with Local Communities in Light of Recent Decision to 
Abandon Yucca Mountain

Dear Secretary Chu:

In December, Energy Communities Alliance (ECA), the organization of 
local communities adjacent to and impacted by DOE facilities, wrote to 
you and expressed concern about DOE's plans to abandon Yucca Mountain as 
a geological depository for high-level waste and spent fuel.  In that 
letter ECA asked that DOE: 1) Engage local communities and governments 
on high-level waste and spent fuel decisions; and 2) Analyze the impact 
of DOE's decision to leave defense high-level waste and spent fuel in 
communities.

On February 2, 2010, DOE filed a request to suspend the Yucca Mountain 
license application and announced plans to withdraw it completely within 
a month.  Some leaders have suggested that sites, including ECA member 
communities that currently host high-level waste and spent fuel, may 
become long-term storage sites.  To date, ECA member communities and 
local governments have received little information from DOE on your 
plans to address the safe, long-term storage, and ultimate disposition 
of high-level waste and spent fuel in our communities.  ECA communities 
and local governments are concerned about the risks and impacts of 
leaving the waste in place, and are frustrated by the lack of 
communication that has come from DOE on the issue.  ECA believes that 
DOE should clarify its position on high-level waste and spent fuel and 
open a formal dialogue with our members to discuss questions including:

* What is DOE's plan to address high-level waste and spent fuel?

* How long will it take DOE to address high-level waste and spent fuel 
in communities?

* What is the environmental impact of the decision to abandon the NRC's 
license review for Yucca Mountain to determine if it is safe and the 
right place to dispose of high-level waste and spent fuel?

* What is the risk to communities of keeping waste at the sites 
indefinitely?

* Will DOE propose that an independent agency regulate DOE defense 
high-level waste and spent fuel to ensure protection of human health and 
the environment?


A central tenet of environmental health and safety is to communicate 
with the communities that are most impacted by the decision.  In the 
past, DOE has engaged individual communities when decisions regarding 
health and safety arise in that community.  In this instance, DOE's 
silence and unwillingness to address these issues only raises concerns.

In order to address the potential risk to communities, ECA believes DOE 
should begin to analyze the safety and the impact on the environment in 
communities forced to store high-level waste and spent fuel as a result 
of the decision to terminate Yucca Mountain.  DOE should provide local 
governments with funds to acquire third party technical assistance to 
analyze the impacts and monitor the storage of high-level waste and 
spent fuel in our communities.  As we stated in our December letter, ECA 
is very knowledgeable on these defense high-level waste and spent fuel 
issues and has worked with communities, DOE, Congress and industry - 
most recently on discussions of reprocessing and interim storage.  ECA 
hopes to work with you to find a sustainable path forward that is both 
environmentally sound and in the taxpayers' best interest.  We believe a 
formal meeting between local community representatives and DOE is a 
critical first step in finding a solution for the disposal of high-level 
waste and spent fuel.

If you have any questions, please contact me or Seth Kirshenberg, 
Executive Director, at Energy Communities Alliance at 202-828-2494.


                                        Sincerely,





                                        Robert Thompson, Chair
Energy Communities Alliance,
Council Member, Richland, WA

cc:     Energy Communities Alliance Board of Directors
        Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman, DOE
        Administrator Thomas D'Agostino, National Nuclear Security 
Administration
        Assistant Secretary Inés Triay, DOE-EM
        Dr. David Miller, Office of Nuclear Energy, DOE
Senator Byron Dorgan, Chair, Senate Committee on Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
Senator Robert Bennett, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
Senator Jeff Bingaman, Chair, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources
Senator Carl Levin, Chair, Senate Armed Services Committee
Senator John McCain, Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee
Senator Patty Murray
Senator Maria Cantwell
Senator Mike Crapo
Senator James Risch
Senator Lindsey Graham
Senator Jim DeMint
Senator Harry Reid
Senator John Ensign
Representative Peter Visclosky, Chair, House Committee on Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
Representative Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, Ranking Member, House Committee 
on Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
Representative Henry Waxman, Chair, House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Representative Joe Barton, Ranking Member, House Committee on Energy and 
Commerce
Representative Ike Skelton, Chair, House Armed Services Committee
Representative Howard McKeon, Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee
Representative Doc Hastings
Representative Norm Dicks
Representative Mike Simpson
Representative James Clyburn
Representative Adam Smith
Representative Shelly Berkley
Representative Dean Heller
Representative Dina Titus
National Governors Association
        National Conference of State Legislatures
        National Association of Attorneys General
        State and Tribal Government Working Group
        Environmental Council of the States

Link to letter:
http://www.energyca.org/PDF/ECAhlwLetter.pdf

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Best,
Allison

Allison Doman

Program Manager
Energy Communities Alliance
1101 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
phone (202) 828-2423
fax     (202) 828-2488
allison@energyca.org




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