International meeting for municipalities with nuclear facilities builds collaboration DOE-EM | 11/15/2022 |
|
|
VIENNA – Mayors and other government officials from the U.S. were among the 70 attendees from over 25 countries who gathered in Vienna recently for the five-day Technical Meeting for Municipalities with Nuclear Facilities hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The event provided an opportunity for information exchange among communities from around the world hosting or potentially hosting nuclear power plants and radioactive waste management facilities, including nuclear site owners, operators and regulators. “The meeting enabled real-time two-way dialogue and sharing lessons learned and best practices throughout
the lifecycle of nuclear facilities,” said Kristen Ellis, EM’s director of regulatory, intergovernmental, and stakeholder engagement, who attended the meeting and coordinated its sessions and working groups. Working in parallel with attendees, the Group of European Municipalities with Nuclear Facilities in Europe (GMF Europe), Energy Communities Alliance (ECA), Canadian Association of Nuclear Host Communities (CANHC) and other international organizations noted the potential for collaboration with similar municipal organizations across the globe. As a result of the meeting, GMF Europe,
ECA and CANHC will continue their individual and joint advocacy for support for local host communities among regulators, current and future nuclear industry and other members of the nuclear supply chain. “These group discussions show the critical role for host communities living with nuclear facilities, and the challenges and opportunities for producing carbon-free, baseload energy and addressing the nuclear fuel cycle.” said Brent Gerry, ECA chair and mayor of West Richland, Washington, which is located near the Hanford Site. Adrian Foster, mayor of Clarington in Ontario and chair of CANHC, said, “Amongst the outcomes from the shared dialogue was recognition that the
current and future nuclear industry is fully dependent on the support of willing local host communities. As such, there is an expectation that the nuclear operators and nuclear supply chain provide meaningful support to the local host communities.” |
|
|
|
Participants in the recent Technical Meeting for Municipalities with Nuclear Facilities gather outside the International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna. From left are Seth
Kirshenberg, executive director of ECA; Brent Gerry, mayor of West Richland, Washington, and ECA chair; Kristen Ellis, EM director of regulatory, intergovernmental, and stakeholder engagement; and Rebecca Casper, mayor of Idaho Falls, Idaho and ECA vice chair. Pia Almström, GMF Europe president and mayor of Kävlinge, Sweden, said, “An open and transparent approach toward municipalities is key to engaging them in long-term dialogue. GMF, ECA and CANHC are grateful to the IAEA and its leadership for creating a forum to bring together municipalities and share experience on topics of
interest to current and proposed host nuclear communities.” U.S. representation at the meeting
included Ellis; Angelica Gheen with the DOE Office of Integrated Waste Management; Seth Kirshenberg, Rebecca Casper and Brent Gerry with ECA; and Christopher Markley with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Also at the meeting, Ellis gave a presentation providing an overview of EM. She discussed how EM works with national intergovernmental organizations through cooperative agreements, and has government-to-government relationships with tribes to ensure involvement in cleanup decisions while protecting relevant tribal rights and resources. She also gave an overview of the EM
Site-Specific Advisory Board and EM Advisory Board. The meeting ended with a group photo
before attendees prepared to travel home to their respective countries. However, the dialogue will not end in Vienna. Participants are excited to continue exploring a new cooperative framework with local municipalities and communities. “Once you get the ball rolling on these types of conversations, they don’t stop,” Ellis said. “On the contrary, they lead to forming new relationships and ongoing communication that transfers back to their communities and creates more effective public involvement.” |
|
|
Transition begins for $3B nuclear waste contract at federal disposal site near Carlsbad Carlsbad Current-Argus | 11/16/22 Nuclear waste at the federal government’s repository near Carlsbad will be handled by a new company for at least the next decade,
after a $3 billion contract was awarded and finalized for the work. The
contractor Tularosa Basin Range Services, doing business as Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO) – a subsidiary of Bechtel National was awarded the contract for daily operations of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant by the U.S. Department of Energy. Records show two protests from other bidders were denied earlier this month by the Government Accountability Office. Those protests were filed by National Tru Solutions, a subsidiary of Huntington Ingalls Industries, and Westinghouse Electric's subsidiary Carlsbad Operations Alliance, delaying the contract award announced in July by about three months. All three companies have experience in handling nuclear waste cleanup via DOE contracts, but Bechtel was ultimately awarded the contract and moved forward with a 90-day
transition to take over operations of the WIPP from Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP) – a subsidiary of Amentum. That transition will mean SIMCO must quickly become versed on mining operations, nuclear waste protocols and several large capital projects like a $100 million utility shaft under construction and a more than $400 million rebuild of WIPP’s ventilation system. WIPP also recently completed mining of its eighth disposal panel, the final permitted space for emplacing nuclear waste, allowing workers to operate underground without ventilators and other personal protective equipment (PPE). That’s because the last panel WIPP used which is now full was contaminated in 2014 when a mispackaged drum ruptured and released radioactive material at the facility –
an incident that led to a three-year shutdown of WIPP’s mining and disposal operations. Jack
Volpato, chair of the Carlsbad Mayor’s Nuclear Task Force and ECA member, said sealing Panel 7 and shifting to Panel 8 will mean more shipments of nuclear waste coming to the site and being disposed of at a faster rate. He estimated it took an entire day to emplace four panels of waste while Panel 7 was in use, and that the same volume could be disposed of “in four hours” with Panel 8 open. “The shipments are going to start ramping up,” Volpato said. “You don’t have to use PPE, and that really speeds up the process.” He said the three-month transition could pose a challenge for SIMCO, especially as it abuts the holiday season. It’s a steep learning curve for them coming in,” he said. “They’ve got 90 days to get ready. That’s a short learning curve with everything
going on at WIPP.” Volpato said the task force, made up of local Carlsbad leaders serving in
an advisory role for the WIPP site, met with SIMCO officials and NWP recently and he expected the company would be able to adequately manage the site alone in three months. “We laid out what our expectations are, and what we’re used to,” he said. “We certainly want that to continue. They’re going to take advantage of all the time that they can. With the holidays coming up, it’s an unusual time for a transition. It’s a challenge, but I think they’ll meet the challenge.” Continue reading >> |
|
|
|
|
Interactive guide for communities and governments to help navigate nuclear waste cleanup The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) recently released the Guide to Successful Environmental Cleanup, an interactive online resource that provides frequently asked questions, case studies, and recommendations regarding nuclear waste cleanup. To assist local government officials, their communities, and federal agencies in deciphering the
complexities of the environmental cleanup process, ECA developed this guide to facilitate future successful cleanups. |
|
Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
|
Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories,
highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments. |
|
|
|
