ECA Update: ECA-led panels at Waste Management Symposia this Tuesday and Wednesday in Phoenix, AZ

Published: Tue, 02/28/23

ECA Update

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

ECA panels at WM2023 to prioritize consent-based siting, nuclear energy development, waste disposal pathways, and more

ECA Staff | 2/28/2023

The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) is hosting five panels at the Waste Management Symposia 2023 (WM2023) in Phoenix, Arizona this Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sessions will highlight priority topics for ECA local government members, including moving forward with consent-based siting efforts for a consolidation interim storage facility for radioactive waste, nuclear energy development around Department of Energy (DOE) cleanup sites, re-vitalizing efforts to determine disposal pathways for waste as detailed in ECA's new report Disposal Drives Cleanup: Re-Energizing Momentum for Disposal Solutions for Radioactive Waste, and more.

ECA is looking forward to meaningful discussions on these important topics and the insightful remarks from our panelists.

ECA-led sessions that are open to all WM2023 attendees are listed below:

R1.12d: Producing Solutions and Moving Forward with Cleanup by Creating Acceptable Disposal Pathways for all Radioactive Waste Streams

Tuesday, Feb 28 | 9:55am – 11:35am | Room 103AB

This session will explore the implications for DOE-EM and communities of not having disposition paths for certain streams of waste. Discussion will also address potential alternatives and building support for risk-based approaches.

Panelists:

Seth Kirshenberg, Executive Director, ECA (moderator)
Betsy Forinash, DAS for Waste and Materials Management, DOE

Chris Andres, Chief, Bureau of Federal Facilities, NV Division of Environmental Protection
David Reeploeg, Vice President for Federal Affairs, TRIDEC

R1.12c: Transitioning Sites from EM to NNSA and LM – What is the Process?

Tuesday, Feb 28 | 1:50pm – 3:05pm | Room 105B
This session will explore the process and timelines for transitioning DOE-EM cleanup sites to NNSA and LM – what do communities need to know, what do communities need DOE to know?
Panelists:

Rick McLeod, Principal, Atomic-Advice (moderator)

Rob Seifert, Acting Director, Office of Infrastructure Management and Disposition Policy, DOE-EM

Ahmad Al-Daouk, Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Enterprise Stewardship, NNSA

Jay Glascock, Director, Site Operations, DOE-LM
David Abelson, Managing Director, Abelson Partners
Christine Gelles, Chief Operating Officer, Longenecker & Associates

R1.12b: Nuclear Energy Development Around Federal Sites and Other Communities

Tuesday, Feb 28 | 3:20pm – 5:00pm | Room 105B
This session will explore current and future plans for demonstrating and deploying new nuclear energy projects across the DOE complex and will identify opportunities to work across DOE program offices for a more a holistic, place-based approach.
Panelists:

Sarah Templeton, Program Manager, ECA (moderator)
Sal J. Golub, ADAS for Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Supply Chain, DOE-NE

Paul Dickman, Senior Policy Fellow, Argonne National Laboratory
Rebecca Casper, Mayor, City of Idaho Falls, ID
Elizabeth Harm, Executive Director, ETEBA
Jennifer Chandler, Administrator, Village of Piketon. OH
Karl Dye, President/CEO, TRIDEC

R1.12e: Joint Panel on Workforce with ECA/EFCOG/EM

Wednesday, March 1 | 8:00am – 9:40am | Room 104AB
This joint session between ECA, EFCOG, and DOE-EM will feature discussion on workforce development challenges across the DOE complex, and how communities, contractors and DOE can best work together to meet shared needs and goals.

Panelists:

Dylan Kama, Program Director, ECA (moderator)
Michael Lempke, President, Nuclear and Environmental Group, Huntington Ingalls
Kristen Ellis, Director, Office of Regulatory, Intergovernmental, and Stakeholder Engagement, DOE-EM
Dana Kirkham, Director, Strategic Initiatives, Idaho Environmental Coalition
Steven Arndt, President, American Nuclear Society
Mindy Mets, Regional Director, Workforce Programs, SRSCRO
JJ Chavez, Councilman, City of Carlsbad

R1.12f: Making Progress on Consent-Based Siting: Current Status and Next Steps

Wednesday, March 1 | 9:55am – 11:35am | Room 104AB
This session will explore the re-start of DOE’s consent-based siting initiative, and how to ensure past experiences inform new efforts.

Panelists:

Kara Colton, Director of Nuclear Policy, ECA (moderator)
Dr. Kim Petry, Assistant Secretary, DOE-NE
Carolyn Hanson, Deputy Executive Director, ECOS
Eric Howes, Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company
Jack Volpato, Chairman, Mayor’s Nuclear Task Force of Carlsbad, NM

Follow the latest DOE budget updates with ECA's budget tracker

Monitor DOE spending bills, detailed site budgets, and more.

Find everything you need to know about the DOE budget here!

IN OTHER NEWS

WASTE & DISPOSITION

Energy Communities Alliance urges DOE to use revamped high-level waste policy to speed disposal

Weapons Complex Monitor | 2/24/23

The Department of Energy needs to “prioritize” a 2019 policy change that said much high-level radioactive waste is not hazardous enough to require deep underground disposal, a Washington-based group said in a report Thursday.

“DOE should re-energize its use of the HLW [high-level waste] interpretation, including pursuing a pilot implementation at Hanford for a single-specific waste stream,” the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA), said in its Disposal Drives Cleanup report.

“This would be intended to help foster broader support for the use of the HLW interpretation at Hanford, which could have significant benefits to DOE and the local communities near the site,” said ECA, an advocacy group for localities near DOE facilities.

Under then-Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, DOE in 2019 said much waste classified as high-level poses low-enough risk to allow disposal in low-level radioactive facilities.

In December 2021, President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, agreed that the “re-interpretation,” the term DOE has preferred over re-classification, passes muster with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.

The policy shift has been touted by ECA, industry and other proponents, as a tool to hasten disposal of much defense waste stranded at various DOE sites until a Yucca Mountain-style deep underground repository is in place. Advocates say it would save the bids billions of dollars by decreasing the long-term storage at various DOE facilities.

But lawmakers from Washington state, where DOE’s sprawling Hanford Site is located, have successfully pushed back against implementation of the policy change there.

ECA PUBLICATIONS

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.

Guide to Successful Environmental Cleanup

ECA BULLETIN

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.

View current and previous editions of the ECA Bulletin at www.energyca.org/bulletin

DOE SITE PROFILES

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.

Access your community's profile by visiting: www.energyca.org/site-profiles

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