As part of ECA's New Nuclear Initiative, the second annual ECA Forum will bring communities, SMR and advanced nuclear project developers, federal and state governments together to enable shared learning and to build the partnerships necessary to address opportunities for new nuclear development.
ECA Announces Recipients of Local Government Education and Outreach Funding Funds will benefit local frontline communities around DOE cleanup sites ECA Staff | 3/13/2023
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The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) is
pleased to announce that three local governments – Anderson County, TN; the City of Idaho Falls, ID; and the Town of Ashford, NY – were selected to receive grants to increase education and outreach campaigns and local government participation in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) environmental cleanup mission. Each grant recipient will be awarded funding in the amount of $50,000. A key part of ECA’s organizational mission is to educate local governments on issues impacting the frontline communities at DOE sites, as well as to promote local
government interaction on DOE’s core missions and initiatives. It is essential that DOE decision-making reflects local government engagement, and enduring acceptance of these decisions requires informed and involved local government officials and local government entities. In support of this goal, ECA developed the grant pilot program to increase education and local government and community participation in DOE’s environmental cleanup efforts at sites where DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) has ongoing responsibilities, including
defense and non-defense environmental cleanup sites. Each of the three grant recipients submitted applications that met the requirements of the grant program, and that demonstrated clear goals and a plan for implementation of project activities, which aligned with the goal and purpose of project. Anderson County will coordinate development and implementation of an enhanced education and outreach strategy and creation of long-term engagement mechanisms around environmental cleanup issues, including frontline stakeholder meetings, workshops, digital outreach, data
collection and reporting, third party consultation, and collaboration on an economic development strategy. The City of Idaho Falls will work with the Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium to create education materials and displays, building a forum to disseminate accurate information about environmental cleanup progress and technological breakthroughs and challenges. The Town of Ashford will retain a consultant for technical assistance involved in the Probabilistic Performance Assessment that is being developed as part of the Supplemental EIS for the West Valley Demonstration Project and will
provide the community with a better understanding of the application of federal and state environmental cleanup laws, standards, and goals for the site. ECA would like to thank all applicants for their interest in this grant pilot program and to express our gratitude to the Selection Committee for their time and efforts.
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More Details about the Biden Budget Request Released ECA Staff | 3/13/23 Today, the White House released additional details about the Fiscal Year 2024 budget request for the Department of Energy (DOE). According to new documents, the Administration is requesting increases in cleanup funding for Hanford and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). However, there are proposed cuts in cleanup funding for Idaho, Savannah River, and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
sites.
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In December last year, ECA sent a letter to the White House urging adequate funding for Environmental Management (EM) sites in FY 2024. In the letter, ECA noted, “The federal government has an obligation to these communities to make progress in cleaning up the contamination left behind at the sites, and meeting that obligation will require significantly more funding for the EM program.” Increased funding for the entire EM program is necessary beginning in FY24 to allow the Department to
accelerate its work on critical projects that will reduce these projected end dates for cleanup and provide long-term cost savings for the program. At the current pace, the total cost of EM work is nearly $723 billion, and projected end dates for cleanup may take decades—2078 at Hanford, 2047 at Oak Ridge, and 2065 at Savannah River Site. The budget rollout is underway, as agencies including DOE will provide more budget justification documents to the public and will testify on Capitol Hill in the coming weeks. Read ECA’s analysis from last week’s budget release here.
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ECA Calls on DOE Leadership and Congress to Prioritize and Re-Energize Disposal Solutions for Radioactive Waste Without it, DOE cannot complete cleanup of waste created as part of the Cold War mission ECA Staff | 3/13/23 The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA), the organization of local communities near U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national defense sites, is urging DOE to prioritize and take action to finalize disposal pathways for the radioactive waste under the Department’s cleanup responsibility. ECA recently released a new report, “Disposal Drives
Cleanup: Re-Energizing Momentum for Disposal Solutions for Radioactive Waste,” calling on DOE to launch the initiative to develop the actual waste disposition approaches. The Department could potentially save hundreds of billions of dollars in cleanup costs by using its available tools and implementing the report’s recommendations. “The simple truth is that DOE cannot safely and effectively complete its environmental cleanup obligations without clear and achievable waste disposal pathways and locations for ALL of the waste
under DOE’s responsibility,” the report states. The
Department has made significant progress toward the cleanup mission and has demonstrated its ability to safely manage waste over multiple decades. Renewed focus and action are now needed to develop disposal solutions for some of DOE’s most pressing waste types, including waste resulting from former spent nuclear fuel reprocessing activities; high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel and Greater-than-Class-C low-level waste. DOE also needs to take action to ensure sustained engagement and support
for communities that could host disposal options. Without such disposal solutions, DOE faces continued delays in addressing one of its largest environmental hazards and financial costs, along with continued delays in completing cleanup activities and impacted relationships with state, local and Tribal governments and engaged stakeholders. “DOE’s cleanup liability is one of the largest in the nation, and delay or lack of expediency could easily overwhelm available funding. It is DOE’s responsibility to abide by its legal and moral obligations to achieve waste
treatment and disposal safely and efficiently for long-term protection of the environment, workers, and public,” the report states. The report offers the following recommendations to develop more efficient and equitable approaches to address the waste management challenges DOE faces today: - Prioritize Use of the High-Level Waste Interpretation
- Support and Complete the Consent-Based Siting Process
- Select a Disposal Site for GTCC Waste
- Support WIPP and Develop and Issue Long-Term, Integrated Plans for Operations
- Continue to Emphasize Regular, Meaningful Engagement with Communities
- Provide Technical Assistance to Communities to Address Waste Issues
- Re-evaluate the Practice of Incentivizing Contractors to Open a Waste Site in the Contracting
- Process Prior to Obtaining Community Support and Regulatory Approval
- Maximize the Use of Public and Private Disposal Site Options
- Create Tools to Show a Community the Impacts of Waste
Decisions
To read the full report, please visit www.energyca.org/publications or click here. For more information, please contact ECA Program Manager Sarah Templeton at saraht@energyca.org or (202) 828-2410
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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. |
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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.
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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. |
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