PUBLICATIONS AND COMMENTS
ECA SUBMITS COMMENTS ON DOE-EM'S 2023 STRATEGIC VISION
ECA Staff| 01/22/2024 On Friday, ECA submitted their comments for DOE-EM's 2023 Strategic Vision. ECA's comments are divided in four categories: - EM Engagement with Frontline Communities and Opportunities for Partnership
- Improve and Mitigate Environmental Justice
and Climate Change Impacts in Frontline Communities Adjacent to DOE Sites
- Engaging Regularly with Local Governments Based on the Communities’ Future Vision for DOE Cleanup Sites
- Create an Annual Scorecard to Measure Progress towards EM Goals Outlined in the Strategic Vision
ECA is appreciative to the Office of Environmental Management for the opportunity to provide recommendations' that come directly from the frontline local governments with DOE cleanup missions. Some highlights from the comments include: - The Strategic Vision should identify the progress that DOE has made with the site workforce meetings and
reference the five-year workforce projection plan. EM worked with EFCOG and ECA on various workforce initiatives. In June EM and EFCOG developed and released a set of workforce projections over the next five years at each cleanup sites. As a result of these projections DOE-EM, EFCOG, and ECA held two community oriented workforce meetings in 2023 at the Savannah River Site and Los Alamos County. Both initiatives focus on one of EM’s most pressing priorities and challenges which is
ensuring that the next generation of workers is ready and available. The Strategic Vision should highlight EM’s plans to ensure each EM community has a plan to meet their workforce projection goals that are tailored to their unique site. EM should include plans for more meetings with EM, EFCOG and local officials near other cleanup sites.
- The Strategic Vision should clarify how long-term stewardship will be integrated
by EM and implemented by LM if land is conveyed to LM. Currently, communities are unsure how EM will integrate long-term stewardship into the cleanup plans for a site, or how the LM will have the capacity to manage large EM sites. All sites are cleaned up to accepted risk levels, necessitating long-term stewardship measures to protect the health, safety, environment, quality of life, and economic future of the sites’ communities. The remedy selection needs to identify the mechanisms and
activities of long term stewardship and ensure that they are in place after cleanup is complete.4 An example of an area that shows areas that need improvement in this process is the lack of protocol or policy for emergency responses at previous EM sites that are now under LM. Recently, DOE has had several experiences in Missouri, Ohio and other states where the response by the federal government can be improved.ECA would like DOE and other federal agencies that have responsibilities for these
former defense facilities to develop a clear process for such responses. ECA is in the process of drafting a letter to Deputy Secretary Turk that outlines this specific issue and provides recommendations.
- The Strategic Vision should include the importance of preserving historic sites and remembering the past after LM becomes their landlord. EM announced an initiative that would focus on the preservation of
historic sites, museums, national parks, and others. The Atomic Legacy Preservation Network (ALPN) is incredibly crucial to ensuring that the public and communities remember the history surrounding these sites. Highlighting this initiative is critical in building understanding among the public that showcases how so many communities across the nation have participated not only in the Manhattan Project, but alongside other nuclear weapons productions in the U.S. and legacy of those
efforts.
Use this link to read the full document.
REGISTRATION IS LIVE FOR ECA's New Nuclear Forum: Building Nuclear Partnerships and Projects, May 8-9, 2024 in Kennewick,
WA
ECA is excited to be hosting its third New Nuclear Forum, the only meeting designed to bring together DOE, federal, state, local and tribal governments and policymakers with developers, utilities,
regulators, industry, and academia to identify opportunities, challenges and to build the partnerships necessary to support nuclear development. Communities across the country are considering nuclear projects for many reasons - from diversifying regional economies, creating clean energy jobs or meeting carbon reduction goals, to increasing energy security and rebuilding the U.S. supply chain. Some communities have a familiarity with nuclear energy projects, while others are just beginning to evaluate potential interest. The ECA
Forum is designed to enable shared learning so that local, State and Tribal governments evaluating nuclear projects can be meaningfully engaged - and prepared - to match the strengths and needs of their communities with new nuclear opportunities.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
The ECA Forum is open to communities, State, Tribal and local policymakers, industry, utilities,
developers, experts, financiers, state legislators, community groups, and economic development organizations working to build capacity and support for new nuclear development in the U.S. MEETING GOALS:
This meeting
is part of ECA's New Nuclear Initiative to define the role of local governments in supporting the development of the new nuclear technologies, and answer three core questions: - What do communities need to
know to attract and support new nuclear development/missions?
- How can communities support industry, national laboratories, state, and federal governments and how should they communicate about local resources and development opportunities?
- What hurdles and challenges will communities face - along with industry and
developers - and who can we work with to overcome them?
AGENDA:
ECA, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, has developed an agenda that continues to look
holistically at the what a nuclear project entails: from the front-end of the fuel-cycle to the back-end of the fuel cycle, from building local support, to state support and enabling legislation, from identifying the right public-private partnerships, to understanding regulatory oversight. Session topics include: - How to Build Community Acceptance
- Reusing Energy Sites for New Nuclear Development
- Understanding Industrial Applications of Nuclear Energy
- Pursuing a Reliable, Domestic Nuclear Fuel Supply
- Rebuilding the U.S. Nuclear
Supply
OPTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES:
Tuesday, May 7, 2024: ECA is offering an optional "Nuclear 101" for participants new to nuclear energy.
Friday, May 10, 2024: ECA is offering an optional tour: Historic Hanford Tour / Future of Nuclear around Hanford Tour. Additional registration will be required and openings are limited.
INTERESTED IN BEING A SPONSOR? To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Autumn Bogus, ECA Forum Staff, at abogus@la-inc.com.
QUESTIONS?
For any questions, comments, or to learn more about the ECA New Nuclear Forums, please contact Kara Colton,
ECA Director of Nuclear Policy, at kara.colton@energyca.org or Faith Sanchez, ECA Program Manager, at faiths@energyca.org.
NEW MEDIA: Gone Fission Nuclear Report: Remembering Gary Peterson January 8, 2024 | S4E1 Every DOE community has local leaders who step up to advocate for funding and new missions and to hold the Department of Energy accountable for its cleanup obligations.
These leaders take the time to educate themselves on site issues, get to know DOE leaders and members of Congress, and use their voices and influence to represent their communities. In this week’s episode, the Gone Fission Nuclear Report remembers one such leader--Gary Petersen, a long-time passionate advocate for the Hanford site in Washington State, who passed away last October, leaving an impressive legacy of advocacy and support.
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Check out ECA's latest
report! DISPOSAL DRIVES CLEANUP: RE-ENERGIZING MOMENTUM FOR DISPOSAL SOLUTIONS FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE
This report calls on the Department of Energy 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.
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. |
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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