MAYOR CASPER SPEAKS AT IAEA GENERAL CONFERENCE SIDE EVENT
IAEA | October 18, 2024 Mayor Rebecca Casper, Idaho Falls and ECA Vice-Chair, spoke at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Annual General Conference side event. Speakers from Argentina, Canada, Hungary, Japan and the United States of America considered the challenges and opportunities presented to nuclear facility host communities and highlighted success stories and
lessons learned. Participants heard how the success of large infrastructure projects typically relies on social licence and nuclear power projects are no exception. Open dialogue among all stakeholders is vital, especially with host communities, and can help keep projects on time and budget while addressing local concerns. Moreover, open dialogue is key to earning the support of local communities to host nuclear power projects, ranging from power reactors to research laboratories and deep
geological repositories for spent fuel. The recording of the event can be viewed here. Panellists provided examples illustrating how proactive, cooperative
engagement between community members, government bodies and implementing organizations led to positive outcomes and laid the foundation for long-term success. Mayor Casper emphasized that local engagement is essential. Idaho Falls hosts the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL), which is a major nuclear energy research laboratory that has hosted numerous demonstration reactors and is
set to act as the testing ground for several advanced reactors in the near future. “Mayors tend to consider themselves partners,” Casper said. “Unlike the many other players who will be a part of a project, only the local community will be around for the entire 100 year relationship.” Read the IAEA's full summary of the General Conference side event here.
ECA FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: CONSENT BASED SITING COMMUNITY GRANTS Applications now due November 1, 2024
Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) is soliciting applications for local governments to build capacity through targeted education and outreach on nuclear waste storage and disposal issues; and to evaluate community interest in hosting or supporting a federal spent nuclear fuel storage or disposal mission using a community-centered consent-based siting approach.
ECA intends to
award up to six (6) grants of up to $75,000 this fiscal year with an initial period of performance of twelve (12) months. Eligibility is restricted to a municipal or local government entity or group of municipal entities, state government created councils of local governments, community reuse organizations, and municipal government-related economic development entities. Additional information about eligible entities and the complete application can be found here: ECA Consent Based Siting Community Grant Application. ECA has extended the deadline for submission to November 1, 2024. This funding opportunity is part of ECA’s effort, as a U.S. Department of Energy Consent-Based Siting Consortia, to meet two key goals: - Build capacity in communities interested in consent-based siting and ensure they have the information – and informed representatives – to meaningfully engage on the issues a community will address as a potential host of a nuclear waste facility.
- Facilitate deeper engagement and
(re)create momentum by distributing resources for qualifying individual communities that demonstrate readiness to begin localized education and outreach to determine the potential for consent or to capture information that can help define the elements of consent.
In parallel with activities performed under these grants, ECA will be hosting public, regional educational meetings and smaller, targeted local peer-to-peer exchanges to help build trust among the public, industry, policymakers and concerned parties – based on experience – that nuclear waste can be safely managed in a way that is protective of human health and the environment,
and in a way that offers community-driven and risk-based economic opportunity. Be sure to follow the ECA Update next week, where ECA will be in Maine to discuss waste management and Consent-Based Siting at the Maine Yankee Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
(ISFSI). For more information, please contact ECA Director of Policy, Faith Sanchez at: faiths@energyca.org or (202)
828-2410. ### Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) is a non-profit membership organization of local governments and nuclear communities
adjacent to or affected by U.S. Department of Energy activities. The mission of ECA is to bring together local government officials to share information, establish policy positions, and promote community interests to address an increasingly complex set of environmental, regulatory, and economic development needs. Additional information is available at www.energyca.org.
ENSURING LONG TERM SUCCESS: ECA TRANSITION PAPER FOR DOE-EM
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) must continuously examine its work and evolve. The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) is calling on the next Administration to launch a comprehensive review of all aspects of the EM program. To meet the challenges and better ensure the continued success of the DOE-EM program, the ECA’s Transition paper
offers the following recommendations: - Establishment of disposal paths for every type of radioactive and hazardous waste, including ensuring that both private and public sites are available and utilized.
- The reevaluation of DOE-EM’s use of the end-state contracting model so that more funds are available for actual work.
- Ensuring that regulatory agreements are reasonably achievable and balance short- and long-term needs.
- Improvement of workforce planning to
address “brain drain” and long-term needs for skilled talent of all kinds.
- Continuing focus on economic and energy development benefits.
- The maintaining of robust local, state, tribal government, and stakeholder engagement at each site.
- Clarification on DOE policy regarding how the discovery of hazardous and radioactive materials at “completed sites” will be addressed to ensure that cleanup is protective of human health and the environment, and that the local community is
not responsible for the DOE’s legacy waste cleanup.
- The reconstituting of a dedicated nuclear waste organization within the DOE to address high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel issues.
Read the paper by clicking its cover above or the button below!
PROVIDE YOUR INPUT - OPEN REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION & PUBLIC COMMENT Opportunity: DOE Package Performance Demonstration DOE intends to establish a consolidated interim storage facility for storage of spent nuclear fuel until a permanent repository is available. DOE is performing this market research to gather information from all interested parties that will help formulate the actual solicitation. The first RFI is working to establish the market boundaries that can best fulfill the needs of the CISF program. This RFI works to answer the best contract
strategy and contract type, the ability of commercial businesses to support and fulfill CISF requirements & to what capacity small businesses can support CISF requirements. Response Due: October 31 2024, 7:00 pm EST Proposed Rule: Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking comment on a proposed rule for a Generic Environmental Impact Statement for licensing new reactors. The generic impact statement uses a technology-neutral framework and plant/site parameters to identify environmental issues common to new reactors, and those issues needing project-specific analysis. NRC staff members will conduct an in-person meeting and two webinars to discuss the proposed generic impact statement and
accept comments from the public. The in-person meeting will be at NRC headquarters, 11555 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland, on Nov. 7 from 1-4p.m. Eastern time. The webinars will be Nov. 13 from 1-4 p.m. Eastern time, and Nov. 14 from 6-9 p.m. Eastern time. Additional details for all three meetings will be available soon on the NRC’s website. The meetings are one method to comment before the Dec. 18 deadline. Comments can also be submitted via regulations.gov under Docket ID NRC-2020-0101, via email to Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov, or by mail to Office of Administration, Mail Stop TWFN-7- A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Response Due: December 18 2024 |
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WHAT YOU'VE MISSED: US opens applications for $900 million for small nuclear reactors WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. on
Wednesday opened applications for up to $900 million in funding to support the initial domestic deployment of small modular reactor nuclear technology. President Joe Biden's administration believes nuclear
power is critical in the fight against climate change because it generates electricity virtually free from emissions, and that U.S. nuclear power capacity must triple to meet emissions goals. Read the full story DOE names four companies to split $2.7 billion in future HALEU enrichment contracts If we needed more proof that this is a “nuclear week”—in the words of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Wednesday, as she announced small modular reactor funding while celebrating tech company investments in advanced reactors—the Department of Energy came through late yesterday when, just nine days after announcing six contracts for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) deconversion, it announced four contracts for HALEU enrichment services worth up to $2.7 billion. Those contracts are going to Centrus Energy’s American Centrifuge Operating subsidiary, General Matter, Orano Federal Services, and Urenco
USA’s Louisiana Energy Services. Read the full story Work already underway for new small nuclear reactors at Palisades property COVERT, MI –
On-the-ground efforts are already underway at the site of a closed nuclear power plant in Southwest Michigan to co-locate a pair of small-modular reactors there in coming years. Holtec International, the company that owns and wants to restart the closed Palisades nuclear plant, is already working on preliminary site plans for a pair of 300-megawatt SMRs previously announced for the industrial site along Lake Michigan in Covert Township. Officials said workers are taking soil borings to identify the best place to build the two new units on the 432-acre
site. Read the full story
Gone Fission Nuclear Report - Reviewing EM in the New Administration October 7, 2024 | S4
E17 With a new Administration taking office in January, the Energy Communities Alliance has released a detailed report calling for a top-to-bottom review of the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management program. In this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, ECA Executive Director Seth Kirshenberg shares with Host Michael Butler the recommendations his
organization believes can help the cleanup program better accomplish its formidable mission, including revisiting EM's end-state contracting model and re-establishing a dedicated DOE office to oversee nuclear waste storage. ECA-DOE-NE Coal to Nuclear Transition Webinar September 27, 2024 As part of ECA’s New Nuclear Initiative, participants will join a discussion with DOE-NE on the feasibility of converting the nation’s retiring coal plants to nuclear power plants. By leveraging
the existing workforce and some of the infrastructure in coal communities the transition from coal-to-nuclear could preserve hundreds of jobs, while creating new jobs and economic opportunities.
DOE-NE - What's Next for the Federal Consolidated Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel November 20 | 4:00pm - 5:00pm EST In this sixth installment of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE's) consent-based siting webinar series, DOE officials will discuss consent-based siting progress and answer questions related to the federal consolidated interim storage of spent nuclear fuel. The questions will be drawn from public feedback
received during previous webinars, from social science research, and from inquiries sent to DOE email inboxes. The Consent-based Siting Consortia will also be in attendance. All
communities, organizations, and individuals interested in DOE’s consent-based siting and consortia activities are encouraged to attend this webinar and, if they would like to ask questions, submit them via Zoom.gov or by email at consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov. Register Here
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