ECA Update: December 23, 2015
Published: Wed, 12/23/15
Federal Register Notice: Invitation for Public Comment To Inform the Design of a Consent-Based Siting Process for Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal Facilities ECA Staff Please click here to see a Notice Of Invitation For Public Comment Energy Department on 12/23/2015. DOE Announces Consent-Based Siting Public Meeting ECA Staff DOE has announced the date, time and location of its first public meeting regarding developing a consent-based siting process: January 20, 2016, at the Marriott Renaissance Washington, DC, Downtown Hotel (999 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001) from 1pm to 4pm EST. The meeting will be webcast. 'Consent-based' siting process for nuclear waste started Las Vegas Review-Journal December 21, 2015 LINK WASHINGTON — With Yucca Mountain mothballed as a nuclear waste repository, the U.S. Energy Department on Monday launched a "consent-based" siting process to ensure that communities, tribes and states are comfortable with the location of future storage and disposal sites before they are constructed. Exactly how the process will work has not been determined. The Energy Department plans to flesh out the approach in the next year and is asking for public comment to make it "fair and effective." "Your input will inform the design of a consent-based siting process, which will serve as a framework for collaborating with interested host communities across the country," Undersecretary Franklin Orr said in an online statement. "We want to hear from you." An "Invitation for Public Comment" will be published in the Federal Register in the next few days. The department is planning to hold public meetings in 2016 across the country. And, comments or concerns can also be emailed to consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov. Spent nuclear fuel from commercial reactors is stored on-site at nuclear power plants across the country. Although it is safe and secure in these locations, a long-term solution is needed to ensure that the public and environment continue to be protected, Orr said. The department plans, as a first step, to develop a pilot interim storage facility to accept used nuclear fuel from reactors that have been shut down. The facility would allow spent fuel to be accepted from utilities while the Energy Department develops protocols and procedures for transportation and storage of nuclear waste. The Obama administration also supports developing a larger, interim storage facility that would have more capacity and capabilities. The larger facility probably would serve as a packaging facility for waste before shipment to one or more long-term geological repositories. Orr said that geological repositories, which would store nuclear material deep within the Earth's surface in safe, scientifically proven locations, represent the safest and most cost-effective method for permanently disposing of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, had been tapped as a repository for storing thousands of canisters of waste in tunnels drilled throughout the mountain. The Obama administration in 2010 shelved the controversial project, which faced opposition from many Nevada political leaders and citizens. Congress last week approved an omnibus budget to keep government agencies funded through September that included no additional spending on Yucca. Contract to manage Los Alamos lab available after 2017 Las Cruces-Sun News December 21, 2015 LINK LOS ALAMOS - The $2 billion contract to manage one of the federal government’s premier nuclear weapons laboratories will be up for grabs after 2017. The National Nuclear Security Administration has decided not to grant an extension of Los Alamos National Security’s contract to run the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation say the reasons cited by the National Nuclear Security Administration include a serious safety incident involving a worker. They also involve expensive waste-handling mistakes that led to the indefinite closure of the federal government’s only underground nuclear waste repository. The current contract expires in September 2017. Lab Director Charlie McMillan told employees in an email last week that the lab’s latest review was better than the two previous years but not good enough to ensure an automatic contract extension. UCOR ramps up work on Y-12 mercury-treatment design; Oak Ridge and Savannah River sharing resources on mercury issues Knox Blogs December 21, 2015 LINK UCOR (URS-CH2M Oak Ridge) is the Department of Energy’s cleanup manager in Oak Ridge, and that role has brought the contractor head to head with some challenging tasks — such as fixing the leak in the reactor pool at the ORNL’s Oak Ridge Research Reactor and tearing down lots of big buildings. UCOR also has been given the lead in designing a new mercury treatment facility at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, and that work is starting to really move forward, with the preliminary design to be completed in the spring of 2016, according to UCOR’s recent response to questions. Anne Smith, a spokeswoman for UCOR, emphasized that mercury cleanup is one of DOE’s top priorities in Oak Ridge. She said the new treatment facility will reduce the discharges of mercury into the headwaters of East Fork Poplar Creek. The overall cost of the new mercury treatment facility at Y-12 is expected to be in the range of $150 million. “UCOR has primary responsibility for design of the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility and is drawing on the resources of its two parent companies -– CH2M and AECOM –- in the design effort,” Smith said via email. “Site civil surveys were performed by a subcontractor.” The preliminary design stage is focused on the “headworks” that will capture water from Outfall 200 (where Y-12’s storm sewer system empties into the creek) and move it to the treatment facility, as well as the design of the treatment process itself, she said. After the preliminary design work is done, the final design will begin, and that work is supposed to be completed in early 2017, Smith said. That will be followed by a series of DOE reviews, she said. “As part of this effort, a Mercury Issues Coordination Team has been formed by UCOR and Savannah River Remediation, DOE’s liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina,” Smith said. “Both SRR and UCOR share ownership by AECOM. SRS is addressing mercury-related issues in its liquid waste system, primarily associated with the Defense Waste Processing Facility.” Harold Conner, UCOR’s manager of nuclear services and engineering, and three other UCOR employees are working on the Mercury Issues Coordination Team, which is supposed to coordinate their work on mercury issues at the two DOE sites. The team is engaged in joint reviews of technical information, information sharing (including lessons learned), identifying integrated approaches and coordinating communications and interactions with DOE-EM,” Smith said. Friends of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park – Oak Ridge The Oakridger December 21, 2015 LINK The implementation of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge continues to gain momentum! We have a Contact/Visitor Center located in the American Museum of Science and Energy. A park ranger is there every Saturday, and often other days of the week, as well. Niki Nicholas, superintendent, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and Obed Wild and Scenic River is the person the Park Service has placed in charge of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park – Oak Ridge. She is a dedicated professional with substantial experience managing national park units. One of her very first actions was to post the job to enable her to expand the staff coverage to daily. The job bids are closed now and she explained to me that she was pleased by the very high number of applicants received and by the experience they brought with them. The job will be filled after the holidays. She went on to explain that she had also been pleasantly surprised by the strong interest in the Oak Ridge location by her existing staff. What she had feared was that adding the responsibility for Oak Ridge to existing workloads might not be as well accepted as she hoped it would. Just the opposite has been the case, Niki said. I have had the opportunity to interact with several of her staff and have been impressed by their intense interest in learning about Oak Ridge history. As an example, Natasha Klug, who has spent several Saturdays here, called me to ask for suggestions that she might use to create short tours in Oak Ridge. Of course, I fired off an email to her listing some 21 suggested tour sites that are readily accessible, such as the International Friendship Bell, the Secret City Commemorative Walk, the Birth of a City monuments, and more. To say I find all this exciting is putting it way too mildly! So, what is next? On Nov. 13, representatives of the National Park Service from the Atlanta regional office attended the Manhattan Project National Historic Park Business and Community Leaders’ Forum in Oak Ridge. The event was sponsored by Leidos, a company that exemplifies strong community support and saw a unique opportunity to be among the very first to financially contribute to the new local national park effort. The Park Service is experienced in working jointly with partner organizations and readily assisted the attendees to better understand what we were being asked to consider. It was quickly apparent that the Manhattan Project National Historical Park would be different in many ways, but would not be unlike other National Parks when it came to seeking local support and private funding. As you may realize, funding for the new park is going to be somewhat limited, as is funding for all our nation’s national parks. The amount planned for Fiscal Year 2016 is $180,000, which will cover the salary requirements of a superintendent and will begin the master planning initiative necessary to begin effective operations of the national park at three sites, Los Alamos, N.M., Hanford, Wash., and Oak Ridge. While the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation had already been discussing what could be done to quickly accommodate the need for a fund collection point and a formal method to assist the newly forming park, this Nov. 13 event gave exactly the detailed information required to take the next steps. As a direct result of the interest generated by the Business and Community Leaders Forum, an initial process has been implemented. A formal agreement between the National Park Service and the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation was officially signed on Thursday, Dec. 10, by Wayne Stevenson, American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation board chairman and Niki, the designated person to execute the agreement. Niki was authorized by Tracy Adkins, superintendent of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. This agreement is but the first of such actions we will see take place as the newly established national park, located in three sites, moves through the iterations required to function locally while keeping all three sites and the headquarters in Denver, Colo., in the loop. I have been impressed with the prompt actions by both Tracy and Niki on this initiative. The agreement sets forth a simple but thorough process for managing the account established exclusively to support the identified critical needs of the park in Oak Ridge. Such needs include, but are not limited to: Volunteer coordination; interpretative and educational staff; development and production of interpretive materials, programs, plans and technology; Teacher-Ranger-Teacher program costs; historic preservation activities or documentation of historic buildings or sites; planning, design or construction to improve public access; and support for social media efforts. Specific identified needs for the park in Oak Ridge are: • Print Park (Oak Ridge site) newspaper, $500 per run of 3,000 • Print Park (Oak Ridge site) Junior Ranger Booklets, $900 per run of 1,000 • Junior Ranger badges and patches, $4,000 • Volunteer uniforms and supplies, $2,000 • Part-time education specialist park ranger, $20,000 • Manhattan Project National Historical Park - Oak Ridge site display at Knoxville Airport, $3,300 • IT equipment, $6,000 • Part-time lead ranger, $30,000 • Fiscal Year 2016 Teacher-Ranger-Teacher summer program, $4,000 per teacher • Seasonal park ranger, $16,000 See what I mean? Would you have thought the Park Service personnel would already be thinking and actually checking into the possibility of placing an exhibit in McGhee Tyson Airport? Well, Niki has already made connections there and has an agreement that she can put a display there. All she needs is the funding for it. So, who wants to be the first to contribute to that $3,000 effort? To facilitate ease of support, a website has been created, www.AMSEFoundation.org with a special page for the Friends of Manhattan Project National Historical Park – Oak Ridge. There you will find information on how to donate via check, electronic transfer and you may use PayPal directly from the web site. Or, of course, support can also be provided by check mailed to the AMSE Foundation at 300 S. Tulane Ave., Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Please indicate the funds are intended for the Friends of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park fund – Oak Ridge, by making your check payable to the park fund. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at draysmith@comcast.net or (865) 482-4224. |
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