Sen. Barrasso Op-Ed: Get Serious About Burying Nuclear Waste
Wall Street Journal | 5/28/2019
If the U.S. is serious about climate change, we must become serious about nuclear energy. Roughly 60% of America’s carbon-free energy comes from nuclear power. That’s more than three times the energy produced by wind and more than 18 times the amount from solar. Ninety-seven civilian nuclear plants generate roughly 20% of America’s electricity.
But nuclear energy creates waste. Spent nuclear fuel sits at 121 sites in 39 states. Some is from military operations, such as powering the Navy’s submarines and aircraft carriers. Most comes from commercial power plants. While this spent fuel poses no immediate safety or environmental threat to the public, we need a permanent solution for its disposal.
In 1982 Congress enacted a law to establish a nuclear-waste management policy. In 1987 lawmakers selected the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada as the first disposal site. This remote location inside a desert mountain consistently ranked at the top of the list of suitable spots. It is located on 8,400 square miles of U.S. government-owned land, an area larger than Massachusetts. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s scientific and technical
staff determined the site could safely contain high-level nuclear waste for at least a million years.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
GAO Expected to Review Energy Dept. Payments In Lieu of Taxes
Exchange Monitor | 5/28/2019
[ECA Note: Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) are and essential funding source for many local governments which host DOE's critical national defense facilities. The payments are made pursuant to federal law to compensate communities from the loss of tax revenues on properties condemned or acquired for DOE purposes, where such properties had previously been subject to state and local taxes. PILT payment amounts are based on the
"special burden" and impact that DOE sites present to host communities.
PILT funds are used by DOE-impacted communities to support schools, hospital districts, roads, critical infrastructure, and to provide fire, police, and other vital municipal services — all of which support DOE’s mission.
Moreover, PILT funds are used to provide essential municipal services to DOE sites at levels, and in quantities, that otherwise far outstrip the community’s tax base. PILT payments are an essential offset that is used by the community to provide the support services. Even so, PILT payments are significantly below what private companies would contribute to local tax revenues for similar land and service usage.]
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The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) plans in September to release a report on the Energy Department’s payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) to communities surrounding its national laboratories and cleanup sites.
The report will analyze the differences in PILT payments across sites and how have they varied over time, according to the GAO.
The GAO study will also consider to what extent these payments meet PILT goals of compensating localities for land held by the federal government since the days of the Manhattan Project and the Cold War. Payments in lieu of taxes are meant to compensate local governments for property that cannot be taxed or developed for new business.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) alluded to the report during comments Tuesday in the House Appropriations Committee markup of the fiscal 2020 energy and water development funding bill.
NEW NUCLEAR
ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP
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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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Read ECA's Latest Publication
Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High-Level Waste Definition:
A Guide for Communities and Recommendations for DOE
This paper was developed as a guide for communities to understand a new interpretation of the statutory definition of high-level nuclear waste proposed by DOE in October 2018. This new interpretation could speed up cleanup at several sites, develop a path forward for waste stranded in interim storage and tanks, and potentially save tens of billions of dollars. The paper provides local communities and other DOE
stakeholders with information needed to enable informed decisions and constructive input to the Department as it determines next steps and implementation.
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 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.
NATIONAL CLEANUP WORKSHOP
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Attend the 2019 National Cleanup Workshop
"Advancing Goal-Oriented Nuclear Waste Cleanup, Today and Tomorrow"
September 10-12, 2019
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center
Alexandria, VA
Join more than 700 attendees, including senior DOE officials, Congressional leaders, DOE contractors, and state, tribal and local government leaders for the largest EM-focused gathering in the D.C. area.
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