NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement for Plutonium Pit Production at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina
Federal Register | 9/30/20
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency within the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE), announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Plutonium Pit Production at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina (SRS Pit Production EIS) (DOE/EIS-0541). NNSA prepared the Final EIS to evaluate the potential environmental
impacts of producing a minimum of 50 war reserve pits per year at SRS and developing the ability to implement a short-term surge capacity to enable NNSA to meet the requirements of producing pits at a rate of no fewer than 80 war reserve pits per year beginning during 2030 for the nuclear weapons stockpile.
| Follow the latest DOE budget updates with ECA's budget tracker
|
BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
Senate clears hurdle to avoiding a shutdown
Politico | 9/29/20
The Senate on Tuesday cleared a key procedural hurdle to advancing a short-term funding patch that would prevent a government shutdown on Wednesday at midnight.
The Senate advanced the measure in an 82-6 vote, easily clearing the 60-vote threshold.
The upper chamber is expected to pass the continuing resolution with bipartisan support on Wednesday, sending the measure to President Donald Trump, who will have just hours to sign the bill before the midnight deadline. The stopgap bill stretches about $1.4 trillion in current government funding levels until Dec. 11.
RADIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
Site Plan Approved For DP Road Low-Income Senior Housing Project Despite Concerns Of Two Planning & Zoning Commissioners
Los Alamos Reporter | 9/29/20
What’s happening on DP Road that could cause concern for possible future residents of “The Bluffs”, a four-story, 64-unit apartment building designed to provide affordable housing for seniors 55 and older? Members of the Los Alamos County Planning & Zoning Commission voted 4-2 Wednesday evening to approve the site plan for The Bluffs despite concerns raised about possible radiological contamination
on an adjacent parcel of land which had also been transferred to the County by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration. Two commissioners were absent and a third declined to vote because technical issues with wi-fi caused her to miss some of the discussion.
While there has been no public presentation by DOE before the Los Alamos County Council about DP Road since contaminated materials were excavated there earlier this year and the issue has not been placed on the Council agenda, County Manager Harry Burgess has provided updates during his reports at Council meetings. Burgess also gave a presentation to the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities board June
21. Council Chair Sara Scott told the Los Alamos Reporter Friday that the County has requested from DOE-NNSA a briefing to Council regarding “the path forward for DP Road once it is available”.
HANFORD
Three local Tri-Cities businessmen form a new non-profit organization – Northwest Energy Associates
Clean up Hanford Now | 9/30/20
The estimated life-cycle cost for all of Hanford cleanup increased from $106 billion in 2016 to a range of $323 billion to $677 billion in 2019, and the timeline for completing vitrification and cleanup has been pushed into the next century.
Citizens in eastern Washington and beyond have begun to recognize that continued funding of Hanford cleanup at continually increasing levels is no longer sustainable. It was because of these enormous budget increases that three local Tri-Cities businessmen felt compelled to form a new non-profit organization – Northwest Energy Associates – to advocate for safer, faster and less costly methods of
cleaning up Hanford. The sooner Hanford can be cleaned up, the more opportunity for Hanford to become a new Clean Energy Park. Look at: https://www.cleanuphanfordnow.org/
Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
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 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.
|
|
|
|
