ECA Update: Coalition letter requesting funds highlighted; Register for upcoming ECA webinar

Published: Tue, 04/27/21

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ECA UPDATE

Apr 27, 2021

FEATURED

ENERGY COMMUNITIES ALLIANCE

Coalition seeks extra $7.25B for DOE nuclear cleanup, jobs jolt

Aiken Standard | 4/26/2021

A cohort of nuclear-minded organizations is pressing the Biden administration for a one-time cash injection it believes would accelerate cleanup of contaminated sites across the U.S. and stimulate neighboring economies ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. An extra $7.25 billion for the Department of Energy’s remediation office, would pay dividends, the bloc wrote in an April 20 letter to the Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.

You can read ECA's letter to the Secretary here.

Follow the latest DOE budget updates with ECA's budget tracker

Monitor DOE spending bills, detailed site budgets, and more.

Find everything you need to know about the DOE budget here!

Please find below the entire agenda for the webinar.

We look forward to your participation.

12:00 pm – 12:15 pm

Welcome

Ron Woody, ECA Chair, and Kara Colton, ECA Director of Nuclear Policy

12:15 pm – 1:15 pm

The Role for Communities in Demonstrating Advanced Nuclear Technologies

Facilitator: Mayor Rebecca Casper, City of Idaho Falls, ID

Ashley Finan, Director, National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC)

Christine King, Director, Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN)

1:15 pm – 2:00 pm

Creating Opportunities for Nuclear Development

Jason Herbert, Director of Government Affairs and Advanced Reactor Communications,

Energy Northwest

2:00 pm – 2:45 pm

What to Expect: A History of Federal Demonstration Projects

David Hart, Senior Fellow, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

2:45 pm – 3:15 pm

What to Consider: The Nuclear Developer’s Perspective

Tara Neider, Sr. Vice President, and Project Director, Natrium Demonstration Reactor, TerraPower

3:15 pm

Wrap-Up

PLUTONIUM

Plutonium pact that led to MOX not covered in latest State Department report

Aiken Standard | 4/23/2021

A public report published by a State Department arms-control office will no longer cover the international plutonium pact that led to the development of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site, unless something major happens.

The change concerning the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement was disclosed in a footnote of the 2021 Compliance Report, posted April 15 by the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance.

The management agreement – signed in a post-Cold War milieu – committed both the U.S. and Russia to disposing 34 metric tons of defense plutonium, enough for thousands of nuclear weapons.

The never-completed and now-shuttered Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility was born from the PMDA; the Savannah River Site plant was supposed to turn the U.S. cache into fuel for nuclear reactors.

IN OTHER NEWS

NEW NUCLEAR

Do New Nuclear Reactor Designs Change The Nuclear Waste Issue? (Forbes, 4/27)

NUCLEAR POWER

Vogtle nuclear update: Milestones at Units 3-4 construction sites (Power Engineering, 4/26)

APPROPRIATIONS

Leahy tees up return of earmarks in Senate spending bills (Roll Call, 4/26)

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 28, 2021 Oak Ridge Small Business Diversity Summit; Virtual

May 4, 2021 Engaging Energy Communities in Advanced Nuclear Demonstration Projects; Virtual

Sept. 8-10, 2021 National Cleanup Workshop; Alexandria, VA

ECA PUBLICATIONS

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.

ECA's Key Points on DOE HLW Interpretation

ECA's FAQs on DOE HLW Interpretation

Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications

ECA BULLETIN

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.

View current and previous editions of the ECA Bulletin at www.energyca.org/bulletin

DOE SITE PROFILES

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.

Access your community's profile by visiting: www.energyca.org/site-profiles

Energy Communities Alliance

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