ECA Update: June 14, 2012
Published: Thu, 06/14/12
Two Nuclear Nominees Get a Hearing
Matthew L. Wald, The New York Times Green Blog June 14, 2012 President Obama's nominee to lead the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said at a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday that the nuclear industry's share of American electricity production, steady at 20 percent for the last decade, could decline in coming years. Nonetheless, a diverse electricity supply requires continued use of nuclear power, she said.
The nominee, Allison M. Macfarlane, has made few if any public statements about her position on nuclear power; this one, predicting a possible decline in the industry, was unusual for a commission nominee. The commission is supposed to regulate nuclear power, not promote it - a job that Congress gave to the Energy Department - but its members seldom sound so grim about the commercial prospects.
Democrats and Republicans sniped intermittently at Dr. Macfarlane, the Democratic choice for chairman, and at Kristine Svinicki, a former Republican staff member who has been nominated for a second term as commissioner. But approval of both is considered highly likely -- possibly next week
What New Mexico can teach us about storing nuclear waste Brad Plumer, The Washington Post June 13, 2012 The nation's nuclear waste is piling up. The proposed storage site at Nevada's Yucca Mountain has been nixed -- possibly for good. And the problem is only growing more acute: On Friday, a D.C. federal appeals court ruled that the current strategy of keeping waste on-site at power plants around the country may not be viable. So what can the United States do instead?
One place to look for inspiration might be out in the New Mexico desert.
At least, that was the suggestion from Allison MacFarlane, President Obama's nominee to head up the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. At her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, MacFarlane was grilled by senators about her views on how best to dispose of the nation's spent nuclear fuel. As a possible model for future repositories, she pointed to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, N.M., which opened in 1999 and now handles the radioactive leftovers from U.S. defense facilities.
Feinstein: Court Ruling Reinforces Need for Action on Nuclear Waste Policy Senator Feinstein Press Release June 11, 2012 Washington--Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, issued the following statement after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals last week rejected a Nuclear Regulatory Commission policy related to the handling of nuclear waste:
"The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected a 2010 finding by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that nuclear waste will be safe in spent fuel pools for 60 years beyond the life of the plant. The court found that the NRC inadequately studied environmental effects of potential leaks and fires. The court also rejected the NRC's premise that a permanent waste repository would be available 'when necessary.'
Ruling Could Help Break The Nuclear-Waste Logjam Christopher Joyce, NPR June 13, 2012 The federal government promised almost 30 years ago to find a place to bury nuclear waste from power plants. It hasn't. So the waste is piling up at power plants around the country.
Now a federal court says the government must prove that this temporary solution is truly safe. The decision could help break the nuclear-waste logjam.
Most people agree that used nuclear fuel, which is highly radioactive, needs to be disposed of forever. But that's proving easier said than done. The government spent billions digging a giant hole for waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Then President Obama canceled that project in 2009. The nuclear industry and many Republicans in Congress are fighting the administration to reverse that decision.
Hanford Advisory Board deserves serious reply Tri-City Herald June 13, 2012 We've occasionally criticized the Hanford Advisory Board for failing to live up to its potential, but in recent days this inherently unwieldy body of sometimes competing interests has once again proved its worth. When we've expressed disappointment, it's because we recognize the crucial role HAB members play in ensuring that Hanford cleanup is effective and safe.We've sometimes wished the board would extend its reach to cleanup issues that weren't on its agenda, and other times we pushed for more timely recommendations.
The reason we've wanted more is simple. HAB's deliberations are meaningful. The process works, if not always perfectly.
58 Hanford workers laid off at CH2M Hill Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald June 12, 2012 Almost 60 workers will be leaving Hanford by June 25 in the first phase of a two-part layoff by CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co.
The Department of Energy Hanford contractor plans to lay off as many as 400 workers total between this month's layoff and a second round in September, as CH2M Hill announced in April. It had about 1,800 employees then.
This month's layoffs include 14 people who volunteered for layoffs and 44 involuntary layoffs, with those workers notified Monday, said Dee Millikin, CH2M Hill spokeswoman. The layoffs include workers directly employed by CH2M Hill and the 11 subcontractors who have been with CH2M Hill since it took over the central Hanford environmental cleanup contract in 2008.
DOE to announce Hanford's N Reactor cocooned as cleanup chief Huizenga visits Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald June 12, 2012 Richland -- The Department of Energy plans to announce Thursday that Hanford's unique N Reactor has been cocooned.
David Huizenga, the DOE senior advisor for environmental management, will visit the reactor and make the announcement.
Huizenga is visiting the Tri-Cities with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who will be here Thursday and Friday.
N Reactor has been cocooned, or put in temporary storage, in a process that includes tearing down as much as possible of the reactor and its support structures and then sealing up what remains, including the attached heat exchanger building.
Energy Dept. to rescue cash-strapped uranium enrichment project Steven Mufson, The Washington Post June 13, 2012 The Energy Department has reached a deal to rescue a uranium-enrichment development whose owner did not have the money to complete the project.
The department said Wednesday that it will immediately provide $88 million and in return take ownership of giant centrifuges used in the uranium-enrichment process. Ultimately, taxpayers would contribute as much as 80 percent of a $350 million research and development program to determine whether the technology can work and be commercially viable.
Critics of the deal called it a bailout of U.S. Enrichment Corp., a former government company privatized in the 1990s, and an unproven technology. Supporters of the agreement said it will protect national security and jobs.
Frank Munger: Will DOE changes ease anxiety? Frank Munger, KnoxNews.com June 13, 2012 After months of anticipation (and, in some cases, dread), the restructuring of the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge office is now in effect and will be fully implemented by July 1.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the go-ahead earlier this week, and the reorganization in essence creates a series of site offices in Oak Ridge that report directly to their program leaders at DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C. According to Chu and other DOE officials, the new structure will eliminate a layer of management and result in decisions being made at the lowest level in the organization that's consistent with "best management practices."
When the reorganization plan was taking shape a year ago under the interim Oak Ridge leadership of Paul Golan, who later returned to his position as DOE's oversight at the SLAC National Accelerator Center in California, there were concerns that the new management plan would eliminate a bunch of jobs within the Federal Office Building and probably kill a number of the services subcontracts. There appears to be more of the latter than the former, but most of the folks I've talked to in recent weeks don't think the net results will be what they once feared. But, as with anything new, it may take a while to gauge the impacts.
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