WIEB High-Level Radioactive Waste Committee Meeting Summary

Seattle, Washington - Mayflower Park Hotel

June 9-10, 1999

 

Click here to view the meeting agenda and briefing materials.

June 9

 

Attendees

 

The Committee met on June 9 and June 10.  Committee members attending the meeting were: Ken Niles, Co-Chair (OR), Captain Allan Turner, Co-Chair (CO), Max Power (WA), Bob Halstead (NV), Larry Pearce (NB), Dan Nix (CA), Bill Craig (UT) and Chris Wentz (NM).  Also in attendance were Doug Larson (staff) and Dale DeCesare (staff), Max Powell (DOE-Yucca Mountain), Russell DiBartolo (Clark County, NV), Pete Cummings (City of Las Vegas), Steve Kalmbach (WA State Patrol), Ron Ross (WGA), and Chris Wells (SSEB).  On June 10, William Sinclair, Director of Utah’s Division of Radiation Control attended the meeting to provide the Committee with an update on activities concerning the proposed private interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Utah.

 

DOE/Yucca Mountain Update

 

The meeting began with an update on activities at Yucca Mountain from Max Powell (DOE-Yucca Mountain).  This was followed by a discussion lead by Bob Halstead (NV) on Nevada’s perspective on activities at Yucca Mountain.

 

Mr. Powell indicated that a draft of the Yucca Mountain EIS was expected to be released in July for public comment.  Powell commented that the Technical Review Board for the proposed repository has recommended that the repository be designed to operate at cooler temperatures with waste canisters spaced further apart inside the storage area.  This design scheme is different than that which was presented in the Viability Assessment for the proposed repository.  The design proposed in the Viability Assessment is therefore not going to be the design which will go forward into the NRC licensing process.

 

According to Powell, the 2001 date for producing a recommendation on Yucca Mountain’s suitability as a permanent SNF/HLW repository is a firm date.  Powell said DOE will stick to this date regardless of shortfalls in funding. 

 

Mr. Powell also said that OCRWM is leaning toward not closing the Yucca Mountain repository after it is reaches full capacity.  In response to a question, Powell said he was unsure whether leaving the facility open would cause the repository to be treated as a monitored retrievable storage facility under NRC regulations.

 

Powell also stated that several utilities, including Commonwealth Edison are engaged in discussions with DOE concerning the agency’s offer to take title to spent nuclear fuel at the reactor sites where such fuel is currently stored.

 

Halstead  commented that transportation risk workshops which had been conducted in May by DOE were well done.  Mr. Powell offered to look into conducting such a workshop with the western states.

 

In response to a question concerning the feasibility of transmutation as a means of reducing or eliminating radioactive waste, Powell responded that such technology is still at least 25 years away from being viable.

 

Following Mr. Powell’s presentation, Halstead provided the Committee with Nevada’s perspectives on activities at Yucca Mountain.  Halstead said Nevada’s new governor has adopted an anti-Yucca Mountain repository policy.  With regard to the status of interim storage legislation currently pending in Congress, Nevada believes these bills are highly unlikely to pass during this legislative session.

 

Halstead also discussed two recently released NRC Federal Register notices, including a February 22 Federal Register Notice proposing to revise NRC regulations for

licensing the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, and a February 26 Federal Register Notice proposing to change NRC requirements for renewal of nuclear power plant operating licenses.  Halstead said the February 26 Notice in particular had a misleading title which had the effect of obscuring the fact that the Notice dealt heavily with the transportation of spent nuclear fuel.

 

Halstead said Nevada’s confidence in the NRC to conduct a solid, unbiased analysis of a Yucca Mountain repository application has been shaken.  Nevada is expecting to sue over the sufficiency of the NRC’s transportation risk assessment.

 

Updates:  WIPP, Umbrella Grant Funding Proposal, and Foreign Fuel Shipments

 

Ron Ross (WGA) and Chris Wentz (NM) provided the Committee with an update on activities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.  The WIPP facility received its first shipment of transuranic waste in March.  Wentz said the majority of shipments will originate from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which will send 17 shipments of mixed waste to WIPP, at a rate of one shipment per week, through early August.  One shipment has been sent thus far to the WIPP facility from INEEL.  However, New Mexico does not expect to see the next shipment from INEEL for another 3-4 months due to INEEL’s poor performance on a recent audit. Wentz said that currently only three sites can legally send shipments to WIPP, including LANL, INEEL, and Rocky Flats.  Rocky Flats is planning to conduct its first shipment by mid-July, although the State of New Mexico has yet to receive any paperwork on such a shipment.  Wentz said that, in general, the shipments have gone well.  One of the lessons learned thus far included insuring adequate notice of the shipment is provided ahead of time to the state.  Ross added that all shipments thus far have been conducted using TRUPACTs, but that since there are only 12 TRUPACTs at the current time, this limits the number of shipments that can be accommodated.

 

The Committee next heard an update from Ross on an “umbrella grant proposal” being floated under DOE’s National Transportation Program which would be designed to disperse money to states and tribes to prepare for radioactive material shipments under all DOE programs.  Ross said the proposal would involve a minimum grant of $150,000 per year for each state to prepare for radioactive waste shipments.  States would be allowed to negotiate with DOE for additional funds if needed.  The potential exists for funding from established programs such as WIPP to be substantially diluted amongst DOE’s other shipping programs.  In addition, DOE has not yet considered/addressed how such a national program would plug into OCRWM’s Section 180(c) program.

 

Larry Pearce discussed DOE’s foreign fuel shipping campaign, and provided an overview of Nebraska’s preparations for cross-country foreign fuel shipments.  Nebraska has designated its state patrol as the sole contact for information regarding radioactive waste shipments.

 

June 10

 

Sabotage and Terrorism Risks

 

The Committee received a briefing from Bob Halstead (NV) on sabotage and terrorism risks associated with spent nuclear fuel shipments and the adequacy of the NRC’s safeguards regulations.  Nevada is putting together a petition for rulemaking on sabotage/terrorism issues which would require shippers to develop plans to minimize shipments through heavily populated areas and which calls for an assessment of attacks on transportation infrastructure and attacks against the cask, including attacks with anti-tank weapons.  Nevada has also developed a Safeguard Summary Event List (SSEL) and is asking for the development of contingency plans for emergencies which may occur during transportation (whether natural or otherwise).  In addition, Nevada is asking for a strengthening of nuclear waste shipment escort requirements, which would include: extending the use of such escorts to the entire shipment route and not just through heavily populated areas; conducting an evaluation of whether to strengthen shipment escorts to seven members with military training; considering the use of an aircraft escort for shipments.  Nevada is also asking that all shipments be conducted by dedicated train.  Click here for the Nevada petition, which was filed at the NRC on June 22, 1999.

 

TEC/WG Update

 

Ken Niles (OR) reported on activities at DOE’s Transportation External Coordination Working Group TEC/WG.  The TEC/WG has created a Topic Group on Transportation Protocols whose purpose is to develop a set of standardized transportation protocols which can be applied across the department’s various radioactive waste shipping programs.  The group has begun work on a prenotification protocol and a routing protocol.  Due to the elimination of DOE funding, staff member Dale DeCesare will no longer attend meetings of the TEC/WG.  However, Niles will likely continue participating with funds provided separately by DOE.

 

State Reports

 

California: Dan Nix reported that two utilities (Southern California Edison and Sacramento Municipal Utility District) are currently implementing dry cask storage at their nuclear facilities.  Southern California Edison would like to utilize transportable dry storage casks.  Following the completion of these storage facilities, both utilities expect to decommission their nuclear facilities including their spent nuclear fuel storage pools.

 

Utah: Bill Craig reported that the Envirocare radioactive waste storage facility was receiving large numbers of shipments.  He added that Utah Governor Leavitt continues to oppose the proposed siting of a private interim nuclear waste storage facility on the Goshute Indian reservation in Utah.

 

Nebraska: Larry Pearce reported that a bill will be introduced into the state legislature that would impose a fee on all spent nuclear fuel shipments which travel through the state.  Most likely this fee would be assessed per cask shipped.

 

New Mexico: Chris Wentz reported that the United States Enrichment Corporation is planning to site a large new uranium enrichment facility potentially just north of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant facility.  The facility could employ over 2000 workers.  USEC is proposing to use new laser isotope technology at this facility, however the State of New Mexico has not been given any information on this new technology.

 

Washington: Max Power reported that significant problems remain to be dealt with at the Hanford Site in Washington State.  Power said that 67 of the 177 underground storage tanks at the site are already leaking.  These tanks each hold millions of gallons of waste materials.

 

Colorado: Captain Allan Turner said that Colorado has gone through a hazardous materials routing process which resulted in local officials requesting that I-25 be removed as a potential hazardous material route.  Turner said that the state was uncertain how it would proceed on this issue and that, for the time being, I-25 would continue to be used for WIPP shipments.  Turner also discussed the panicked public reaction to an accident involving low-level radioactively contaminated dirt in Colorado Springs.  Turner said the reactions to the accident highlighted the need to better educate the public and emergency responders as to the nature and risks involved with different types of radioactive materials.

 

Oregon: Ken Niles said that in August the decommissioned Trojan nuclear reactor vessel will be shipped by barge to the Hanford Site, where it is to be buried.  Spent nuclear fuel currently stored in a spent fuel pool at the facility is being moved into dry cask storage facilities.  Low-level waste from the site is being shipped by truck to the US Ecology site at Hanford.

 

SSEB: Chris Wells (SSEB) gave a brief update on radioactive waste transportation activities in the Southern States Energy Board region.  Wells reported that Atlanta has undertaken an extensive first responder training program.  SSEB is winding down its OCRWM program activities due to the elimination of program funding.  Wells reported that the SSEB annual meeting would take place in September, while a joint meeting with WGA concerning transuranic waste transportation would take place in October.

 

Private Fuel Storage Initiative

 

William Sinclair, Director of Utah’s Division of Radiation Control, gave a presentation on the status of the Private Fuel Storage (PFS) proposal to build a privately operated spent nuclear fuel storage facility in Utah.  Sinclair said that PFS, which appears to be led by Northern States Power, is proposing to store up to 4,000 dry casks (40,000 MTU) on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian reservation in Utah.  The Goshutes have already signed a 25 year lease with PFS, with an option to extend the lease by another 25 years. 

 

PFS applied for an NRC license for the facility in June 1997.  If awarded, the NRC license would be for a period of 20 years, and would be renewable for an additional 20 year period.  One issue which is being discussed is who controls the airspace over the reservation area.  Sinclair was uncertain how much money was being offered to the Goshutes in exchange for allowing a private spent fuel storage facility to be constructed on their reservation.  Bob Halstead (NV), however, indicated that he believed that eight of the key families involved have been offered one million dollars per family.

 

Sinclair said that Utah Governor Mike Leavitt opposes the PFS proposal for several reasons, including: 1) there is no guarantee that the facility would be “interim” or “temporary;” 2) Utah does not believe that there is any need for a centralized interim storage facility; and 3) the transportation risks of sending spent nuclear fuel shipments to the proposed PFS facility have not been evaluated.

 

Sinclair also said that there is only one highway with access to the Goshute site.  The state has taken over jurisdiction of this road, however, PFS has now proposed building a rail spur to the storage facility on lands owned by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  Sinclair said legal battles may occur between Utah and the BLM over granting access for such a rail spur.

 

Committee Business Meeting

 

Doug Larson (staff) briefed the Committee on the funding situation for Committee activities.  Due to the elimination of funding under the OCRWM cooperative agreement, approximately 15 hours of staff time per month will be available to spend on radioactive waste issues.  No future meetings of the Committee will be planned.  The Committee agreed that future staff and Committee activities would be conducted largely through electronic means, including use of e-mail and the Committee’s site on the Internet.

 

Ken Niles (OR) informed the Committee that Chris Wentz (NM) had accepted a new job within the New Mexico State government working on renewable energy issues and that Wentz would no longer be working with the Committee on radioactive waste issues.  Niles thanked Wentz for his years of service to the Committee.

 

The Committee also reviewed and discussed a draft report card from the Committee to DOE on the progress made by OCRWM with regard to the development of various key elements of the OCRWM transportation program.  The Committee agreed that this report card should be reexamined and sent out potentially in September, following the expected August cross-country shipment of foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel.

 

The Committee also discussed making inquiries with the Western Governors’ Association about the possibility of sending a joint letter concerning the proposal being floated by DOE to establish “umbrella grants” through the department’s National Transportation Program.  The letter would potentially address the proposed grants and would call on DOE to restore funding to the regional cooperative agreement groups. If possible, the letter would also be signed by the chair of the Western Governors’ Association.

 

The Committee agreed that, if they are sent, both the letter and the report card should to be provided to OCRWM prior to forwarding them to Congressional delegations and the general public.                                        

 

The meeting was adjourned.