Kotek, though, emphasized the Administration’s remains committed to consent based siting, even if it takes time. “The Administration is committed to a consent based siting process that involves working with states, tribes, and local government in a way that leads to siting agreements with local and informed host communities for those facilities,” Kotek said. “As we learned through the Blue Ribbon Commission, communities, states, and tribes are going to need to answer two fundamental questions when it comes to their willing ness to host such facilities. One is: can we do this in a way that is fully protective of people and the environment. Second is: can our community feel better off for taking on this challenge. So, it will be incumbent upon us to provide technical resources and other assets to them as they work through answering those questions.”
Acting Assistant Secretary for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy John Kotek avoided yesterday placing any specific timeframe on the department’s progress on a defense-waste-only repository or its ability to get a pilot consolidated interim storage facility up and running. Kotek indicated during his nomination hearing in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that planning for a defense repository “remains on-going” while progress on interim storage “should see developments” should appropriations meet DOE’s needs in the coming years. Kotek’s answers came in response to questions from Committee Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), respectively, in which they asked for specifics on DOE’s ability to move forward with each project.