Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
12/12/2014
The Department of Energy is planning to develop a new secretarial determination regarding its uranium transfers to cover cleanup work at Portsmouth and the downblending of highly-enriched uranium, releasing last week a request for information from the public about potential impacts on the uranium markets. The move comes after industry concern following a May 2014 DOE Secretarial determination that increased the amount of uranium DOE could transfer. “In previous determinations we had connected with stakeholders and received industry input informally, but this is to provide a clear uniform method for the parties to provide their views,” a DOE spokesperson said this week. “We are going to be assessing whether certain rates of transfers will or won’t have an adverse impact. At this stage we haven’t decided what rate the Department would authorize. The Department is planning to have another market report help inform the determination.”
The recent determination boosted the uranium transfers to up to 15 percent of the domestic nuclear fuel market from a previously self-imposed cap of 10 percent, resulting in complaints from uranium industry supporters who claim the move could contribute to depressed uranium prices. It also sparked a suit still ongoing this year from uranium conversion company ConverDyn seeking a change in DOE’s uranium transfer policy, claiming they violated requirements that the transfers have no adverse material impact on the industry. “The Department continues to dispute the claim. We believe that it was reasonable,” the DOE spokesperson said. “But now the purpose is to respond to stakeholder interest in providing more input, including the effect of Department transfers on the domestic industry.”
The request for information solicits public comment on what market effects and industry consequences DOE could expect from continuing the transfers at the rates approved in the most recent determination, and whether lower rates of transfers would significantly change those impacts. “We are planning on issuing the determination following the public comment process. We are seeking public input and then we are going to review the comments in preparation for the new determination,” the DOE spokesperson said.
Uranium Industry: Move a Positive Step
Uranium industry representatives and Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) met with DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz several months ago to discuss concerns with the Department’s uranium transfer policy, Jon Indall of the industry group Uranium Producers of America told WC Monitor this week. He said that the move toward formal public input is a step in the right direction, and that the group is planning to submit comments. “I’m hoping that they are seriously interested in what could make it a better process and are not just doing it to check off a box,” Indall said.
