As a result of public opposition, Southern Co. has withdrawn a property in Alabama from a list of potential sites for the Energy Department’s deep borehole nuclear waste storage field test.
The projected $35 million, five-year field test would produce data on the feasibility of storing DOE-managed nuclear waste in 16,000-foot boreholes drilled into crystalline rock formations. It is one storage method the Obama administration is exploring as an alternative to the canceled geologic repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
After having failed to secure community support for two separate test sites in North Dakota and South Dakota earlier this year, Ohio-based contractor Battelle Memorial Institute eyed a property in Newton, Ala., with the support of the owner, regional utility Southern Co.
The Dale County Commission earlier this month signed a letter of support of Battelle’s plans, but the Newton City Council quickly stepped in on Oct. 28 with a motion in opposition to the project.
“The proposed site is within the Newton town limits and the county commission should not be supporting this experiment without input from the Town of Newton,” the council’s motion reads, adding that lawmakers want to protect the Choctawhatchee River and the local farming industry.
DOE and Battelle have insisted the field test will not involve any actual nuclear waste material, only surrogate containers, but residents in the Dakotas and now Alabama have all voiced the same concern: that a successful field test could one day lead to actual nuclear waste storage.
“There have been a number of questions and concerns raised by the community, and based on that, Southern Co. has decided to no longer participate,” Southern Co. spokesman Michael Sznajderman said in a telephone interview Monday. “(Southern Co. subsidiary) Alabama Power has been serving the state for 110 years, so we’re very sensitive to the wishes of the community or concerns of the community.”
Battelle spokesman T.R. Massey said by email Monday that the company understands Southern’s decision to withdraw, and that Battelle is no longer exploring options in Alabama. The company also sent a letter Monday to the Dale County Commission informing it of Battelle’s decision to withdraw the potential site from the solicitation process with DOE.
“The DOE’s proactive approach to solving a critical challenge facing the United States remains a strong and worthwhile scientific endeavor, and we fully support the project goals,” the letter, signed by Battelle program manager Steven Winberg, reads. “Battelle feels strongly that the project would have provided significant economic and educational benefits to Dale County with very little risk ensured by multiple guarantees. However, we recognize the community’s concern.”
Massey declined to provide details on what locations Battelle is exploring next.
The Dale County plot was the second location to emerge in DOE’s latest solicitation, joining a site near Nara Visa, N.M., proposed by Georgia-based Enercon Federal Services and Utah-based DOSECC Exploration Services. The proposed site, located about 300 miles north of DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, received a resolution of support earlier this month from the Quay County Commission. At least five groups are said to be bidding on the contract.
