IN THE U.S.
Representatives the deep borehole nuclear waste storage demonstration project in North Dakota will host an informational meeting on the controversial plan on Feb. 15 in the city of Rugby.
Officials from the Department of Energy and representatives from the contract team, a partnership between Battelle and the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center, will be on hand from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Cobblestone Inn & Suites.
The estimated five-year, $35 million project, proposed across 20 acres of state land near Rugby, would provide data on whether deep borehole drilling is feasible for storage of DOE-managed waste. The plan has drawn the attention of residents and local officials concerned that the test, which will not involve nuclear waste, will eventually lead to waste storage in North Dakota.
Local farmer Chuck Volk has reportedly circulated a petition against the project, garnering more than 100 signatures at a recent farm show, according to The Associated Press.
Representatives for power provider Entergy are scheduled to meet with the Vermont Public Service Board on Feb. 23 in Brattleboro to discuss the company´s petition for a certificate of public good that would authorize the construction of a second independent spent fuel storage installation pad at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant.
The technical hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Plans call for the installation of a large, flat concrete pad within the plant’s protected area next to a similar pad the board approved in 2006. Construction funds for the second pad would come from the plant’s estimated $600 million decommissioning trust fund. At a cost of $145 million, Entergy plans to transfer spent fuel at the site from wet to dry storage by 2020. Nearly 3,000 spent fuel assemblies would be moved into 45 dry casks.
In August 2015 the state Attorney General’s Office sued the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for allowing Entergy to use the trust fund for spent fuel management, among other things, which the state contends is not a decommissioning expense and is therefore against federal law.
The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station’s Community Engagement Panel has released its 2016 schedule, with the first-quarter meeting set for March 24.
Consisting of government officials, scientists, and environmental group representatives, the 15-member panel will discuss the San Onofre environmental review process at its first meeting of the year. Plant operator Southern California Edison retired SONGS Units 2 and 3 in 2013, when troubles with replacement steam generators proved too expensive to fix, and is now preparing both for decommissioning.
Consumer advocacy group Citizens’ Oversight Projects has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block a permit allowing for expansion of the plant’s nuclear waste storage. Local California officials have advocated for House Resolution 3643, which would allow DOE to spend yearly interest from the Nuclear Waste Fund on the storage of spent nuclear fuel beginning in 2016, with potential sites in West Texas and New Mexico.
The March 24 meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the QLN Learning Center in Oceanside. The following three meetings are tentatively scheduled for June 16, Aug. 25, and Oct. 27.