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EM Recovery News - September 2010 - Issue 16
September 03, 2010 - Environmental Management Recovery Act
EM Recovery News - September 2010 - Issue 16
View File: EM Recovery News - September 2010 - Issue 16
This 16th issue of Recovery News focuses on the Office of Environmental Management American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Program’s benefits to stakeholders such as community groups, as well as Tribal Nations and regulators. We highlight Savannah River Site’s (SRS) work with community groups such as the Citizens Advisory Board, which provides advice to SRS on its cleanup. In another article, we provide a perspective on the Recovery Act’s impact in West Valley, N.Y. In Washington state, we show how Recovery Act dollars are cleaning up a large stretch of land of historical significance to regional Tribal Nations. We also focus on the Oak Ridge Office in Tennessee, and its work with regulators.
CRESP Newstories and Links related to risk-based cleanup of the nation’s nuclear weapons production facility waste sites and cost-effective, risk-based management of potential future nuclear sites and wastes. CRESP seeks to improve the scientific and technical basis for environmental management decisions by the Department of Energy (DOE) and by fostering public participation in that search.
My Blog List
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
BRC July 14-15, 2010 Meeting Information, Documents & Presentations
July 14-15, 2010 Meeting Information, Documents & Presentations
Updated 07/13/2010
Updated 07/13/2010
DOE Meets TPA Milestone in the 300 Area
DOE News ReleaseMedia Contact: Cameron Hardy, DOE For Immediate Release:
(509) 376-5365, Cameron.Hardy@rl.doe.gov July 13, 2010Five Waste Sites, One Burial Ground Completed Ahead of Deadline
RICHLAND, WASH. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) met a Tri-Party Agreement Milestone three months early when contractors completed remediation of five waste sites and one burial ground recently in the 300 Area of the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State.
The active remediation of these waste sites helps Hanford get rid of sources of contamination to area groundwater, which can migrate to the Columbia River.
(509) 376-5365, Cameron.Hardy@rl.doe.gov July 13, 2010Five Waste Sites, One Burial Ground Completed Ahead of Deadline
RICHLAND, WASH. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) met a Tri-Party Agreement Milestone three months early when contractors completed remediation of five waste sites and one burial ground recently in the 300 Area of the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State.
The active remediation of these waste sites helps Hanford get rid of sources of contamination to area groundwater, which can migrate to the Columbia River.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Report on Office of Technology Innovation and Development Program Plan
Friday, June 18, 2010
The Department is responding to House Conference Report 111-203, Energy and Water
Development Appropriations Bill, Fiscal Year 2010, which directs the Department to update and
submit Appendices A and B of the Status of Environmental Management Initiatives to
Accelerate the Reduction of Environmental Risks and Challenges Posed by the Legacy of the Cold
War (Status Report). The original Status Report, provided to Congress in January 2009,
responded to a requirement in the National Defense Authorization Act Fiscal Year 2008,
Section 3130.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Update Appendices to the Status of EM Initiatives to Accelerate the Reduction of Environmental Risk and Challenges Posed by the Legacy of the Cold War Updated Appendices A and B containing the requested information are enclosed. The Office ofEnvironmental Management (EM) has had great success in meeting the terms of its regulatorycommitments, as shown in the update to Appendix A. EM'S overall record of meeting regulatory milestones exceeds 90 percent. EM has also had great success in containing lifecycle cost growth, as shown in the update to Appendix B. Despite baseline changes and the acceptance of nearly $600 million of new scope not contained in the January 2009 Status Report, EM has reduced its life-cycle costs from a range between $274 and $329 billion in 2008
to $273 to $327 billion today. In addition, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds
have helped EM avoid another $3.2 billion in life-cycle costs.
The Department is responding to House Conference Report 111-203, Energy and Water
Development Appropriations Bill, Fiscal Year 2010, which directs the Department to update and
submit Appendices A and B of the Status of Environmental Management Initiatives to
Accelerate the Reduction of Environmental Risks and Challenges Posed by the Legacy of the Cold
War (Status Report). The original Status Report, provided to Congress in January 2009,
responded to a requirement in the National Defense Authorization Act Fiscal Year 2008,
Section 3130.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Update Appendices to the Status of EM Initiatives to Accelerate the Reduction of Environmental Risk and Challenges Posed by the Legacy of the Cold War Updated Appendices A and B containing the requested information are enclosed. The Office ofEnvironmental Management (EM) has had great success in meeting the terms of its regulatorycommitments, as shown in the update to Appendix A. EM'S overall record of meeting regulatory milestones exceeds 90 percent. EM has also had great success in containing lifecycle cost growth, as shown in the update to Appendix B. Despite baseline changes and the acceptance of nearly $600 million of new scope not contained in the January 2009 Status Report, EM has reduced its life-cycle costs from a range between $274 and $329 billion in 2008
to $273 to $327 billion today. In addition, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds
have helped EM avoid another $3.2 billion in life-cycle costs.
Analysis Triples U.S. Plutonium Waste Figures
July 10, 2010 New York Times
By MATTHEW L. WALD
WASHINGTON — The amount of plutonium buried at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State is nearly three times what the federal government previously reported, a new analysis indicates, suggesting that a cleanup to protect future generations will be far more challenging than planners had assumed.
Plutonium waste is much more prevalent around nuclear weapons sites nationwide than the Energy Department’s official accounting indicates, said Robert Alvarez, a former department official who in recent months reanalyzed studies conducted by the department in the last 15 years for Hanford; the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory; the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, S.C.; and elsewhere.
By MATTHEW L. WALD
WASHINGTON — The amount of plutonium buried at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State is nearly three times what the federal government previously reported, a new analysis indicates, suggesting that a cleanup to protect future generations will be far more challenging than planners had assumed.
Plutonium waste is much more prevalent around nuclear weapons sites nationwide than the Energy Department’s official accounting indicates, said Robert Alvarez, a former department official who in recent months reanalyzed studies conducted by the department in the last 15 years for Hanford; the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory; the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, S.C.; and elsewhere.
NEW RICHLAND OPERATIONS MANAGER ANNOUNCED
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Media Contact: July 9, 2010 Colleen French, 509-539-0210
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today named Matthew S. McCormick Manager of the Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) at the Hanford Site in southeast Washington State. In this role, he will continue the momentum of cleanup along the Columbia River, further implement the Department’s strategy for shrinking the footprint of active cleanup operations from 586 square miles to 10 square miles in ten years, oversee groundwater protection remedies that will stop the migration of contaminants into the Columbia River, and dispose of hazardous waste and facilities across the Hanford Site.
“Matt's extensive experience in nuclear project management will be critical in continuing the success of the cleanup along the Columbia River and across the Hanford Site. Matt’s strength is his breadth of project management experience – reducing risk at some of DOE’s highest-hazard facilities – combined with his drive to push for better and smarter approaches to complex cleanup challenges,” said Dr. Ines Triay, DOE’s Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management. “He has been a leader not only in helping shape and implement footprint reduction at the Hanford Site, but also in putting together the strategy and regulatory support for how to complete cleanup of the Central Plateau. He has worked alongside Dave Brockman for years at DOE’s Hanford and Rocky Flats sites, and is uniquely qualified to continue Richland’s momentum and successes.”
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today named Matthew S. McCormick Manager of the Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) at the Hanford Site in southeast Washington State. In this role, he will continue the momentum of cleanup along the Columbia River, further implement the Department’s strategy for shrinking the footprint of active cleanup operations from 586 square miles to 10 square miles in ten years, oversee groundwater protection remedies that will stop the migration of contaminants into the Columbia River, and dispose of hazardous waste and facilities across the Hanford Site.
“Matt's extensive experience in nuclear project management will be critical in continuing the success of the cleanup along the Columbia River and across the Hanford Site. Matt’s strength is his breadth of project management experience – reducing risk at some of DOE’s highest-hazard facilities – combined with his drive to push for better and smarter approaches to complex cleanup challenges,” said Dr. Ines Triay, DOE’s Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management. “He has been a leader not only in helping shape and implement footprint reduction at the Hanford Site, but also in putting together the strategy and regulatory support for how to complete cleanup of the Central Plateau. He has worked alongside Dave Brockman for years at DOE’s Hanford and Rocky Flats sites, and is uniquely qualified to continue Richland’s momentum and successes.”
Monday, June 7, 2010
Nuclear Nonproliferation: DOE Needs to Address Uncertainties with and Strengthen Independent Safety Oversight of Its Plutonium Disposition Program.
1444 words/ 1 June 2010/ General Accounting Office Reports & TestimonyGAORNAVolume 2010; Issue 6EnglishCopyright 2010 Gale Group Inc. All rights reserved. GAO-10-378 March 26, 2010
The end of the Cold War left the United States with a surplus of weapons-grade plutonium, which poses proliferation and safety risks. Much of this material is found in a key nuclear weapon component known as a pit. The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to dispose of at least 34 metric tons of plutonium by fabricating it into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel for domestic nuclear reactors. To do so, DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is constructing two facilities--a MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) and a Waste Solidification Building (WSB)--at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. GAO was asked to assess the (1) cost and schedule status of the MFFF and WSB construction projects, (2) status of NNSA's plans for pit disassembly and conversion, (3) status of NNSA's plans to obtain customers for MOX fuel from the MFFF, and (4) actions that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and DOE have taken to provide independent nuclear safety oversight. GAO reviewed NNSA documents and project data, toured DOE facilities, and interviewed officials from DOE, NRC, and nuclear utilities.
The end of the Cold War left the United States with a surplus of weapons-grade plutonium, which poses proliferation and safety risks. Much of this material is found in a key nuclear weapon component known as a pit. The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to dispose of at least 34 metric tons of plutonium by fabricating it into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel for domestic nuclear reactors. To do so, DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is constructing two facilities--a MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) and a Waste Solidification Building (WSB)--at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. GAO was asked to assess the (1) cost and schedule status of the MFFF and WSB construction projects, (2) status of NNSA's plans for pit disassembly and conversion, (3) status of NNSA's plans to obtain customers for MOX fuel from the MFFF, and (4) actions that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and DOE have taken to provide independent nuclear safety oversight. GAO reviewed NNSA documents and project data, toured DOE facilities, and interviewed officials from DOE, NRC, and nuclear utilities.
Sending more Hanford waste to Idaho would save cash
Annette Cary;Herald staff writer /Cary Annette/719 words/28 May 2010/Tri-City Herald/TRIC/B1/English/(c) 2010 The Tri-City Herald. All Rights Reserved.
Not shipping certain Hanford radioactive waste to Idaho for processing as earlier planned is costing the nation $25 million in increased costs, according to an audit by the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General.
The Department of Energy questions that, saying that the long-term costs of dealing with that waste at Hanford will be reduced by at least $135 million because the project has been accelerated with federal economic stimulus money.
Similar long-term savings could be achieved by sending the waste to Idaho for processing, the audit countered.
At issue is transuranic waste — typically debris contaminated with plutonium — that temporarily was buried at Hanford when Congress ordered a national repository for transuranic waste created in 1970. The waste was buried in drums and boxes until the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, in New Mexico opened as a repository.
In February 2008, the Department of Energy announced a plan to ship as much as 8,500 cubic yards of transuranic waste from Hanford to the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project at the Idaho National Laboratory.
Not shipping certain Hanford radioactive waste to Idaho for processing as earlier planned is costing the nation $25 million in increased costs, according to an audit by the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General.
The Department of Energy questions that, saying that the long-term costs of dealing with that waste at Hanford will be reduced by at least $135 million because the project has been accelerated with federal economic stimulus money.
Similar long-term savings could be achieved by sending the waste to Idaho for processing, the audit countered.
At issue is transuranic waste — typically debris contaminated with plutonium — that temporarily was buried at Hanford when Congress ordered a national repository for transuranic waste created in 1970. The waste was buried in drums and boxes until the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, in New Mexico opened as a repository.
In February 2008, the Department of Energy announced a plan to ship as much as 8,500 cubic yards of transuranic waste from Hanford to the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project at the Idaho National Laboratory.
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future
Events/Public Meetings
Updated 06/01/2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 Meeting Schedule
Full Commission Meetings
July 14th and 15th - Richland, Washington
September 21st and 22nd – TBD
November 15th and 16th – TBD
Public Teleconferences may be held as necessary on:
June 17th
August 17th
October 19th
December 14th
Previous Meeting Information, Documents & Presentations
May 25 and 26, 2010 - Washington, DC
March 25 and March 26, 2010 - First Commission Public Meeting, Washington, D.C.
Updated 06/01/2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 Meeting Schedule
Full Commission Meetings
July 14th and 15th - Richland, Washington
September 21st and 22nd – TBD
November 15th and 16th – TBD
Public Teleconferences may be held as necessary on:
June 17th
August 17th
October 19th
December 14th
Previous Meeting Information, Documents & Presentations
May 25 and 26, 2010 - Washington, DC
March 25 and March 26, 2010 - First Commission Public Meeting, Washington, D.C.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Senate plan leaves Yucca project off the budget
Steve Tetreault /386 words23 April 2010/The Las Vegas Review-Journal/LVGS/2B/English/© 2010 The Las Vegas Review-Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved. By STEVE TETREAULT/ STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON - The Senate took an initial step Thursday to end funding for the Yucca Mountain Project when its budget committee approved a 2011 blueprint that senators said contains no room for the nuclear waste repository plan.
The budget plan put together by Chairman Sen. Kent Conrad, D- N.D., "supports the president's request to close the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository and establish a blue ribbon commission to investigate alternatives," according to a Senate Budget Committee document.
The budget resolution is an early but not surprising sign that senior senators under the direction of Majority Leader Harry Reid, D- Nev., do not want to continue spending for the Yucca Mountain Project. President Barack Obama has declared he wants to end the underground waste storage program, and a blue ribbon study panel began work last month on searching for other strategies.
Although the Obama administration plan is being challenged through several lawsuits, Reid said Thursday the Senate budget "makes very clear that taxpayer dollars will no longer be wasted on Yucca Mountain and without funding the project is dead."
Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who sits on the budget committee, said the panel "affirmed President Obama's decision to shut down Yucca Mountain and I look forward to the full Senate voting to do the same."
The budget resolution is a broad stroke overview of how Congress might prioritize its spending and taxing for the upcoming fiscal year that starts in October. It serves as a guideline for appropriations subcommittees to write follow-up spending bills over the summer.
Senators on the subcommittee that writes the Department of Energy spending bill could ignore the budget plan and set their own priorities. But if they added money for Yucca Mountain they would do so at the risk of crossing Reid, who has made the project's shutdown a signature career issue.
The Senate Budget Committee, by a 12-10 vote, approved a blueprint that calls for tighter limits on spending than what Obama has proposed. Ensign voted against it, according to his office, because it still contained too much "wasteful and out-of-control government spending."
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or202-783-1760.
WASHINGTON - The Senate took an initial step Thursday to end funding for the Yucca Mountain Project when its budget committee approved a 2011 blueprint that senators said contains no room for the nuclear waste repository plan.
The budget plan put together by Chairman Sen. Kent Conrad, D- N.D., "supports the president's request to close the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository and establish a blue ribbon commission to investigate alternatives," according to a Senate Budget Committee document.
The budget resolution is an early but not surprising sign that senior senators under the direction of Majority Leader Harry Reid, D- Nev., do not want to continue spending for the Yucca Mountain Project. President Barack Obama has declared he wants to end the underground waste storage program, and a blue ribbon study panel began work last month on searching for other strategies.
Although the Obama administration plan is being challenged through several lawsuits, Reid said Thursday the Senate budget "makes very clear that taxpayer dollars will no longer be wasted on Yucca Mountain and without funding the project is dead."
Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who sits on the budget committee, said the panel "affirmed President Obama's decision to shut down Yucca Mountain and I look forward to the full Senate voting to do the same."
The budget resolution is a broad stroke overview of how Congress might prioritize its spending and taxing for the upcoming fiscal year that starts in October. It serves as a guideline for appropriations subcommittees to write follow-up spending bills over the summer.
Senators on the subcommittee that writes the Department of Energy spending bill could ignore the budget plan and set their own priorities. But if they added money for Yucca Mountain they would do so at the risk of crossing Reid, who has made the project's shutdown a signature career issue.
The Senate Budget Committee, by a 12-10 vote, approved a blueprint that calls for tighter limits on spending than what Obama has proposed. Ensign voted against it, according to his office, because it still contained too much "wasteful and out-of-control government spending."
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or202-783-1760.
NRC sets deadline for Yucca Mountain decision
By Steve Tetreault, Las Vegas Review-Journal /McClatchy-Tribune Regional News/ 273 words/ 23 April 2010/ Las Vegas Review-Journal (MCT)/ KRTLVEnglish/ Distributed by McClatchy - Tribune Information Services
Apr. 23--WASHINGTON -- The leaders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Friday set a June 1 deadline for decisions whether to allow for the termination of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site, a move that could speed the shutdown of the controversial project.
A panel of administrative judges within the NRC had wanted to delay ruling on whether the Department of Energy could withdraw the controversial Nevada project until a federal court could weigh legal challenges against DOE's efforts to shut it down.But in a 4-0 vote, the commissioners who head the nuclear safety agency ordered the judges to get back to work and issue a decision by June 1.The commissioners said the NRC shouldn't be sitting on the sidelines while courts take up an issue that is clearly within the agency's purview, and that federal judges might benefit from whatever decision the NRC reaches."We think a prudent course of action is to resolve the matters pending before our agency as expeditiously and responsibly as possible," the commissioners said in a five-page order.
NRC officials said the board's order could put the agency on an assured course to decide the fate of the nuclear waste project the Obama administration wants to bring to an end.
Apr. 23--WASHINGTON -- The leaders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Friday set a June 1 deadline for decisions whether to allow for the termination of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site, a move that could speed the shutdown of the controversial project.
A panel of administrative judges within the NRC had wanted to delay ruling on whether the Department of Energy could withdraw the controversial Nevada project until a federal court could weigh legal challenges against DOE's efforts to shut it down.But in a 4-0 vote, the commissioners who head the nuclear safety agency ordered the judges to get back to work and issue a decision by June 1.The commissioners said the NRC shouldn't be sitting on the sidelines while courts take up an issue that is clearly within the agency's purview, and that federal judges might benefit from whatever decision the NRC reaches."We think a prudent course of action is to resolve the matters pending before our agency as expeditiously and responsibly as possible," the commissioners said in a five-page order.
NRC officials said the board's order could put the agency on an assured course to decide the fate of the nuclear waste project the Obama administration wants to bring to an end.
NUCLEAR WASTE; Obama admin says cleanup stimulus exceeds expectations
Mike Soraghan, E&E reporter / 335 words/ 22 April 2010/ Environment & Energy Daily/ ENEND/ English/
© 2010 E&E Publishing, LLC. All Rights Reserved
President Obama's stimulus plan has created more jobs than expected in the field of nuclear cleanup, an administration official testified yesterday.
The $6 billion in the stimulus plan for nuclear cleanup was projected to "create or save" 13,000 jobs. But the administration says it has exceeded that number by 3,000.
"We have been able to substantiate 16,000 workers," Inés Triay, DOE's assistant secretary for Environmental Management told the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
That number includes 9,200 direct jobs at contractors and subcontractors, and thousands more indirect jobs at vendor companies, such as those manufacturing the special shipping containers used to move nuclear waste, Triay said.
Subcommittee Chairman Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said the stimulus cleanup program has fallen behind and $1.7 billion has been spent, though he cautioned against haste. "It is less important that this work be done quickly than correctly," Nelson said.
The government's effort to clean up Cold War legacy radioactive waste is often criticized for costly delays and missed deadlines. The $6 billion boost from the $787 billion economic stimulus bill was intended to speed up some cleanup efforts, including removing uranium mill tailings from a Moab, Utah, site and accelerating processing of transuranic wastes from 11 sites.
Though some projects have fallen years behind schedule, the Obama administration did not seek significant boosts for the Environmental Management program's fiscal 2011 budget.
The administration did target the Office of River Protection for a $60 million research and development program to help stabilize and dispose of radioactive liquid tank waste -- one of the most difficult cleanup challenges DOE faces and that, if fruitful, could help significantly decrease timelines for several cleanup sites. The office's goal is ultimately to reduce the legacy footprint by 40 percent by the end of fiscal 2011 and up to 90 percent by fiscal 2015.
© 2010 E&E Publishing, LLC. All Rights Reserved
President Obama's stimulus plan has created more jobs than expected in the field of nuclear cleanup, an administration official testified yesterday.
The $6 billion in the stimulus plan for nuclear cleanup was projected to "create or save" 13,000 jobs. But the administration says it has exceeded that number by 3,000.
"We have been able to substantiate 16,000 workers," Inés Triay, DOE's assistant secretary for Environmental Management told the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
That number includes 9,200 direct jobs at contractors and subcontractors, and thousands more indirect jobs at vendor companies, such as those manufacturing the special shipping containers used to move nuclear waste, Triay said.
Subcommittee Chairman Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said the stimulus cleanup program has fallen behind and $1.7 billion has been spent, though he cautioned against haste. "It is less important that this work be done quickly than correctly," Nelson said.
The government's effort to clean up Cold War legacy radioactive waste is often criticized for costly delays and missed deadlines. The $6 billion boost from the $787 billion economic stimulus bill was intended to speed up some cleanup efforts, including removing uranium mill tailings from a Moab, Utah, site and accelerating processing of transuranic wastes from 11 sites.
Though some projects have fallen years behind schedule, the Obama administration did not seek significant boosts for the Environmental Management program's fiscal 2011 budget.
The administration did target the Office of River Protection for a $60 million research and development program to help stabilize and dispose of radioactive liquid tank waste -- one of the most difficult cleanup challenges DOE faces and that, if fruitful, could help significantly decrease timelines for several cleanup sites. The office's goal is ultimately to reduce the legacy footprint by 40 percent by the end of fiscal 2011 and up to 90 percent by fiscal 2015.
REID STATEMENT ON ELIMINATION OF FUNDING FOR YUCCA MOUNTAIN
183 words/22 April 2010/ States News Service/ SNS/ English/ (c) 2010 States News Service
The following information was released by Nevada Senator Harry Reid:
– Nevada Senator Harry Reid today made the following statement on the release of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee Chairman's mark of the 2011 budget and the elimination of funding for Yucca Mountain.
“Chairman Conrad's mark of the 2011 budget reflects my shared commitment with President Obama to eliminate funding and bring the Yucca Mountain Project to its rightful end,” Reid said. “The anticipated challenges to the closure of this ill-conceived project neglect what this budget language makes very clear, that taxpayer dollars will no longer be wasted on Yucca Mountain and without funding the project is dead.”
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad includes the following language in his mark of the 2011 budget.Ø Yucca Mountain
The Chairman's Mark supports the President's request to close the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository and establish a blue ribbon commission to investigate alternatives.
http://budget.senate.gov/democratic/documents/2010/Chairman%27s%20Mark_042110.pdf
04/22/10 13:00:05
The following information was released by Nevada Senator Harry Reid:
– Nevada Senator Harry Reid today made the following statement on the release of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee Chairman's mark of the 2011 budget and the elimination of funding for Yucca Mountain.
“Chairman Conrad's mark of the 2011 budget reflects my shared commitment with President Obama to eliminate funding and bring the Yucca Mountain Project to its rightful end,” Reid said. “The anticipated challenges to the closure of this ill-conceived project neglect what this budget language makes very clear, that taxpayer dollars will no longer be wasted on Yucca Mountain and without funding the project is dead.”
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad includes the following language in his mark of the 2011 budget.Ø Yucca Mountain
The Chairman's Mark supports the President's request to close the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository and establish a blue ribbon commission to investigate alternatives.
http://budget.senate.gov/democratic/documents/2010/Chairman%27s%20Mark_042110.pdf
04/22/10 13:00:05
New Hanford radiation cleanup deadlines proposed
ANNETTE CARY / 797 words/22 April 2010/08:33Associated Press Newswires/APRS/English/(c) 2010. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
TRI-CITIES, Wash. (AP) - The Department of Energy and its regulators have agreed to new legally binding environmental cleanup deadlines for radioactive waste that has been temporarily buried at central Hanford since 1970.
The proposed new package of deadlines would allow more time for some work but also add new deadlines DOE must meet. They include the first-ever deadlines for when some of the waste must be shipped to a national repository in New Mexico and a final cleanup deadline for some of the most difficult-to-handle solid waste, which Hanford now lacks the capabilities to prepare for disposal.
"We've come up with a change package that satisfies the interest of DOE, Ecology and the public," said Deborah Singleton, project manager for the Washington State Department of Ecology. The state and the Environmental Protection Agency are Hanford regulators.
TRI-CITIES, Wash. (AP) - The Department of Energy and its regulators have agreed to new legally binding environmental cleanup deadlines for radioactive waste that has been temporarily buried at central Hanford since 1970.
The proposed new package of deadlines would allow more time for some work but also add new deadlines DOE must meet. They include the first-ever deadlines for when some of the waste must be shipped to a national repository in New Mexico and a final cleanup deadline for some of the most difficult-to-handle solid waste, which Hanford now lacks the capabilities to prepare for disposal.
"We've come up with a change package that satisfies the interest of DOE, Ecology and the public," said Deborah Singleton, project manager for the Washington State Department of Ecology. The state and the Environmental Protection Agency are Hanford regulators.
CAMPAIGN 2010: Reid banking on Yucca's death to help win over skeptical electorate (04/30/2010)
Alex Kaplun, E&E reporter
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has spent much of his congressional career battling the construction of the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository.
Now, the Democratic leader is banking on that advocacy to pay off politically and help sway an electorate that at the moment appears unwilling to give him another term on Capitol Hill.
Faced with a tough re-election fight, Reid has again and again pointed to the slow death of the Yucca facility as a sign of his power in Washington and his ability to deliver for Nevada.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has spent much of his congressional career battling the construction of the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository.
Now, the Democratic leader is banking on that advocacy to pay off politically and help sway an electorate that at the moment appears unwilling to give him another term on Capitol Hill.
Faced with a tough re-election fight, Reid has again and again pointed to the slow death of the Yucca facility as a sign of his power in Washington and his ability to deliver for Nevada.
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