Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) wants to give state governors a firm voice in the Department of Energy’s reinterpretation of the federal definition of high-level radioactive waste (HLW).
In an amendment submitted to the House’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Smith proposed prohibiting any DOE funding in the upcoming 2020 federal budget year “to apply the interpretation of high-level radioactive waste … unless, on a case-by-case basis, such interpretation is approved by the Governor of the State in which such waste exists.”
The House Rules Committee is expected to decide after Congress’ Independence Day recess which amendments will be allowed for floor debate of the NDAA.
In a June 10 notice in the Federal Register, the Energy Department said it does not believe that all radioactive waste from reprocessing spent nuclear fuel should be considered high-level waste. That potentially opens the door for new disposal approaches for some of this material, though the agency said it has not made any decisions on waste management.
Under congressional mandate, the Energy Department is supposed to place its high-level waste in a geologic repository for permanent disposal. It does not yet have such a facility, and the agency says some of that HLW has radioactive characteristics akin to transuranic or low-level radioactive wastes. Those waste types do not have to go into a geologic repository.
Critics say the Energy Department now could simply leave its HLW stocks in current storage locations at DOE facilities in Idaho, South Carolina, and Washington state.
“By taking this action, the administration seeks to cut out state input and move towards disposal options of their choosing, including those already deemed to be unsafe by their own assessments and in violation of the existing legally binding agreement. We will consider all options to stop this reckless and dangerous action,” Washington state Gov. and presidential candidate Jay Inslee (D) and Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) said in a joint June 5 statement following the DOE announcement of its waste reinterpretation.
