U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) continues to press the Department of Energy to find a new home for about 1,800 tons of high-level nuclear waste that has accumulated in his district at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
Issa submitted a letter to DOE on July 29, ahead of the department’s Sunday deadline for accepting public comments on its consent-based siting initiative for nuclear waste storage, which is the Obama administration’s alternative to the canceled project for a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. A major component to the plan is development of consolidated interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel; two sites, in West Texas and New Mexico, are in the works.
“Judicious examination of where to construct an interim nuclear waste repository site and of proposals on how to collect, transport, and securely store the radioactive waste is necessary and needed now,” Issa wrote. “The country has been waiting nearly three decades since Yucca Mountain, Nevada, was designated as the sole location for permanent repository.”
About 74,000 metric tons of spent fuel has accumulated at roughly 100 American nuclear sites as a result of DOE’s failure to take title to the waste, as laid out in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The congressman called on DOE in April to address nuclear waste at SONGS, which is located in San Diego County and is surrounded by a region with more 8 million people. Issa also has cited the plant’s proximity to an active fault line and the Pacific Ocean in pressing for the waste to be relocated. SONGS majority owner Southern California Edison plans to move the remainder of its spent reactor fuel from two cooling ponds into an expanded independent spent fuel storage installation near the coast. The site contains about 50 canisters that are already in place, but nearing capacity.
“Unfortunate incidents, such as in 2011 at Fukushima Daiichi, Japan, when radioactive waste spilled into the Pacific Ocean, serve as reminders of potential destruction if the department does not act,” Issa wrote.
The congressman recommended that if nuclear waste storage becomes increasingly dangerous for geological or environmental reasons, or if the storage canisters are nearing their life expectancy, that the department collect and transport the waste in order of greatest to least safety risk to the surrounding community. Otherwise, Issa said the department should prioritize waste shipments based on when the material was placed into canisters and proximity to the storage facility.
Waste Control Specialists aims to begin accepting nuclear waste at its West Texas facility by 2021, while Holtec International is shooting for a similar timeline at its own New Mexico site. Both companies must pass a years-long review process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Nevada Weighs Consent-Based Siting
In its comments, the Nevada state government requested that the Energy Department acquire written, consensual agreements from affected communities, including those in waste transport corridors, in order to move forward with developing consent-based sites for nuclear waste storage.
Penned by Robert Halstead, executive director for the state’s anti-Yucca Mountain Agency for Nuclear Projects, Friday’s letter to DOE suggests that the federal government follow Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) and Sen. Dean Heller’s (R-Nev.) lead in seeking to amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The act will need to be amended or replaced in order for DOE to carry out its consent-based siting initiative, which is the Obama administration’s replacement for Yucca Mountain.
The Nevada senators introduced legislation (S. 1825) in July 2015 that requires DOE to enter into agreements with any potential repository’s host state, contiguous local governments that will host transportation routes, and affected Indian tribes. The legislation and related bills remain under consideration in both chambers.
The initiative envisions operation of a pilot storage facility by 2021; one or more larger, interim spent fuel facilities by 2025; and at least one permanent geologic repository by 2048. Communities in West Texas and New Mexico have announced support for Waste Control Specialists and Holtec International to develop consolidated interim storage facilities in their respective states. A government affairs expert helping WCS work through regulatory issues on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission application said last week that unanimous consent will not be required in corridor communities because transportation requirements are dictated by Department of Transportation regulations.
“If Yucca Mountain has taught us anything, it is that trying to force a repository on an unwilling state only gets the nation further away from a workable and safe solution to nuclear waste disposal,” Halstead wrote. “Nevada supports the development of a consent-based siting process for nuclear waste storage and disposal facilities, to find workable alternatives to Yucca Mountain.”
