No Direction to Project Yet on Shutdown Work
Kenneth Fletcher
NS&D Monitor
3/21/2014
In an effort to halt the planned suspension of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, the state of South Carolina this week filed suit against the Department of Energy over its decision to put the project into a “cold standby” mode. In a complaint filed this week in U.S. District Court for South Carolina, state officials focused on a lack of Congressional approval for the move. “Laws mean a lot in this country, regardless of what any president or any administration thinks. They made a promise on MOX. They made a promise to protect the people who are working at MOX. They made a promise to the people of South Carolina that they were going to do something with that plutonium,” South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley ® said at a press conference this week, adding,”We will fight, we will fight back hard and we will do whatever it takes to make sure they understand they have messed with the wrong state.”
Earlier this month, the Department announced in its FY’15 budget request that it would immediately begin ramping down construction work at MOX and put it into cold standby mode as other options for plutonium disposition are examined. While the budget request states that the remainder of FY’14 funds will be used for the suspension activities, South Carolina believes that would be illegal because Congress only authorized those funds to be used for construction. “The use of appropriated funds in this manner is unauthorized and violates the Constitution and Federal law,” the state’s lawsuit says. “Any actions of the Defendants to suspend construction of the MOX Facility in Fiscal Year 2014 should be declared unlawful, and the Defendants should be enjoined from taking action in this regard, including but not limited to steps implementing any cold standby for the MOX Facility.”
When Does ‘Cold Standby’ Process Begin?
But while the recent budget request states that the National Nuclear Security Administration will engage with the contractor this month to develop a plan for putting the plant into cold standby, so far construction contractor Shaw AREVA MOX Services has received no technical guidance from NNSA. “We have not yet received any communication with the DOE or the NNSA regarding our status or any instruction on moving forward for the months ahead,” MOX Services President Kelly Trice said in a message to employees this week obtained by NS&D Monitor. “We anticipate a letter from NNSA regarding what lies ahead concerning our project. As soon as this letter becomes available to us, I will send a communication to everyone.” The NNSA did not respond to multiple requests for comment on its plans for cold standby of the MOX plant.
DOE Must Remove Plutonium by 2016
Legally the Department is required to either start processing plutonium in MOX by 2016 or begin removing the material from the state, a provision that was included in order to gain support from South Carolina for accepting weapons-grade plutonium from around the complex. DOE won’t meet that objective and “has suspended any further transfers of defense plutonium and defense plutonium materials to be processed at the MOX facility,” according to the budget request. “The Department will submit a report to Congress on options for removing an amount of defense plutonium or defense plutonium materials from the State of South Carolina.”
MOX is part of an agreement with Russia to dispose of 34 metric tons of plutonium, and last year the Department slowed construction of the facility and launched an assessment of alternatives for plutonium disposition. That study concluded that due to cost increases in the billions during a time of tight budgets the MOX plant should be put into a “cold standby” mode while a closer look at options is undertaken. “The Secretary established a Plutonium Disposition Working Group to undertake this options analysis,” the budget request states. “The working group has been analyzing the current disposition approach of disposing of surplus weapon-grade plutonium as MOX fuel in light water reactors (LWRs), fast reactor options to dispose of weapon-grade plutonium, and non-reactor based options.”
State: No Viable Alternative Identified
However, in its lawsuit South Carolina argues: “The Defendants cannot indefinitely suspend construction of the MOX Facility, including but not limited to the means of cold standby, while funds are appropriated and available unless and until an alternative disposal method is identified and approved.” It adds, “On information and belief, neither DOE or NNSA has identified a reasonable and viable alternative to the MOX Facility nor received any Congressional approval of such alternative disposal methods.”
The state is asking for a court order for the MOX Facility to move forward. “Through the unilateral indefinite suspension of the MOX project without any plutonium disposal alternative, without any Congressional authorization or approval, and without any legal authority, the federal government has failed to not only honor its commitment to South Carolina but has breached its obligation to responsibly address the disposal of surplus plutonium,” South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in prepared remarks. “Further, this violation of the Constitution not only effectively terminates the MOX facility but it terminates approximately 1800 jobs of South Carolina’s hard working citizens.”
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), whose district includes the Savannah River Site, has been an ardent MOX advocate and is supporting the state’s suit. “The President’s reckless decision endangers our national security and confirms that the Administration has no intention of following through with the federal government’s obligations to South Carolina as nuclear material remains in the Palmetto State without a foreseeable exit path,” he said in a statement. “I am very proud of Governor Nikki Haley and Attorney General Alan Wilson’s plans to sue the Administration over this dangerous decision. We will not stand for this kind of behavior and must fight back to defend ourselves from this injustice.”
Clements: Lawsuit Filed For Political Reasons
But some longtime MOX opponents in state are criticizing the state’s plans to block the MOX suspension. “Any lawsuit being filed by the State of South Carolina is being done for political reasons and will simply be a waste of tax payer money,” Tom Clements, adviser to the South Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club, said in a statement. He added, “MOX was the most expensive and most problematic plutonium disposition option but has been pushed by politicians as it has evolved into a jobs program for Aiken. The US taxpayer will be done no service if this failed project continues and DOE realizes that. The State of South Carolina should stop the political theatrics and work with DOE and public interest groups to pursue the cheapest, quickest waste to dispose of plutonium as nuclear waste.”
WH Official: ‘Extensive’ MOX Talks With Russia
Meanwhile, with questions remaining on the willingness of Russia to accept a shift away from MOX in the plutonium disposition agreement signed in 2000, Liz Sherwood-Randall, the White House Coordinator for Defense Policy, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Arms Control, this week downplayed the impact of the Administration’s recent decision to suspend MOX. She emphasized that the Administration had “extensive” discussions with Russia about a potential change in plans. “There are not surprises here and we have made it clear that our commitment is rock solid to achieve the disposition,” Sherwood-Randall said during a Council on Foreign Relations event. “What we were concerned about was the cost and the time that would be required. As we considered this need to examine technology we have had conversations with the Russians.” Sherwood-Randall said she didn’t believe there was anything in the agreement that would prohibit the U.S. from taking another approach to disposing of its 34 metric tons of plutonium. “This was the path that we chose to pursue and if we are able to demonstrate effective disposition then we’re not bound to this particular course,” she said.
