Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
3/14/2014
IN NRC
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced this week that Renee Simpson has taken over as the director of the Office of Congressional Affairs. Simpson previously served on the House Appropriations and Senate Intelligence committees in senior staff positions, as well as in positions with the offices of Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Marine Corps and Director of National Intelligence. ““We are happy to welcome Renee to our team,” said NRC Chair Allison Macfarlane in a statement. “Her extensive experience on and around Capitol Hill, and her skills in navigating the legislative process will serve the NRC well.”
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a draft generic letter to address degradation of neutron-absorbing materials in spent fuel pools, according to a posting in the Federal Register this week. The draft generic letter would gather plant-specific information regarding the question of whether the degradation of the neutron-absorbing materials in the spent fuel pool is “being managed to maintain reasonable assurance that the materials are capable of performing their intended safety function.” The generic letter also wants to see if the plants are in compliance with the regulations regarding the neutron-absorbing materials. “Recent operating experience and regulatory actions have shown some gaps in the NRC knowledge base and regulatory guidance associated with management of the effects of aging on the neutron-absorbing materials in the SFP,” the Federal Register posting said. “In light of recent findings related to neutron-absorbing material degradation and uncertainties in the tools used to monitor the current condition of neutron-absorbing materials in the SFP, the NRC decided to request detailed information in order to verify compliance with the applicable NCS requirements and to determine if any further regulatory action is necessary.”
IN THE INDUSTRY
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District has awarded Alliant Corporation a prime contract to provide architectural and engineering services for environmental projects in the district. The contract, worth $9 million, is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for a five-year period including work relating to environmental investigations, studies, and characterization of sites; design and construction phase engineering of remediation systems; assurance of regulatory compliance; and community relations services, according to an Alliant release. Alliant is joined on the contract with a sub-contracting team made up of CB&I, Sterling Global Operations, Inc., and New South Associates, Inc. “The scope of services encompasses a broad range of environmental-related activities which can include hazardous, toxic, and radioactive wastes,” Alliant Program Manager Paul Shipp said. “The contract can be used for a variety of regulatory programs including CERCLA, RCRA, NEPA, and other Federal Programs. If the Corps elects, they may utilize this contract to complete work under the FUSRAP program.”
IN FUSRAP
Officials within Environmental Protection Agency allegedly pressured an EPA review board to soften its criticism of a plan to handle the radioactive waste located at the West Lake Landfill, just outside St. Louis, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal this week. The report continues in a long line of complaints about the EPA’s handling of the cleanup, with, most recently, Missouri’s congressional delegation calling on the Agency to give control of the site to the Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. “People familiar with the matter said they believed that at least part of the motivation for the pressure came from wanting to defend the previously announced plan to leave the waste in place. Removing it, they said, was seen as likely to be more complex and expensive and carry other risks,” the article states. An EPA spokesman told RW Monitor this week that the Agency does not agree with the information in the article. “EPA has no information to support the assertions of this piece,” the spokesman said.
