Skip Maine state header navigation
Skip First Level Navigation | Skip All Navigation
 |
| Home | Contact Us | File a Complaint |
|
Home > Radioactive Waste > Annual Report 2004 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STATE NUCLEAR SAFETY ADVISORSUBMITTED TO THE GOVERNOR AND THE 121ST LEGISLATURE FEBRUARY 15, 2004 INTRODUCTIONThe annual report of the State Nuclear Safety Advisor, (SNSA), is required by Maine Statue, 25 M.R.S.A. 51 which was adopted in 1987. The office was created at that time to provide the Chief Executive and members of the Legislature with an independent counsel in the operations of Maine's lone nuclear power facility. Historically, the report reflected on the events and operational status of the nuclear power facility owned by Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company. In the early years, radioactive releases, outages and other environmental emission testing were the focus of these reports. In 1997 following the announcement by Maine Yankee of its decision to close the facility for decommissioning, this office turned its focus of attention towards the deconstruction, the remediation of the site, and towards meeting statutory and regulatory standards of the State of Maine as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in meeting an end state of closure. After the events of September 11, 2002, security issues received an additional warranted degree of attention and became a major focus of both Maine Yankee and the State of Maine. This year remediation and security remain the principal focus as the 'end state' of the nuclear power facility draws closer in the completion of decommissioning activities. The State and Maine Yankee continue to discuss security needs for the spent fuel storage site. We grapple with the potential of private and public measures addressing radioactive materials management in an uncertain era of world events. The necessity for siting a Spent Fuel Storage Facility for an unknown period of time due to the lack of a national storage facility, and the related potential responsibilities in a new and highly charged global atmosphere have increased concern. Governor Baldacci's administration continues to pursue an aggressive remediation and security agenda, as well as efforts to assure the transfer of the spent fuel waste to an appropriate national facility. Nationally, the nuclear energy industry believes there is a renewed opportunity in the United States for nuclear energy as a power supply. This belief is due to increased productivity at plants and to clean air attributes needed to counter global warming. As a maturing innovation, nuclear power plants now have fewer outages, positive environmental effects associated with climate change, and support from an energy-oriented administration in the White House. Globally, nuclear energy use has steadily increased, with the number of plants worldwide now more than triple that of the operating U.S. plants. The Three Mile Island and Chernobyl disasters chilled interest in commercial nuclear power expansion in this country two decades ago. Proposed new plants could resurrect a dormant nuclear plant construction business. Even so, both legislative policy and sufficient energy options for Maine make this state an unlikely choice for a new nuclear power plant in the near term future. The prime subject of this report is the status of the Decommissioning and Deconstruction of the power plant facility, the nuclear material management, the Interim Spent Fuel Repository, and the security needs of such a facility. Maine Yankee currently manages High Level radioactive material (almost exclusively spent nuclear fuel), Low Level radioactive material (classed as A, B and C) and Greater Than Class C (GTCC) material. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, a pioneering facility in the Navy's nuclear propulsion program, is reviewed briefly. CONTENTS
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW FOR 2003During 2003 the State Nuclear Safety Advisor (SNSA) continued to be busy as both states and nationally governing authorities addressed an array of spent nuclear fuel related issues. The U.S. Congress, with strong support from Maine's Congressional delegation, affirmed the President's nomination of Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the nation's spent nuclear fuel repository for byproduct material from commercial power plants and the nuclear navy program. The affirmative vote sent the Yucca project forward to licensure, but it also activated the State of Nevada resistant to the national repository for commercial spent nuclear fuel via the federal courts. Currently, Britain and France serve the global community, except for the U.S. by reprocessing commercial spent nuclear fuel as a spent fuel management service. A handful of nuclear power plants have ceased operation around the world and commenced decommissioning. In the United States nineteen plants are closed and in four are in the process of decommissioning. Maine Yankee is frequently profiled at national and international conferences and events because of its progress in decommissioning, the volume of spent fuel remaining on site, and its status as one of the largest U.S. plants to under go decommissioning. The plant was one of six examined as part of a NRC environmental assessment procedures review for decommissioning operations. Maine Yankee has been contrasted with decommissioning operations in England where nuclear plants must be stored, not demolished, due to a lack of debris disposal facilities. Unlike the U.S. situation, spent nuclear fuel is quickly removed offsite from the plant site to the British Nuclear Fuel Ltd (BNFL) reprocessing facility. Maine Yankee continues to pursue its decommissioning plan and seeks ultimately to terminate its license to operate under NRC and state oversight. Maine Yankee completed a major, third revision of its License Termination Plan in 2002, including commitments to groundwater testing and final site survey (FSS) in which the State of Maine and Maine Yankee continues to openly discuss. Governor John E. Baldacci appointed Charles P. Pray State Nuclear Safety Advisor on October 27, 2003. Section One: Decommissioning Project Update The decommissioning operations of the Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant is over 80 percent completed according to Maine Yankee in its activity flow chart showing tasks and projects necessary to meet State and Federal requirements. Maine Yankee continues to ship Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) materials to EnviroCare in Utah. LLRW is materially, legislatively, distinct from spent nuclear fuel. Maine Yankee also ships a significant volume of uncontaminated concrete by rail to a landfill facility in Niagara, New York. 2003 saw about 398 workers on site and 4.8 million hours worked since decommissioning started at Maine Yankee. There have been 1.4 million work hours since the last lost time accident in May 2002. This was accomplished with worker exposure to contamination held at a dose level at about 45 percent of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission limit for the entire project with less than twenty percent of the work still to be completed for closure. The transfer of the Spent Nuclear Fuel rods is progressing smoothly with fifty-three canisters completed by mid January of 2004. The remaining spent fuel transfer will be complete by the end of February of 2004. Fifty-three canisters of spent nuclear fuel had been moved from the spent fuel pool to the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). By comparison, at the beginning of 2003 eleven canisters of fuel had been moved to the ISFSI. The remaining Spent Fuel will be completed over the next couple of months and places in storage at the ISFSI. When all of the fuel has been transferred there will be 60 canisters loaded with spent nuclear fuel and four loaded with Greater than Class C waste (GTCC). GTCC waste is irradiated steel that was removed from the reactor vessel before it was packaged for shipment as low-level radioactive waste. For disposal purposes GTCC waste is treated like spent nuclear fuel. Though excellent progress was made on fuel transfer in 2003, the beginning of the year got off to a less than favorable start. In January Maine Yankee terminated its contract with NAC and assumed management of the fuel transfer. During the transition from NAC to Maine Yankee progress on fuel transfer was slowed. In early January of 2003 an empty concrete cask slid on the heavy haul trailer while being transported. The sliding was due to icing conditions on the trailer. After review and evaluation, it was found not to be safety significant. The incident did halt fuel transfer work for a couple of weeks while Maine Yankee conducted a root cause investigation and implemented corrective actions. The incident resulted in a "self-identified" Level IV NRC violation. The NRC concluded that the incident was not safety significant. Once this situation was addressed and the management transition from NAC to Maine Yankee was completed the remaining spent nuclear fuel transfer went smoothly. In the spring Maine Yankee and NAC reached agreement for NAC to continue providing hardware and engineering support to the project. All of the hardware has been delivered, including failure canister overpacks, a safety contingency in the unlikely event one of the sealed canisters developed a leak. The following activities have occurred or are underway:
Demolition and Site Restoration Scheduled for 2004The following is Maine Yankees projection for 2004: Looking ahead, most of the physical work of plant decommissioning is expected to be complete by the end of 2004 to support completion of the project in the spring of 2005. Decommissioning WasteThe majority of Maine Yankee's waste is concrete, soil and building debris. About 63 million pounds of waste was shipped from Maine Yankee during 2003 bringing the project total to approximately 181 million pounds. This is about 59 percent of the waste that is expected to be shipped during decommissioning. At the beginning of 2003 the total amount was 118 million pounds shipped. Most of Maine Yankee's waste is shipped by rail. The bulk of the radiological waste is shipped to EnviroCare's facility in Utah. Some radiological waste is also shipped to Chem-Nuclear's facility in South Carolina. Most of the non-radiological waste is shipped to a landfill in New York State. Waste last year was shipped without incident with the exception of a minor event at a rail yard in South Portland where a rail car cover was pushed off a car when it was struck by another rail car moving slowly by on an adjoining track. There was no release of radiological material. Maine Yankee responded to the scene and notified the State. The State and Maine Yankee worked together following this event to strengthen the courtesy notification process. Reactor Pressure Vessel DisposalIn May Maine Yankee safely shipped its 1,100-ton reactor pressure vessel package (RPV) by barge to the Chem-Nuclear low-level waste disposal facility in Barnwell, South Carolina. In September 2002 the RPV, in its shipping container, was moved from the containment building into the backyard of the plant where it was stored awaiting sufficient water in South Carolina's Savannah River to permit barge transportation. South Carolina was in a prolonged draught. During the winter of 2003 South Carolina received significant rainfall allowing shipment of the RPV in May. The RPV was off-loaded at the DOE's Savannah River Site, moved overland on a heavy hauler, and safely disposed in a trench at the Chem-Nuclear facility. Containment Demolition ProgressThe interior of the containment building or "dome" is currently an empty shell. During 2003 interior walls and floors were removed to below ground and the concrete and steel reinforcing bars shipped by rail to Utah for disposal. That work continues and is nearing completion. Major interior demolition began in late December 2002 when Maine Yankee used explosives to demolish the building's polar crane. Much of the first part of 2003 involved cutting the massive crane into pieces and loading the pieces onto rail cars for shipment. Work was stopped on the project for about a week following an incident where a piece of the polar crane shifted unexpectedly and hit the aerial lift being used by workers who were segmenting the crane. No one was injured, but a thorough evaluation was performed and corrective actions were implemented before work resumed. A second major project conducted during the fall of 2003 was the cutting up and removal of the neutron shield tank (NST). The 60-foot neutron shield tank was located below ground level and had surrounded the reactor. Workers used cutting torches to segment the tank and the pieces were shipped by rail to Utah. This hazardous job was well planned, completed ahead of schedule and with minimal radiological dose to workers. Demolition also began on the exterior of containment last year. Maine Yankee is in the process of cutting nine 80-foot high rectangles in the exterior concrete and rebar using a hoe-ram mounted on an excavator boom. Two of the rectangles are nearly complete but work on them was halted until a high reach boom can be obtained that will reach the 80 foot height. That boom is expected on site around the end of January. When the rectangles are complete the containment dome will be standing on pillars of concrete. This fall explosives will be used to demolish the dome to the ground. Maine Yankee is working with its demolition contractor Manafort Brothers and Controlled Demolition Inc (CDI) on the explosive demolition plan. CDI has extensive international experience in explosive demolition and previously safely demolished Maine Yankee's turbine building and polar crane. Forebay Remediation and RestorationThe forebay, south of the containment building, was the discharge pathway for plant cooling water and liquid radiological effluents under Maine Yankee's NRC license. Bounded by dikes on the east and west during the plant operations, water flowed through the forebay and then into the plant's diffuser piping for distribution in Montsweag Bay. In 2002 an extensive radiological characterization of the forebay was conducted with Maine Yankee and the State Nuclear Safety Inspector, (SNSI) each, analyzing samples of radiation. In late spring 2003 Maine Yankee began removing and treating silt from the sides and bottom of the forebay as well as the adjoining seal pit. This was a first of its kind activity as the much of the remediation and radiological survey work was performed underwater. The silt that was removed was processed in a water treatment system that extracted the silt from the water and formed it into a cake that was then loaded onto rail cars and shipped as radiological waste to Utah. The cleanup of this area and the radiological final status survey work to determine that the cleanup met the requirements of the license termination plan continued into November. The State and the NRC both performed surveys. Maine Yankee is now in the process of backfilling the forebay. In the spring the west dike will be breached to allow flooding of the surface during high tides with the hopes of establishing a marsh in this area. Maine Yankee and the State have worked together on this concept of restoring tidal wetlands. Summation of Key Work Activities for 2004:
Demolition of Structures 2003The appearance of the site changed greatly in 2003 with the demolition and removal of several key structures. The greatest challenge in this area was the remediation of the spray building and primary auxiliary building (PAB) foundations where there are many tight spaces including cubicles, trenches and cracks in the concrete. The spray building remediation was largely completed this past fall. In fact the building has been demolished and removed and most of the foundation has been backfilled. Remediation work is nearing completion in the basement of the PAB with this building scheduled to demolish and backfilled in the summer of 2004. Other structures demolished and removed include:
Section Two: RemediationRestoring the plant site is a multi-step process which will result in the Maine Yankee site being released from its Nuclear Regulatory Commission license. Additionally, Maine Yankee must meet the requirements of the State of Maine's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Division of Health Engineering (DHS), providing adequate groundwater testing, assuring long term protection for general and appropriate suitable use by others. Maine Yankee and the State of Maine continue to work towards these ends. This process includes: historical site assessment, site characterization, remediation, final status survey and verification, and release of the site from its NRC license. To be considered suitable for release from the license, the site must meet strict radiological criteria for radiation exposure to the public to assure protection of public health. Site restoration includes the cleanup of all non-radiological materials such as chemical, petroleum products and other debris. The details of how the site is being remediated to meet the NRC criteria are documented in the License Termination Plan. To meet these criteria, Maine Yankee must clean up the site so that the hypothetical resident farmer living on the site would receive a radiation dose no greater than 25 mrem per year, above background radiation, from that use. On average, an individual in the United States receives an annual radiation dose of approximately 360 mrem . In 1999 Maine Yankee shared a draft plan with stakeholder groups including the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Human Services, the Governor's Technical Advisory Panel, the Attorney General, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the State Nuclear Advisor. While the License Termination Plan (LTP) was submitted to the NRC in January 2000, Maine Yankee continued to seek consensus with stakeholders on issues associated with the final clean-up. Maine Yankee proposed enhancements to the plan, reflecting the input of stakeholders, which go beyond the regulatory requirements of the NRC to a 10mrem standard for land and separate 4 mrem standard for groundwater. In 2000, the Maine Legislature passed a law making this 10-4 mrem standard the site release criteria for Maine. Maine Yankee revised its LTP and filed this revision with the NRC in June 2001. Following additional stakeholder discussion, Maine Yankee further revised the LTP and filed a Revision 2 with the NRC in August of 2001. A third revision was filed October 15 of 2002. Maine Yankee and State officials continue to meet, seeking a cooperative understanding of how best to establish compliance with the statutory standards. With the intention of leaving irradiated concrete beneath the reactor vessel in place, groundwater monitoring becomes essential as a means for assuring long term protection for the public and the environment. Section Three: Storage of Spent Nuclear FuelSince it began operation in 1972, Maine Yankee produced 1,434 used nuclear fuel assemblies (Spent Nuclear Fuels Rods). These fuel assemblies are high-level radioactive waste. Because the U.S. Department of Energy does not have a disposal facility available for the waste, Maine Yankee, along with all other commercial facilities in the United States must store spent fuels on-site. Maine Yankee estimates the DOE will not remove all used fuel from the plant site until 2023 or beyond. (The DOE maintains in court documents that Maine Yankee's fuel may well remain on site longer than the 20 year license period or the 30 year period that the NRC approves for initial dry storage safe condition duration. The State views DOE statements as a signal that the spent fuel is destined to remain in Maine for at least one if not two more generations if DOE is relied upon to accept and transport it under existing federal programs.) The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is charged with regulatory responsibility for transportation, storage and licensing of the DOE facility. In 2004, U.S. Department of Energy is expected to submit a license application to the NRC for Yucca Mountain. If approved, Yucca Mountain could begin receiving used nuclear fuel in 2010, though doubtful. The US Court of Claims has ruled that The U.S. Department of Energy's delays were not unavoidable and that the DOE is liable for costs associated with its failure to remove it from Wiscasset. Since the court decision Maine Yankee has met with the DOE several times to find a solution that would allow spent fuel to be removed from the Maine Yankee facility. So far, that effort has failed. In the meantime, Maine Yankee must continue to safely store used nuclear fuel at the plant site in Wiscasset. Spent fuel rod currently are being stored inside of its spent fuel pool, and are being transferred to steel canisters, that are then placed inside vertical concrete casks that are then placed on a concrete pad at Maine Yankees Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). There is a degree of measurable radiation emitted, called skyshine. Early monitoring showed little measurable activity at Maine Yankees ISFSI though only a proportional number of the containers have been placed at the afore mentioned time. The full expectation is that the last containers will be in placed by early 2004 as the remaining spent fuel is removed from the pool to the dry cast storage canisters at the ISFSI. After the events of September 11, with concerns from several levels of government, the state has extended its pursuit of alternative solutions for interim storage until the Federal government can and does meet its own statutory responsibility in its acceptance and maintenance of the spent fuel. Maine Yankee and the State of Maine jointly oppose any and all actions that would have the ISFSI become more than an interim facility past 2010, and we support earlier alternatives solutions that would remove the Spent Fuels from the current ISFSI. Section Four: SecurityThe State has a legitimate interest in ensuring the safety and security of its citizens. The NRC has long required Maine Yankee, as a licensee, to implement security measures. New NRC Orders are intended to enhance security during and after decommissioning. Maine Yankee's ability to carry out such Orders is of crucial importance to the community. The Orders are safeguarded, (i.e. classified), and the State maintains that the recent Order assumes some additional use of State and local law enforcement and emergency response resources, even if only to prepare for an event that never occurs. The State had petitioned the NRC's Atomic Safety Licensing Board (ASLB) for a hearing to discuss the implications for the State of the NRC Order to Maine Yankee. The NRC objected to the State's request, taking the position the State lacks standing because the Order applies only to Maine Yankee and not the State. Maine Yankee also objected, based in part on its interpretation of an NRC letter as meaning no additional State resources are required as a result of a new Order. The State's Petition expresses that the recent NRC Order adversely affects the State in its charged in protecting its citizens. A distinguishing factor from other similarly situated industry is the NRC role in security needs determination. A second factor is the unknown duration of time for State security supplementation because the 1998 deadline for DOE initiation of performance was not met and the DOE has not committed to a Maine Yankee fuel removal schedule. A variety of avenues for resolution of State concerns are currently pending in discussions with the NRC and Maine Yankee. A theme in those discussions is that adverse safety and health effects resulting from the threat of or actual radiological events such as accidents and sabotage need not be feared so long as adequate resources and programs exist. Responsible state personnel will be able to carry out best practices in security measures and emergency preparedness to prevent or mitigate the effects of such events. Industry contribution to a state's costs associated with preparing and implementing plans to deal with the effects of potential nuclear events in states that host commercial nuclear facilities are common . How the State plans to meet the duties that accompany the indefinite hosting of spent fuel is worth taking time to calculate. The costs are real although sometimes difficult to identify fully or in discreet line items; furthermore, there are no viable alternatives to meeting the security tasks required. Specific security issues and safeguards information cannot be easily shared but can be-and are-increasingly discussed in the context of best practice and standards. Training, data analysis and communication networks form the human and equipment foundation for security infrastructure. In 2002, Maine's state police chief inspected test program sites used by Israeli police units that determine actual security resources necessary and the deployment of resources. In addition, General Tinkham, Defense and Veterans Services, did a risk assessment of sites around the state, which included Maine Yankee. One aspect of new nuclear safety preparedness programming would be to recoup the specific costs of state security and response support for spent fuel management as a consequence of DOE's refusal to transport the materials to a federally secured, interim storage site. Until DOE performs, the State must improvise in securing the significant protections and expertise that are readily available at a federal installation or center of management in a post 9/11 society. While the often extraordinary funding associated with spent fuel management and protection is best dedicated to federal sites in states where infrastructure and personnel now exist, some new arrangement is appropriate if Maine must host stranded radioactive materials indefinitely. We are currently in discussions with Maine Yankee evaluating the degree of appropriate state security response in a number of situations. Section Five: Texas CompactIn 1993 Maine, Vermont and Texas, through a negotiated agreement, the Texas Compact, joined in an accord to dispose low level radioactive waste generated in their respective states in a facility that was to be sited in the state of Texas. This compact was authorized and subject to the Low Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act Amendments to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 USC § 2011 et seq.) To date Texas has not sited a facility. In the 2003 session, the Texas Legislature considered bills to establish siting criteria for development of a new low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal facility in Texas. Such a facility is needed to fulfill Texas' obligations under the Texas Compact and, as well, could take advantage of an opportunity for disposal of large volumes of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) LLW that were generated in DOE's management of its weapons program. Anticipating that Texas might consider changes in the responsibilities of Compact-member states in conjunction with this new siting bill, the SNSA, Public Advocate and Governor's Office cooperated in providing input and advice at the Texas Legislature and Governor's Office, primarily through the efforts of Maine's Texas-based lobbyist. Maine's lobbyist was in regular contact with the relevant Committee Chairs in the House and Senate, as well as key personnel in the Governor's and Lieutenant Governor's Office, and the Speaker of the House. On May 7, Governor Baldacci and Vermont Governor Douglas sent letters protesting a provision in the siting law proposed in the Texas Senate, to Governor Perry of Texas. Subsequently in May, and despite these lobbying efforts, the Texas Legislature adopted a provision in the siting legislation that was enacted into law and signed by Governor Perry in Texas. That provision required: "PAYMENTS BY PARTY STATES, Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Act of the Legislature or the executive branch, or any other agreement, the initial payment of $12.5 million due from each non-host party state under section 5.01 of the compact established under Section 403.006 is due not later than November 1, 2003." This language relates to the Compact provisions triggering a $12.5 million payment each by Maine and Vermont within 60 days of Congressional ratification of the Texas Compact in 1998. This triggering language was, however, qualified by a prior agreement between the Governors of Maine, Texas and Vermont that committed Texas to forgo collection of the $12.5 million Compact fee in view of the decommissioning of Maine Yankee which got underway in 1997 and subsequently, Texas' failure to license a proposed LLW disposal facility in Sierra Blanca, Texas despite more than ten years of effort. In meetings at the Attorney General's Office in Texas between Maine's lobbyist and senior lawyers there, in direct contacts between Governor Baldacci's staff and Governor Perry's staff and between Maine's Attorney General Rowe and Texas Attorney General Abbott, Maine's representatives stressed the view that no $12.5 million payment was required or would be forthcoming. Notwithstanding these extensive discussions, on September 10, 2003 Attorney General Abbott sent to Attorney General Rowe a preliminary letter indicating Texas' expectation that Maine would forward a $12.5 million payment in satisfaction of the new Texas law, no later than November 1, 2003. Although the letter made reference to the agreement between the three Governors that had been executed in September 1997, Attorney General Abbott's letter asserted nonetheless that Maine had an obligation to make immediate payment under Section 5.01 of the Compact. Attorney General Rowe responded to this letter on October 23, 2003 with a three page letter rejecting any claim of such a payment obligation on five separate grounds: Texas' own failure to fulfill its duty under the Compact to build a disposal facility; Maine's reasonable reliance on the September 1997 agreement among Governors Bush, Dean and King; Texas' own waiver of Section 5.01 in the September 1997 agreement; the untimeliness of the Texas claim in view of the federal statute of limitations; and Texas failure to act in good faith in performing its obligations with respect to the Compact. As of January 15, 2004 Texas has taken no further steps with respect to its claim that Maine owed $12.5 million under Section 5.01 of the Compact. Texas did, however, negotiate a payment schedule with Vermont under which Vermont Yankee's owner would forward a partial payment in 2003 of $2.5 million with subsequent payments of $5 million to be made in May 2004 and in 2005. Section Six: A National RepositoryYucca Mountain remains the only planned facility for storage of commercial spent nuclear fuels. The U.S. Department of Energy began studying Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in 1978 to determine whether it would be suitable for the nation's first long-term geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Currently stored at 131 sites around the nation, these materials are a result of nuclear power generation and national defense programs. Yucca Mountain is located in a remote desert on federal land in a state where nearly 80% of the land is owned by the federal government. This is a secured area of the state in Nye County at the Nevada Nuclear Weapons Test site where the United States carried out numerous nuclear-bomb testing for several decades. It is approximately 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. On July 23, 2002, President Bush signed House Joint Resolution 87, allowing the DOE to take the next step in establishing a safe repository in which to store our nation's nuclear waste. The Department of Energy is currently in the process of preparing an application to obtain the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to proceed with construction of the repository. The State of Nevada in currently in the Federal Appeals Court before a three judge panel attempting to derail the federal facility, Nevada argues, that the federal government has failed to meet its own environmental standards by limiting the application to only 10,000 years and not 300,000 years. The time issue is important to Nevada's case because the U.S. Department of Energy has used the 10,000 years as the life of the repository. Thirteen separate lawsuits have been combined and a decision is expected later this year though the judges have not limited their time with an end date. The U.S. Department of Energy, in early January, 2004, has released its preferred rail transportation route through Nevada for the shipment of Spent Fuels from commercial reactor and private storage sites to the Yucca Mountain Facility. This will be subjected to a series of public hearings in Nevada. Expectations are that the facility will not be ready by the current projected 2010 date to initiate acceptance of commercial spent fuel canisters from across the United States, requiring spent nuclear fuels continue be stored in a number of states across the country. Additionally, the State of Maine and Maine Yankee are participating in an effort to identify viable alternative locations for the storage of spent nuclear fuel. Other participants include the States of Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well as the two other decommissioning Yankee plants, Yankee Rowe, and Connecticut Yankee. This initiative is part of Yankee Atomic Electric Company's recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rate case settlement agreement. Yankee Atomic manages the decommissioning of the Yankee Rowe plant in western Massachusetts. The State of Maine along with Maine Yankee also belongs to the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition (NWSC), a national group with 45 members from 25 states whose membership includes state attorneys general, public utility commissioners, utility representatives and others who have advocated since 1993 for reforms that will bring about the removal of spent nuclear fuel to either an interim storage location or Yucca Mountain. The NWSC meets regularly in Washington, DC with senior Administration officials and members of Congress to highlight the importance of resolving the spent nuclear fuel issue. If the DOE remains on schedule, the agency is expected to submit its license application for Yucca Mountain to the NRC by the end of 2004. The NRC review process will then take several years to complete. If NRC approves the license, DOE would move forward with construction of the facility with the goal of starting to receive spent nuclear fuel in 2010. In the meantime, DOE is also beginning to focus on transportation, security and other issues related to moving spent fuel. In November 2003 the DOE released a plan for working with stakeholders on the various issues associated with transport. More activity in this area is expected during 2004. While commercial spent nuclear fuel is not being transported from reactor sites in the United States, DOE and the military do ship spent fuel regularly in this country and the safety record over the past 40 or more years is excellent. While some vehicle accidents have occurred during shipments, there has not been a release of radiological material. Section Seven: Portsmouth Naval ShipyardSpent fuel from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS or Shipyard) is routinely and uneventfully shipped to Idaho's National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) facility where it is stored, awaiting shipment to Yucca Mountain. So far, INEEL's spent fuel storage facilities are not available for commercial spent fuel from shut down plants. Naval spent fuel from Maine travels via rail to a federal center of management, i.e. the DOE facility in Idaho, for inspection and storage. In 2002, as part of its transport program, the Shipyard invited regional responders, the SNSA and other local and state officials to observe or participate in a naval spent fuel shipment accident exercise. Attended by federal and state radiological health officials and emergency preparedness and response personnel from the Northeast states, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Virginia and by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation from Oregon, the accident exercise resulted in better coordination among the emergency response agencies and improved communication protocols, according to event sponsors. Both Maine and New Hampshire responders were integral to the planning and execution of the exercise. The SNSA continues to participate with regional and national organizations in the on going discussions on transportation route and safety procedures. The SNSA continues to follow and participate in regional and federal activity in the approval of a national repository, designation of a route, and the mode of transportation that the spent nuclear fuel will take to a national storage site. With the uncertainty of appropriate and timely federal action without continued pressure from a number of states that now host nuclear spent fuel storage sites it is imperatively necessary to continue to express the State of Maine's strong position that this states, as well as those states, with current licensed ISFSI, not become an end storage site for nuclear waste by default. The SNSA continues to work with New England groups, Northeast organizations, as well as national interests that seek a timely and appropriate national storage facility for spent nuclear fuels. Legislation: The SNSA has proposed that the SNSA position, currently assigned to the State Planning Office, should be reassigned to the Public Advocate Office, where it has been housed for several years, and where it and the Public Advocate Office conduct business in a number of related areas. In addition, the proposed legislation would renamed the position as State Nuclear Waste Director to reflect the changing nature of the duties and oversight. Additional Information on Maine Yankee or the Nuclear Industry and related matters can be found on the Internet at: Submitted 02/15/04, Charles P. Pray, SNSA, 112 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0112 |
| Copyright © 2005 All rights reserved. |