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Major Reorganization at DOE
 In a memo to Department of Energy (DOE) employees on Friday, July 8, 2011, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said the Office of Environmental Management, the Office of Legacy Management, and the Office of the Chief of Nuclear Safety will now report directly to Under Secretary for Nuclear Security Tom D'Agostino, who is also Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The three programs will be under D'Agostino in his role as Under Secretary. Secretary Chu said the transition will take place "in the coming weeks."
In addition, Secretary Chu said Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Dr. Ines Triay will be leaving her current position as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Environmental Management (EM). "Because of her father's poor health, she made the decision to return to the Career Senior Executive Service in the Department," the memo reported.
There is no word yet on the timing of her departure or who will replace her as head of the DOE cleanup program. Also, it is not clear on the ramifications the reorganization will have for SRS. It is not believed that the three programs will be part of NNSA but will operate as standalone programs. Stay tuned for next Month's newsletter for more information. For a copy of the memo from Secretary Chu click here. |
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Yucca Court Case Decision
 On July 1, 2011, a federal appeals court ruled that challenges to the Obama administration's decision to withdraw from developing the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, nuclear waste repository were premature and that a decision on the fate of the repository in Nevada still rests with U.S. regulators. The three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that there is no final decision to challenge until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) acts on the recommendations made by the Department of Energy (DOE).
South Carolina, Washington Aiken County, and other petitioners challenged the federal government's Jan. 29, 2010, decision to withdraw "with prejudice" an application the DOE had submitted to NRC to construct the Yucca Mountain repository. The decision was not unexpected based on the views expressed by the judges during the oral argument in March.
However, the court was sympathetic. "If the Yucca Mountain repository never opens, petitioners argue, the federal government will never remove the nuclear waste temporarily stored within their jurisdictions or near where they live, despite the federal government's responsibility for doing so," wrote Chief Judge David Sentelle for the unanimous panel, with judges Janice Rogers Brown and Brett Kavanaugh issuing separate concurrences. "This fear is not unreasonable."
The court also said that the states could revive their lawsuit if the NRC fails to act soon, noting that a three-year deadline for either approving or rejecting the application is "at hand," since the application was formally registered at the NRC in September 2008. "We will not permit an agency to insulate itself from judicial review by refusing to act," the court said. Click here to read the Court opinion.
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Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Meeting
 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) did host a two-day public meeting in Augusta, Georgia, on June 21 and 22, 2011 to solicit input on issues associated with the development of a draft regulatory basis document for a potential rulemaking on spent nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities. A meeting notice was highlighted in last month's issue of The Bridge. The purpose of this meeting was for the NRC staff to obtain comments from the stakeholders on the staff's approach for the gaps and topics associated with the regulatory basis for rulemaking for spent nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities.
The intended objective at this type of meeting is for the public to work with the NRC and to provide a range of views, information, concerns and suggestions with regard to regulatory issues. Following is a list of participants who were specifically invited by NRC to provide this feedback.
- Sven Bader, AREVA
- Jim Bresee, US Department of Energy
- Tom Clements, Friends of the Earth
- Susan Corbett, South Carolina Sierra Club
- Yawar Faraz, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- John Greeves, JTG Consulting
- Britt Hill, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Bret Leslie, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Rod McCullum, Nuclear Energy Institute
- Alex Murray, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Mary Olsen, Nuclear Information and Resource Service
- Wendy Reed, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Kevin Strickland, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
- Derek Widmayer, Advisory Committee on Reactor Safety
- Mark Yeager, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
It was very disappointing to see the lack of local community stakeholders as participants and directly involved in this discussion. Here is an excerpt from the meeting transcript as voiced by Susan Corbett State Chair of the South Carolina Sierra Club. "I would just like to say as a representative of the conservation community, we think that calling reprocessing "recycling" is "greenwashing" it at its worst."
The NRC also solicited written comments. They were due by July 7, 2011.However, comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so. You can submit comments in electronic form on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site, http://www.regulations.gov and will find other related documents filed under Docket ID NRC-2010-0267. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so.
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Asset Revitalization Initiative and Community Reuse Organizations
 Within the Department of Energy (DOE), the Under Secretaries for Energy, Science, and the National Nuclear Security Administration have established a task force on asset revitalization. The task force will examine the reuse of DOE resources as site cleanup reaches completion; the transition of sites for beneficial opportunities; and approaches to diversify local economies and communities integral to site remediation. Opportunities can include clean energy development (Energy Parks), environmental sustainability projects, and the optimization of open space. The task force is a preliminary step to evaluating the reuse value and purpose of departmental assets.
The Task Force has two clear deliverables. One is an official report to Congress (completed) and the other is a set of recommendations to the Under Secretaries of Energy, Science and Nuclear Security on the formation of an Asset Revitalization Initiative (due late summer). The Task Force is comprised exclusively of federal officials, but will have a strong focus on interacting with communities, private businesses, and other stakeholders.
As part of this stakeholder interaction, the SRSCRO was one of seven Community Reuse Organizations (CROs) across the DOE complex that met with the Task Force in Washington, D. C., in late June to share ideas concerning asset revitalization and reutilization. The CRO's believe that there are numerous opportunities for economic development, and site operating cost efficiencies leveraging DOE and local assets. The local CRO perspective and skill set are important to the success of the federal reutilization effort, and communities should be encouraged to integrate the asset reutilization program into its economic development strategy. This can only be achieved through a partnership with consistent implementation of DOE policy and support.
In the early 1990's the Department recognized and sanctioned the CRO role that has provided economic development, and site operating cost benefits to both DOE and the community. The CROs hope to continue building on past successes and continue its relationship with DOE as the Task Force completes its recommendations to the Under Secretaries of Energy, Science and Nuclear Security. The SRSCRO will continue to be part of this endeavor.
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SRSCRO Spotlight | |
New
SRSCRO
Board Member
Monty Philpot
Director of Government Relations of
Georgia Health Sciences University
Monty Philpot was appointed to the SRSCRO Board of Directors by Georgia Representative Paul Broun on June 15, 2011.
Ms. Philpot is the Director of Government Relations at Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU). Philpot is GHSU's liaison to Congress and federal agencies.
An Augusta native with over 10 years of legislative experience in Washington, D.C., Ms. Philpot is a member of the Leadership Georgia class of 2008 and a volunteer for the Atlanta Union Mission, Buckhead Christian Ministry and David's Hope International, with whom she has worked to feed malnourished children in Kenya.
Ms. Philpot earned a psychology degree from the University of Georgia.
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