The state of Washington gave legal notice Monday that it plans to enter the fray to prevent the Department of Energy from terminating plans to make Yucca Mountain, Nev., a nuclear waste repository.
That legal notice will be followed Wednesday with a petition to become a party in licensing proceedings before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said Andy Fitz, Washington state assistant attorney general.
The Department of Energy is expected this week to file a motion to withdraw its license application for Yucca Mountain filed last year with the NRC. DOE wants it withdrawn "with prejudice," which would prevent it from being refiled.
If the state is a party to the licensing proceedings, it will have legal standing to oppose the withdrawal.
Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna is "deeply disturbed by the federal government's departure from a repository plan that dates back to the early 1980s, and particularly the apparent aim to take one of the nation's options off the table," he said in a statement.
"My office continues to develop a legal strategy that it believes will provide the greatest benefit to the people of Washington, especially those in the Tri-Cities who remain concerned about the permanent disposal of the nuclear waste currently stored and awaiting processing there," McKenna said.
The state also has the option of filing a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals to stop DOE from terminating Yucca Mountain. On Friday, South Carolina filed a lawsuit as
well as a petition to become a party in licensing proceedings.
Washington state's strategy is to intervene in the licensing proceedings because that's likely the first decision that will be made in the issue, Fitz said. If DOE is forced to proceed with its license application, a lawsuit may not be necessary.
Hanford plans to send its high-level radioactive waste left from the past production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program to Yucca Mountain. That includes irradiated reactor fuel and high-level radioactive waste now held in underground tanks that will be turned into a stable glass form at the vitrification plant.
In addition to holding high-level radioactive waste from the nation's nuclear defense program, Yucca Mountain also has been planned to hold used commercial nuclear fuel, including that from the Columbia Generating Station just north of Richland.
President Obama indicated during his campaign that he opposed opening Yucca Mountain, and this year formed a blue ribbon commission to study other options for the waste. The commission will not consider Yucca Mountain.
That action was followed by a temporary hold on DOE's Yucca Mountain license application with the NRC.
Monday the Hanford Communities was preparing a letter to Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire encouraging her and McKenna to take legal action. The group includes Richland, Pasco and Kennewick, Benton and Franklin counties, and the Port of Benton.
Hanford has 70 percent of the nation's high-level defense waste, the letter said. Yucca Mountain standards have been used to design and build the $12.2 billion vitrification plant and the containers holding irradiated fuel pulled from Hanford's K Basins, it said.
"Abandonment of the geologic repository program at Yucca Mountain in favor of some unknown alternate location puts these waste streams ... at extreme risk," the letter said. "It also poses a burden on communities like ours that are working hard to clean up the waste left over from the Manhattan Project and the Cold War."
If the Yucca Mountain license is withdraw, the waste could be stranded at Hanford, the letter said.
Three Tri-City business leaders -- Bob Ferguson, Bill Lampson and Gary Petersen -- already have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals asking the court to decide if the Obama administration has the legal authority to terminate Yucca Mountain. They believe that is a violation of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.
The state's action Monday to intervene in the license application is "something we expected and hoped for so we are very pleased," Petersen said.
-- Annette Cary: 582-1533; acary@tricityherald.com.
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Nuclear Regulation Commission allows Yucca closure to continue
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WASHINGTON -- A divided Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday allowed the Obama administration to continue with plans to close the Yucca Mountain, Nev., nuclear waste repository, where Hanford waste was planned to be sent.
The commission split, 2-2, on whether to uphold or reject a decision by an independent nuclear licensing board. The board voted last year to block the Department of Energy from withdrawing its application for Yucca Mountain. The licensing board said the government failed to make a scientific case for why the application should be withdrawn.
Despite the split vote, the NRC said in an order Friday that the licensing board should continue steps to close out work on Yucca Mountain by the end of the month, citing "budgetary limitations."
Blue Ribbon Commission says U.S. should start looking for Yucca alternative
Blue Ribbon Commission says U.S. should start looking for Yucca alternative
WASHINGTON -- The United States should immediately start looking for an alternative to replace the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, which cost an estimated
$15 billion but was never completed, a presidential commission said Thursday.
In its final report, the 15-member Blue Ribbon Commission recommended immediate efforts to develop at least one geologic disposal facility for long-term handling of nuclear waste. Any effort to site a disposal facility must have community support, it said.
The report also suggested building regional storage sites that would be open for up to 100 years while officials seek to complete a permanent burial site.
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The possibility of disposing of Hanford's high-level radioactive waste while a solution continues to be worked out for spent commercial nuclear fuel was raised Thursday at a Senate hearing.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., questioned leaders of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future on its findings at a hearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. On Wednesday, Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., a candidate for governor, questioned commission leaders at a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Environment and Economy.
The commission issued its final recommendation last week, calling for the nation to look for a location "by consensus" where a new national repository for high-level defense waste and used commercial fuel will be welcome. It also called for the development of storage sites to be used in the meantime.
Temporary storage proposed for vit plant waste
Temporary storage proposed for vit plant waste
Hanford contractor officials are proposing a temporary storage system for Hanford's treated high-level radioactive waste that easily can be expanded, given uncertainties about the nation's plans for a national waste repository.
Washington River Protection Solutions formed an independent review team that is recommending a new Hanford building large enough to store as much high-level radioactive waste as the Hanford vitrification plant is expected to treat in a decade. But if needed, more vaults could be added.
The initial plans do not include a shipping facility. Given austere federal budget conditions, it makes sense to wait to add that when the nation is ready to ship the waste, said Tom Fletcher, Department of Energy acting assistant manager of the Hanford tank farms.
Bechtel names safety culture leader at vit plant
Bechtel names safety culture leader at vit plant
A Bechtel executive with experience leading complex nuclear projects has been assigned to the Hanford vitrification plant to take charge of nuclear safety and quality culture improvement efforts.
The $12.2 billion plant has been the focus of assessments after questions were raised about whether scientists, engineers and others working to design and build the plant feel free to raise issues that could affect safe operation.
Ward Sproat, principal vice president at Bechtel Power Corp., is on temporary assignment to Bechtel National, which is building the plant to treat high level radioactive waste for disposal.
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