Two dozen groups rebut NEI, supplement comments to NRC on Nuke Waste Con Game

Environmental coalition attorney Diane CurranAn environmental coalition comprised of two dozen organizations, including Beyond Nuclear, today submitted supplemental public comments to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regarding the agency's court-vacated Nuclear Waste Confidence Decision and Rule. The supplemental comments constituted a rebuttal to comments submitted by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the nuclear power industry's lobbying arm in Washington, D.C.

The coalition held a press conference today, featuring four speakers: Arjun Makhijani, President of Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, one of the coalition's expert witnesses; Diane Curran of the Washington, D.C. law firm Harmon, Curran, Spielberg + Eisenberg, LLP, a lead attorney for the coalition (see photo, left); John Runkle, an attorney with NC WARN (North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network), another coalition member; and Phillip Museegas, an attorney with Riverkeeper, and another expert witness for the coalition, of which Riverkeeper is also a member.

The U.S. federal court of appeals for the D.C. circuit ruled on June 8th that NRC "merely hoped" for a repository someday, and ordered the agency to undertake an environmental impact statement study on the long-term consequences of no repository ever opening, that is the long-term risks of on-site irradiated nuclear fuel storage in pools and dry casks.  

Phillip Museegas of Riverkeeper emphasized that not only human health and safety risks associated with past, present, and future leaks of radioactivity from high-level waste storage pools needs to be included in NRC's EIS, but also the ecological consequences for downstream environments from such leaks. Riverkeeper is challenging Entergy's proposed 20-year license extension at Indian Point Units 2 & 3 near New York City. Indian Point 2's pool has been leaking radioactivity into soil, groundwater, and the Hudson River for nearly a decade.

The coalition issued a press release; the full audio recording of the press conference is posted on-line.

The coalition's January 2nd public comments, including expert witness testimonies, are posted on-line. So are the coalition's supplemental comments submitted today, put together in rebuttal to NEI's Jan. 2nd comments.

24 Groups: NRC Rushing Nuclear “Waste Confidence” Process, Not Satisfying Court-Ordered Requirements

Critics have long dubbed NRC's "Nuclear Waste Confidence Decision and Rule" a Nuke Waste Con Game. In June, the federal courts agreed.An environmental coalition, including Beyond Nuclear, has asserted that NRC's incomplete "Nuclear Waste Confidence" process should trigger continued suspension of all reactor licensing and re-licensing. Beyond Nuclear has applied the related court victory to challenge the proposed new Construction and Operating License Applications at Fermi 3 in Michigan and at Grand Gulf in Mississippi, as well as applications for 20-year license extensions at Grand Gulf Unit 1 and Davis-Besse in Ohio.

The coalition's press release began:

"In documents filed Wednesday with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), a wide range of national and grassroots environmental groups said it would be impossible for the NRC to adequately conduct a court-ordered assessment of the environmental implications of long-term storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in the two short years the federal agency envisions for the process.  

The groups’ comments and related declarations by experts are available online at http://www.psr.org/resources/nrc-rushing-nuclear-waste-confidence-process.html.  

In June 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the NRC’s 2010 Waste Confidence Decision and Temporary Storage Rule and remanded them to the agency for study of the environmental impacts of storing spent fuel indefinitely if no permanent nuclear waste repository is licensed or if licensing of a repository is substantially delayed.  Spent nuclear fuel remains highly dangerous for prolonged periods.  It has long-lived radioactive materials in it that can seriously contaminate the environment and harm public health if released.  Additionally, spent nuclear fuel contains plutonium-239, a radiotoxic element that can be used to make nuclear weapons if separated from the other materials in the fuel.  Plutonium-239 has a half-life of over 24,000 years."

The complete press release can be read here.

Beyond Nuclear on Thom Hartmann's "The Big Picture"

Thom Hartmann, host of "The Big Picture"Ever since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe began on March 11, 2011, Thom Hartmann's "The Big Picture" television news program has featured Beyond Nuclear staff on a regular, ongoing basis to provide updates and analysis of the situation in Japan, and its implications for the U.S. On December 27th, Thom interviewed Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps on the recent return to political power of the pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party, which (during its previous reign from 1955-2009) oversaw the establishment of the collusion between government, regulator, and industry, which Japan's own parliament reported was the root cause of the triple reactor meltdown. Thom and Kevin also discussed bio-accumulation of radioactive contamination up the food chain, as well as the potential risk that vast amounts of flotsam and jetsam from the Japanese tsunami, now arriving on the west coast of North America, could be radioactive.

Is the glass half empty or full? Stephen Colbert and retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens discuss Corporate Personhood and nuclear power water usage

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens being interviewed by Stephen ColbertWhile discussing the in's and out's of the U.S. Supreme Court's 5 to 4 Citizens United Corporate Personhood ruling, author of the dissent, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, asked Colbert if a Corporate Person can drink a glass of water. Colbert responded that if that Corporate Person happens to be the nuclear power industry, oh boy can they -- several billion gallons (a square mile of water, 14 feet deep) per reactor, per day! (see the interview beginning at the 10:00 minute mark in this Colbert episode). 

Environmental coalition defends Davis-Besse intervention at ASLB oral argument pre-hearings in Toledo

Environmental coalition attorney Terry Lodge of Toledo speaks out against Davis-Besse's 20 year license extension at an NRC meeting at Oak Harbor High School, Oak Harbor, OH on August 9, 2012The environmental coalition comprised of Beyond Nuclear, Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, Don't Waste Michigan, and the Green Party of Ohio has defended its safety and environmental intervention contentions against the proposed 20 year license extension at FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company's (FENOC) Davis-Besse atomic reactor. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Atomic Safety (sic) and Licensing Board (ASLB) oral argument pre-hearings took place on Nov. 5th and 6th (yes, Election Day) in Toledo, Ohio at the Lucas County Courthouse. The coalition's representatives, including attorney Terry Lodge of Toledo (photo, left), Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear, and Michael Keegan of Don't Waste Michigan, squared off against opposition to the contentions mounted by FENOC's and NRC's legal teams and experts.

The environmental coalition defended its Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives (SAMA) analyses contentions -- an environmental contention already admitted for a full hearing on the merits by ASLB -- against a motion for summary disposition mounted by FENOC. The coalition also advocated for admission of its cracked concrete containment contention -- a safety and environmental contention -- for a full hearing on the merits, while FENOC and NRC staff opposed it.

On Monday, the Toledo Blade published an editorial, "Tough enough to last?", questioning the structural integrity of the shield building for 25 more years (2012 to 2037). Today, it ran an article, "Davis-Besse hearings open." U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), a long-time watchdog on Davis-Besse and other FENOC atomic reactors,submitted a statement for the hearing record.