We Do Not Consent! Coalition Calls for DOE Do-Over

Beyond Nuclear has joined with 50 organizations and individuals, urging the U.S. Department of Energy to re-do its fatally flawed Dec. 1 Request for Information re: "consent-based siting" of federal consolidated interim storage facilities for highly radioactive wastes. Our legal counsel, Diane Curran, submitted the letter on Feb. 15, calling on DOE to withdraw the RFI, and if necessary, to revise and re-publish it. The request featured Native American NGOs and Indigenous-led groups, including CRAFT, IEN, HOPE, MASE, NAWO, NCAC, and NISG. DOE has failed to adequately consult with Native American tribes in a legally required government-to-government manner, especially given DOE's infamously bad past behavior on an issue so critical to environmental justice.

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http://archive.beyondnuclear.org/centralized-storage/

Order from DC Circuit Court of Appeals sets briefing schedule in DWM, et al. v. NRC

The United States Court of Appeal has issued an Order in the case of Don't Waste Michigan, et al. versus United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal appeal against NRC's licensing of the Interim Storage Partners, LLC consolidated interim storage facility in Andrews County, Texas, on the New Mexico state line.

The first deadline, for Petitioners' Opening Briefis, is on Friday, March 18, 2020.

This deadline had previously been set for January 20, 2020, but a week prior, the court had suspended the proceeding, in order to address newly filed aspects of the federal appeal.

Parties opposing ISP in this federal appeal in the second highest court in the land include the eponymous Don't Waste Michigan, et al. -- a seven-organization and one-individual national grassroots environmental coalition. Terry Lodge, a Toledo, OH attorney, serves as legal counsel.

Another party opposing ISP is Sierra Club. Cedar Rapids, IA attorney Wally Taylor serves as legal counsel.

Yet another party opposing ISP is Beyond Nuclear. Our legal counsel includes Diane Curran, of Harmon Curran in Washington, D.C., as well as Mindy Goldstein and Geoff Toy of the Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

Finally, Fasken Land and Mineral, Ltd. and Permian Basin Land and Royalty Owners also opposes ISP in this case.

NGO coalition (50+ organizations and individuals) letter to DOE, re: "Request to Withdraw, Revise and Re-Publish Request for Information on Using a Consent-Based Siting Process to Identify Federal Interim Storage Facilities," 86 Fed. Reg. 68,244 (Dec. 1, 2021)

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Thank you very much to the 50+ organizations and individuals who signed onto this coalition letter, sent yesterday to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), requesting a withdrawal/revision/re-publication of its Request for Information re: "consent-based siting" for federal irradiated nuclear fuel (highly radioactive wastes) consolidated interim storage facilities (CISFs). See the full list of signatories, below.

Special thanks to Diane Curran, Beyond Nuclear's legal counsel, for doing the heavy lifting on this letter. Thanks also to all those who helped edit and proofread it. And thanks very much once again to all the groups and individuals who signed on.

Sincerely,

Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear

P.S. In case DOE rejects our request, above, we will still need to meet its current March 4th deadline for public comments. To see coalition comments you can sign your organization onto, and how to do so by the March 4th deadline, see: http://archive.beyondnuclear.org/centralized-storage/2022/2/8/coalition-comment-letter-to-doe-re-consent-based-siting-for.html

Watch for additional email action alerts re: these coalition comments and the March 4th deadline in the days/weeks ahead, and please spread the word to your networks.

Full List of Signatories on 2/15/22 Letter to DOE requesting withdrawal/revision/re-publication of DOE RFI

Organizations

Beyond Nuclear; Cape Downwinders; Citizens Awareness Network; Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping; Citizens Resistance at Fermi Two; Coalition for a Nuclear-Free Great Lakes; Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety; Council on Intelligent Energy & Conservation Policy; Don’t Waste Arizona; Don't Waste Michigan; Earthkeeper Health Resources; Honor Our Pueblo Existence (H.O.P.E); Hudson River Sloop Clearwater; Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN); Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (member organizations include: Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining; Red Water Pond Road Community Association; Laguna-Acoma Coalition for a Safe Environment; Post-71 Uranium Workers Committee; and Bluewater Downstream Valley Alliance); Native Community Action Council; National Nuclear Workers for Justice; Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution; North American Water Office (NAWO); Northeastern New Mexicans United Against Nuclear Waste; Northwatch; Nuclear Energy Information Service; Nuclear Free World Committee of the Dallas Peace and Justice Center; Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS); Nuclear Issues Study Group; Nuclear Watch South; Nukewatch; Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance; Ohio Nuclear Free Network; On Behalf of Planet Earth; Peace Farm; Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security; Safe Energy Rights Group; San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace; Snake River Alliance; Southwest Research and Information Center; Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition; Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance. 

Individuals:

Lee Blackburn (Ohio); Stephanie Bilenko (Illinois); Carolyn Croom (Texas); Alice M. Evans, Ph.D. (Vermont); Bridget Houston Hyde (Texas); David Rosen, Certified Petroleum Geologist (Texas); Kathleen Russell (Michigan).

Updated action alert, extended sign-on deadline, re: Request to Withdraw, Revise and Re-Publish Request for Information on Using a Consent-Based Siting Process to Identify Federal Interim Storage Facilities, 86 Fed. Reg. 68,244 (Dec. 1, 2021)

Thank you very much to the following organizations and individuals who have already signed-on to this letter --

Organizations: Beyond Nuclear; Citizens Awareness Network; Citizens Resistance at Fermi Two; Council on Intelligent Energy & Conservation Policy; Don’t Waste Arizona; Earthkeeper Health Resources; Hudson River Sloop Clearwater; Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment; National Nuclear Workers for Justice; Northeastern New Mexicans United Against Nuclear Waste; Nuclear Energy Information Service; Nuclear Information and Resource Service; Nuclear Watch South; Nukewatch; On Behalf of Planet Earth; Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security; Southwest Research and Information Center; Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance.

Individuals: Alice Evans; Stephanie Bilenko; Kathleen Russell.

Beyond Nuclear's legal counsel, Diane Curran, has drafted a letter to DOE, re: Request to Withdraw, Revise and Re-Publish Request for Information on Using a Consent-Based Siting Process to Identify Federal Interim Storage Facilities, 86 Fed. Reg. 68,244 (Dec. 1, 2021)

See the text of the request letter, here.

In short, the letter requests DOE start this public comment proceeding over again, because its rollout has been so fatally flawed thus far. The letter requests a re-do: withdrawal, revision, and re-publication of the Request for Information.

Diane Curran and Beyond Nuclear are seeking endorsements from other organizations and individuals. Please consider signing onto this letter with us. The sign on deadline has now been extended, till Monday, February 14th, at 12pm Noon Eastern Time.

To sign on as an organization, please send your complete contact information to <kevin@beyondnuclear.org>.

Native American NGOs in particular are encouraged to consider signing on. This is because DOE has the responsibility, under law, to undertake government-to-government consultation with Native American tribal governments, and has utterly failed to do so adequately in this proceeding. In this regard, DOE is repeating its own past, infamous environmental justice violations, when it targeted scores of Native American reservations with Monitored Retrievable Storage sites, now called Consolidated Interim Storage Facilities.

Also, re: the section labeled DESCRIPTION OF BEYOND NUCLEAR AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS REQUESTING EXTENSION, please include a short summary about the following:

DESCRIBE NAME AND PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION, ANY INVOLVEMENT ORGANIZATION HAS HAD IN THIS PROCESS OR RELATED PROCESSES – SUCH AS SUBMISSION OF COMMENTS ON 2015 FED. REG. NOTICE, COMMENTS ON 2017 DRAFT REPORT, PARTICIPATION IN MEETINGS, ANYTHING ELSE?

Here is how Beyond Nuclear has answered that question, to serve as a model in writing your own group's description:

Beyond Nuclear is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abolish both to protect public health and safety, prevent environmental harms, and safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an end to the production of nuclear waste and for securing the existing reactor waste in hardened on-site storage until it can be permanently disposed of in a safe, sound, and suitable underground repository. For more than 10 years, Beyond Nuclear has worked toward its mission by regularly intervening in U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”) licensing proceedings for the proposed Holtec International and Interim Storage Partners, L.L.C. (“ISP) consolidated interim storage facilities. Beyond Nuclear has appealed NRC’s issuance of the ISP license for violating the Nuclear Waste Policy Act in Don’t Waste Michigan, et al. v. NRC, No. 21-1048. The case is pending.

ANY AND ALL involvement in past related proceedings is helpful for including in your group's description.

Individuals who would like to endorse this letter are also welcome to do so. Please email <kevin@beyondnuclear.org> by the extended deadline -- 12pm Noon ET, Mon., Feb. 14. Please include your name and full contact info., as well as a short summary of any past involvement in related proceedings, as well.

Thanks for considering signing onto this! Please spread the word!

Please sign on to Beyond Nuclear's request to DOE for a do-over on its Request for Information re: "Consent-Based Siting" for Federal CISFs, and a 90-day extension to the comment period!

Beyond Nuclear's legal counsel, Diane Curran, has drafted a letter to DOE, re: a Request for Revision and Re-Publication of Request for Information on Using a Consent-Based Siting Process to Identify Federal Interim Storage Facilities, 86 Fed. Reg. 68,244 (Dec. 1, 2021).

See the draft request letter here.

In short, the letter requests DOE start this public comment proceeding over again, because its roll out has been so fatally flawed thus far. The letter requests a re-do, and another 90-day public comment period, beyond the current March 4, 2022 public comment deadline.

Diane Curran and Beyond Nuclear are seeking endorsements from other organizations and individuals. Please consider signing onto this letter with us. The sign on deadline is this Friday, February 11th, at 3pm Eastern Time. [This deadline for signing on has now been extended till noon Eastern on Monday, Feb. 14th.]

To sign on as an organization, please send your complete contact information to <kevin@beyondnuclear.org>.

Also, re: Page 2, Section I, in the draft letter, DESCRIPTION OF BEYOND NUCLEAR AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS REQUESTING EXTENSION, please include a short summary about the following:

DESCRIBE NAME AND PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION, ANY INVOLVEMENT ORGANIZATION HAS HAD IN THIS PROCESS – COMMENTS ON 2015 FED. REG. NOTICE, COMMENTS ON 2017 DRAFT REPORT, PARTICIPATION IN MEETINGS, ANYTHING ELSE?

Here is how Beyond Nuclear has answered that question, to serve as a model in writing your own group's description:

Beyond Nuclear is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abolish both to protect public health and safety, prevent environmental harms, and safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an end to the production of nuclear waste and for securing the existing reactor waste in hardened on-site storage until it can be permanently disposed of in a safe, sound, and suitable underground repository. For more than 10 years, Beyond Nuclear has worked toward its mission by regularly intervening in U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”) licensing proceedings for the proposed Holtec International and Interim Storage Partners, L.L.C. (“ISP) consolidated interim storage facilities. Beyond Nuclear has appealed NRC’s issuance of the ISP license for violating the Nuclear Waste Policy Act in Don’t Waste Michigan, et al. v. NRC, No. 21-1048. The case is pending.

ANY AND ALL involvement in past related proceedings is helpful for including in your group's description.

Individuals who would like to endorse this letter are also welcome to do so. Please email <kevin@beyondnuclear.org> by the Friday, Feb. 11, 3pm ET deadline [this deadline has now been extended till 12pm Noon ET, Mon., Feb. 14] with your name and full contact info., as well as a short summary of any past involvement in related proceedings, as well.

Thanks for considering signing onto this! Please spread the word!