Coalition defends legal challenge against unprecedented high-risk truck shipments of highly radioactive liquid waste

Attorneys Terry Lodge of Toledo, OH, and Diane Curran of Washington, D.C., legal counsel for an environmental coalition that includes Beyond Nuclear, have filed a Reply Memorandum to the D.C. Circuit Court in defense of a lawsuit against unprecedented truck shipments of highly radioactive liquid waste (also referred to by the U.S. Department of Energy, obscurely, as irradiated target material, or, even more obscurely, as HEUNL, short for highly enriched uranyl nitrate liquid).

The 100 to 150 high-risk truck shipments would travel more than a thousand miles, from Chalk River Nuclear Lab, Ontario, Canada, to Savannah River Site, South Carolina, U.S.A. The shipments would most likely cross the international border at Buffalo or Thousand Islands, NY.

See the PLAINTIFFS' REPLY MEMORANDUM, here.

And see the related PLAINTIFFS' MOTION TO SUPPLEMENT THE RECORD, here.

More.

Former Texas governor, Rick Perry, could head the "Oops" Department, but it's no laughing matter

Truth in advertizing under a Trump administration?!Former Texas governor, Rick Perry, has been tapped to run the federal agency he swore to abolish, if only he could remember which one it was. Perry's leadership of the Department of Energy could jeopardize the Iran nuclear weapons deal, with national defense (almost entirely nuclear weapons related) constituting around 65% of the DOE's mission and budget, while 21% is allocated to energy-related functions. The Iran deal has already been condemned by president elect Trump and many Republicans. Perry professes skepticism on climate change, yet has overseen a boom in wind power in Texas. He is alleged to have received millions in donations from Harold Simmons, founder of Waste Control Specialists, which is due to take irradiated waste fuel from U.S. reactors to a site in Andrews County, Texas, under the "Consolidated Interim Storage" scheme that Beyond Nuclear strongly opposes. Perry also sits on the boards of Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics, owners of the Dakota Access Pipeline.  Readers should contact their U.S. Senators and urge them to block Perry's appointment. Find your two U.S. Senators here.  Then either write, fax or call your Senators via the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121. Read more about Perry here and here.

Update on December 13, 2016 by admin

See U.S. Sen. Ed Markey's (D-MA) statement re: President-elect Trump's nomination of former Texas governor Rick Perry as Energy Secretary.

U.S. looks for potential issues linked to falsified French nuclear documents

As reported by Reuters, and Tweeted by Scott Stapf of the Hastings Group: Nine U.S. reactors linked to French scandal over falsified documents over nuclear parts.

Although the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) won't name the implicated American nuclear power plants, the article reports that Dominion's Millstone in CT is directly implicated, while FirstEnergy's Beaver Valley in PA may be as well.

The Wall Street Journal has also reported on this story, in an article entitled "Coverup at French Nuclear Supplier Sparks Global Review."

Mycle Schneider, lead author of the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Report, was quoted by the Wall Street Journal, warning “Likely we have seen only the tip of the iceberg.” More.

Victory! CT Supreme court reverses lower court decision on Millstone

The Connecticut Supreme Court has reversed a lower court decision on the Millstone nuclear power station Clean Water Act permit, clearing the path for activists to nullify the permit on environmental grounds at an upcoming hearing.      

The Waterford CT nuclear power plant’s Units 2 and 3 cannot legally operate without a valid discharge permit under the federal Clean Water Act, which is administered by the state DEEP.      

Without a valid water discharge permit, Millstone would be forced to shut down.      

The unanimous decision, authored by Chief Justice Chase P. Rogers, is to be officially released on December 13, 2016 in the case of Nancy Burton v. Commissioner of Environmental Protection, SC 19664. https://www.jud.ct.gov/external/supapp/Cases/AROcr/CR323/323CR10.pdf

Burton hailed the Supreme Court decision as an “outstanding recognition by the state’s highest court of the supremacy of the law to protect the fragile environment from unnecessaryand harmful degradation.”

 The stunning Supreme Court victory came eighteen (18) years after Burton successfully brought suit to shut Millstone Unit 2 for 10 days during the peak of native Niantic River winter flounder larvae migration to the Long Island Sound. Annually, larvae were sucked by the millions into Millstone’s intake structures and destroyed. 

Read the full press release.

BREAKING: One of country's most dangerous nuclear plants, Palisades, to close

The Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, MI, will close in October 2018, its owner, Entergy, has announced. The notorious reactor has been beset by critical safety issues for decades, long neglected, ignored, or given a pass by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In July, nearly two dozen security workers at Palisades were placed on paid leave after inconsistencies in fire inspection records were found. Despite constant opposition from Beyond Nuclear and others, the NRC has consistently refused to close the plant, even though the Palisades reactor vessel has become brittle after decades of use. More details on this page, and comments from Beyind Nuclear, to come as the news unfolds. Read more.

Update on December 8, 2016 by admin

See Beyond Nuclear's press statement here. See Entergy's press release here. See Consumers Energy's press release here. See media coverage here.