Anishinabek Grand Council Chief says CNSC ignored rule of law by approving radioactive shipment through Great Lakes

Anishnabek Nation logo. See http://www.anishinabek.ca/.As reported at the Canadian Newswire, Anishinabek Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee, speaking on behalf of 39 First Nations in the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI), said in response to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's Feb. 4th approval of the shipment of 16 radioactive steam generators from Bruce Nuclear Power Plant upon the waters of the Great Lakes: "The [Canadian] Supreme Court has stipulated the requirement for consultation and accommodation with First Nations...First Nations have to be accommodated on activities that could have an impact on our traditional territories. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples says handling of hazardous materials in our territories requires our free, prior, and informed consent...When it comes to transporting nuclear wastes through such an important resource as the Great Lakes, there is no such thing as too much consultation. Look at what happened with the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. It's irresponsible to take chances with the transport of hazardous goods, and I'm sure all Canadians would like to think that their federal government is concerned about their safety...The Great Lakes were never negotiated by treaty and we have inherent and treaty rights to all our waterways. Neither the Nuclear Safety Commission nor Bruce Power can guarantee that a disaster will not happen with this shipment. The spillage of any hazardous waste would infringe on our constitutionally-protected rights to fish, hunt, and gather lake-based traditional foods and medicines." The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its political advocate and secretariat in 1949.  The UOI's 39 member communities across Ontario represent approximately 55,000 people. UOI is the oldest political organization in Ontario and can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires that have existed long before European contact.

"CNSC, Bruce Power called to the carpet over nuke shipment"

Canadian MP Nathan Cullen (NDP)The Toronoto Sun reports that a Canadian federal parliamentary committee will grill representatives of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and nuclear utility Bruce Power over Friday's CNSC approval of a Bruce proposal to ship 16 radioactive steam generators on the Great Lakes to Sweden for "recycling." Nathan Cullen (pictured at left), a New Democratic Party (social democratic) opposition member of the House of Commons natural resources committee, has confirmed that "public concern has been pouring in." At the end of September, 2010, Cullen also spoke out at the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery just after the environmental coalition -- including Kevin Kamps from Beyond Nuclear -- opposing the shipment, as CNSC hearings were to begin that day on the issue

Departments of Energy and Interior announce "major offshore wind initiatives"

Today, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar unveiled large-scale plans for the rapid development of off-shore wind in the U.S. As stated in their media release: 

"Under the National Offshore Wind Strategy, the Department of Energy is pursuing a scenario that includes deployment of 10 gigawatts of offshore wind generating capacity by 2020 and 54 gigawatts by 2030. Those scenarios include development in both federal and state offshore areas, including along Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts as well as in Great Lakes and Hawaiian waters. Those levels of development would produce enough energy to power 2.8 million and 15.2 million average American homes, respectively."

10,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2020, and 54,000 megawatts by 2030, shows that wind power is a viable alternative to not only proposed new atomic reactors, but also to 20 year license extensions at dangerously deteriorated old reactors. Beyond Nuclear has made that exact argument in proceedings before Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety (sic) and Licensing Boards in numerous places, including: Fermi 3; Calvert Cliffs 3; Seabrook; and Davis-Besse.

"Questions arise over FirstEnergy's solar commitment"

Al Compaan and a solar PV panel he helped create.Tom Henry of the Toledo Blade's "Questions arise over FirstEnergy's solar commitment" documents the nuclear utility's ongoing reluctance to meet its commitments under Ohio law to install solar power in the Buckeye State. Al Compaan (pictured at left), retired chair of the University of Toledo (UT) physics department, is working with Beyond Nuclear as an expert witness on solar photovoltaic (PV) power as a renewable energy alternative to FirstEnergy's proposed 20 year license extension at its problem-plagued Davis-Besse atomic reactor. Not only did Al have a hand in passage of Ohio's renewable energy mandate law, but his solar PV installations on his own home and the church he attends represent about 25% of the solar PV development in Ohio in the recent past! Al's presentation at the Davis-Besse People's Hearing in Toledo on December 18th, asserting that solar PV can indeed replace Davis-Besse's 908 Megawatts-electric, formed the basis for one of our contentions against the license extension. His CV shows his deep expertise in solar PV. Al's involvement has provided a huge boost to our environmental coalition's chances going into an NRC Atomic Safety (sic) and Licensing Board oral argument hearing on March 1st in Port Clinton, Ohio. The Toledo area, dubbed "Glass City" in a bygone era, is now a hotbed for solar PV research and manufacturing, including: UT's vibrant solar PV research institute that Al helped establish; Perrysburg-based First Solar, the world's single largest solar PV panel manufacturing plant; and Xunlight, with which Al works.

Environmentalists condemn decision allowing radioactive waste shipment on the Great Lakes

Detroit News graphic showing shipment route from Bruce nuclear power plant, Canada to Studsvik, Sweden radioactive waste "recycling" center.Taking advantage of the weekend to get a jump on public alarm and media coverage, at 4:41 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4 the federal Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approved a highly controversial proposal to ship 16 radioactively contaminated steam generators from Ontario to Sweden via the waters of the Great Lakes. The shipment would originate at the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in the western hemisphere, and one of the largest in the world, with 9 reactors on one site. The shipment would originate on Lake Huron, and then pass through the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, Lake Erie, the Welland Canal, Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and the Atlantic Ocean. It would be bound for "recycling" at Studsvik, Sweden. An environmental coalition has been raising the alarm bell about the shipment and radioactive "recycling" plan since last spring, long delaying it. Before the shipment can enter U.S. territorial waters on the Great Lakes, it must receive a permit from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The coalition is calling on PHMSA to undertake a full Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act. The coalition issued a media release condemning CNSC's approval of the controversial and risky shipment. For more background information and history on this issue, go to Beyond Nuclear's Canada website section. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, on behalf of 70 municipalities, has also expressed disappointment in the CNSC decision, as has the Council of Canadians. The Environment News Service has reported on these developments, as has the CBC and the Toronto Star. The Sierra Club of Canada summed up the decision: "justice for the environment -- denied."