Appeal made to force quality assurance compliance at proposed new Fermi 3 atomic reactor

Terry LodgeTerry Lodge (photo, left), Toledo-based attorney representing the environmental coalition intervening against the proposed new Fermi 3 atomic reactor in Monroe County, MI, has appealed the May 23rd Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) ruling regarding QA (quality assurance) to the full five member Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

See the appeal here. See the press release here.

This appeal preserves the coalition's right to appeal the ruling to the federal courts.

From 2009 to 2013, the coalition's expert witness on QA, Arnie Gundersen, Chief Engineer of Fairewinds Associates, Inc., has filed voluminous testimony during the course of this proceeding.

The coalition includes Beyond Nuclear, Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination, Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, Don't Waste Michigan, and Sierra Club Michigan Chapter.

"Fatally compromised" NRC Commissioner Magwood urged to resign immediately

NRC Commissioner William Magwood IVAs explained in a press release, 34 groups, including Beyond Nuclear, have urged U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Commissioner William Magwood IV (photo, left) to resign immediately, due to his apparent and actual conflict of interest. Several months ago, Magwood agreed to become Director-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD NEA), which has an explicit mandate to promote nuclear power. His job there begins in September, and he has indicated he will leave NRC before his term expires sometime this summer.

The coalition's letter to Magwood, calling for his resignation, was written by the Joint Counsel to the Environmental Organizations, Diane Curran of Harmon Curran Speilberg + Eisenberg LLP in Washington DC, and Mindy Goldstein of Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory Law School in Atlanta. It also calls for Magwood to retroactively recuse himself from any votes made in the past many months, after he began negotiating with OECD for his new job at NEA. The letter was cc'd to the other four NRC Commissioners, as well as to the White House and U.S. Senate oversight committee.

The NRC and its Commissioners are not supposed to promote nuclear power, but rather to regulate its safety, in order to protect the public and environment. In fact, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was disbanded in the mid-1970s, due to its schizophrenic promotional and safety regulatory roles. NRC was then formed, mandated to regulate safety, while the U.S. Department of Energy was given the promotional role.

Tellingly, Magwood directed DOE's promotional Office of Nuclear Energy (ONE) for several years, as well as working in the nuclear industry itself, before President Obama nominated him, and the U.S. Senate confirmed him, as an NRC Commissioner. Beyond Nuclear helped lead a coalition of more than 100 groups opposing Magwood's nomination and confirmation.

In late 2011, during an oversight hearing, U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman, Barbara Boxer (D-CA), cited the group letter spearheaded by Beyond Nuclear, opposing Magwood's nomination and confirmation. Boxer was angry with Magwood for leading the mutiny against then serving NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko. As reported by the Huffington Post, it was an apparent bid by Magwood to take the NRC Chairmanship for himself -- similar to how Magwood got the top spot at DOE ONE. As also reported by the Huffington Post, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) ended any such notion, citing Magwood's broken promises regarding the proposed Yucca Mountain dump.

Concerned citizens and environmental group reps tour Entergy Palisades atomic reactor

NRC file photo of Palisades, and the Great Lake and countryside it puts at risk.On June 11, 2014, a group of five concerned local residents and environmental group representatives, including Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps, toured Entergy Nuclear's problem-plagued Palisades atomic reactor. It is located on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Covert, MI.

See Kevin's notes and thoughts from the tour.

[This version of Kevin's notes/thoughts, in Word, allows you to click on various functional links provided.]

State of Michigan Senate unanimously passes bill and resolutions urging federal action against Great Lakes shore radioactive waste dump

Today, the State of Michigan's Senate unanimously passed a bill and resolutions package sponsored by sponsored by State Senator Phil Pavlov and co-sponsored by State Senators John Proos, Jack Brandenburg, Michael Green, Tonya Schuitmaker, Hoon-Yung Hopgood , Rick Jones, Goeffrey Hansen, James Marleau, Michael Kowall, and David Hildenbrand.

The bill and resolutions express grave concerns about Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) proposed Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) targeted at the Lake Huron shoreline at Bruce Nuclear Generating Station in Kincardine, Ontario, Canada, where so-called "low" and "intermediate" level radioactive wastes from 20 reactors across Ontario would be permanently buried.

The bill and resolutions call upon President Obama, Secretary of State Kerry, and the U.S. Congress to activate the International Joint Commission (IJC), under the U.S.-Canadian Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, to review the risks of OPG's DGR. The bill and resolutions also called upon the Great Lakes Commission, comprised of eight Great Lakes States and two Canadian provinces, to similarly review the risks of OPG's DGR, and take a position on the controversial issue. The bill and resolutions also call upon the other seven Great Lakes States (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York) to take similar action.

The Great Lakes provide drinking water to 40 million people in the U.S. and Canada.

Two dozen groups urge State of MA to divest from Entergy due to safety and economic risks at Pilgrim

Beyond Nuclear has signed onto an effort spearheaded by the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, and endorsed by two dozen local groups, to urge the State of Massachusetts to divest more than $8 million invested in Entergy. The signatory groups cited the economic and safety risks associated with the nuclear utility's problem-plagued Pilgrim atomic reactor. A June 4th letter was sent to Governor Patrick and Treasurer Grossman, as described in a June 9th press release.

NRC recently placed Pilgrim on its "degraded" performance short list. The only other reactor in the country with a worse performance designation is FitzPatrick in upstate New York. Both Pilgrim and FitzPatrick are General Electric Mark I boiling water reactors, identical in design to Fukushima Daiichi Units 1 to 4.

Entergy's Palisades atomic reactor in Michigan was similarly designated one of the worst performers in the U.S. a couple years ago, after not one but two near-misses in 2011, and yet another one in 2012, as documented by David Lochbaum at Union of Concerned Scientists.

A year ago, energy economist Mark Cooper of Vermont Law School identified Entergy's six merchant reactors (half its national fleet), including Pilgrim, as at risk of near-term shutdown. This is due to a variety of factors, including economic uncompetitiveness and needed, costly safety repairs. In August 2013, Cooper was proven right, when Entergy announced the permanent shutdown of Vermont Yankee (another Entergy GE BWR Mark I) by the end of 2014.

Update on June 11, 2014 by admin

The State Treasurer of Massachusetts has responded to the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, expressing strong support for the efforts to permanently close Entergy's Pilgrim atomic reactor. However, the State Treasurer has indicated that divestment of state pension funds from Entergy would require the enactment of legislation -- that is, action by the state legislature, as well as the governor.

The Cape Cod Times has reported on this story.