Sep 29, 2024: The case against restarting Three Mile Island’s Unit-1

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MEDIA ALERT FOR March 5: ORAL ARGUMENTS IN LANDMARK DC CIRCUIT COURT CASE CHALLENGING HOLTEC'S NEW MEXICO HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE DUMP

 NEWS FROM BEYOND NUCLEAR

  For immediate release 

  Contact:

  Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste specialist, Beyond Nuclear 

  Michael Keegan, Co-Chair, Don’t Waste Michigan

  Stephen Kent, KentCom LLC

MEDIA ALERT/INVITE TO COVER FOR March 5, 2024

ORAL ARGUMENTS TAKE PLACE MARCH 5 IN LANDMARK DC CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS CASE CHALLENGING HOLTEC RADIOACTIVE WASTE DUMP IN NEW MEXICO

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 5, 2024--

WHAT? Journalists are invited to attend and cover oral arguments in Case Number 20-1187, Beyond Nuclear v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The arguments will be presented on March 5 before a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.  The case challenges NRC licensing of Holtec International's consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for high-level radioactive waste targeted at the Eddy Lea Energy Alliance site, midway between Carlsbad and Hobbs in southeastern New Mexico.  Petitioners contend that the Holtec license violates the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and other federal laws. Opening the Holtec facility would trigger unprecedented numbers of shipments of highly radioactive irradiated nuclear fuel (aka “spent” nuclear fuel) across the country.  The Court’s ruling in the case could prevent that and set a far-reaching precedent for the disposition of high-level radioactive waste.

WHO?  Attorneys representing petitioners who oppose the Holtec radioactive waste dump licensing and attorneys representing respondents and the intervenor who support it, will each make oral arguments in Court.  The Petitioners include Beyond Nuclear; Sierra Club; the national grassroots environmental coalition Don't Waste Michigan, et al.*; Fasken Land and Minerals, Ltd.; and Permian Basin Land and Royalty Owners (PBLRO). Federal Respondents include the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the United States of America. Holtec is the Respondent Intervenor. The Nuclear Energy Institute is an Amicus Curiae. (See the Court's Feb. 22, 2024 ORDER, for the order of parties' oral arguments.)

WHEN & WHERE?  Oral arguments in the case start at 9:30am Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Each side has been allotted 24 minutes. Journalists are invited to attend and cover.  

The arguments will be made before Judges Rao, Walker, and Garcia in Courtroom 31, at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse and William B. Bryant Annex, 333 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20001, located one block northwest of the U.S. Capitol. The building faces Constitution Avenue where Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues merge. The courthouse entrances include the 3rd Street Entrance, which is handicap accessible, as well as the John Marshall Park Entrance.  

Journalists can attend the oral arguments in person. Cell phones must be turned off or silenced and put into airplane mode. Attendees must pass through a security checkpoint magnetometer and are subject to a bag search upon entering the courthouse. For more information on the Court's Media Information and Policy, see https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/home.nsf/Content/Media+Information. Additional information regarding in-person courtroom seating can be found here: https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/home.nsf/Content/VL+-+RPP+-+Courtroom+Seating.

For those who can’t attend in person, audio of the oral arguments will also be streamed live on the Court website. To listen in, go to  https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/home.nsf/Content/VL+-+RPP+-+Information+Regarding+Live+Audio+Streaming+of+Arguments and click the link at the bottom of the page for “DAILY CALENDAR WITH LIVE AUDIO.” A recording of the oral arguments will be posted by 2:00 P.M. Eastern Time on March 5, 2024. 

Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste specialist at Petitioner Beyond Nuclear, will monitor the arguments via the court's live online audio, and can also put journalists in touch with Petitioners’ attorneys on request.  His contact information is listed above.

BACKGROUND

The current Case Number 20-1187, Beyond Nuclear v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has been consolidated with D.C. Circuit Court Cases 20-1225, 21-1104, and 21-1147.  Here’s a brief summary of how it evolved and the issues it raises:

In March 2017, Holtec applied to NRC for a license to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for up to 173,600 metric tons of highly radioactive commercial irradiated nuclear fuel (aka “spent” nuclear fuel or SNF) and highly radioactive Greater-Than-Class-C "low-level" radioactive waste.

Petitioners opposed to the CISF intervened in the NRC's licensing proceeding regarding Holtec's application. Most also engaged in the environmental scoping and Draft Environmental Impact Statement public comment proceedings, which resulted in many tens of thousands of public comments opposing Holtec's CISF – a record-breaking number for this subject matter. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejected all the contentions raised in the licensing proceeding, and effectively discounted most of the comments raised in the National Environmental Policy Act public comment meetings.

Petitioners then filed appeals in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. When the NRC granted Holtec a construction and operation license for its CISF in May 2023, these appeals became ripe for court consideration. Beyond Nuclear's Final Briefs, filed in January 2024, argue that NRC approval of Holtec's license violates the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as Amended (NWPA), and consequently also violates the Administrative Procedure Act. Beyond Nuclear's legal counsel has taken the lead on this argument, although the other Petitioners opposed to NRC's license approval for Holtec's CISF have also raised it.

See Beyond Nuclear's Final Briefs, here.

Don't Waste Michigan, et al., Sierra Club, Fasken, and PBLRO have raised numerous additional arguments, alleging issuance of the license violates the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal laws.

See Don't Waste Michigan, et al., and Sierra Club's Final Briefs, here.

See Fasken/PBLRO's Final Briefs, here.

The State of New Mexico has submitted a Friend of the Court Brief on behalf of Petitioners opposed to Holtec's CISF. The City of Fort Worth, Texas also filed a Friend of the Court Brief on behalf of the Petitioners opposed to Holtec's CISF, which focuses on the safety and security risks of transporting high-level radioactive waste to New Mexico, via Texas.

 

NOTE TO EDITORS AND PRODUCERS -- The documents mentioned in this alert as well as other briefs, filings, and documents pertaining to the case are available on request. For copies of documents, or for further information or interviews, please contact Kevin Kamps at Beyond Nuclear, (240) 462-3216, kevin@beyondnuclear.org.

*Don't Waste Michigan, et al., includes: Don't Waste Michigan (MI); Citizens' Environmental Coalition (NY); Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination (MI); Nuclear Energy Information Service (IL); San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace (CA); and Demand Nuclear Abolition (NM), formerly known as Nuclear Issues Study Group.

-30-
Beyond Nuclear is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization. Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abolish both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic. The Beyond Nuclear team works with diverse partners and allies to provide the public, government officials, and the media with the critical information necessary to move humanity toward a world beyond nuclear. Beyond Nuclear: 7304 Carroll Avenue, #182, Takoma Park, MD 20912. Info@beyondnuclear.org. www.beyondnuclear.org.
 


--

Kevin Kamps
Radioactive Waste Specialist
Beyond Nuclear
7304 Carroll Avenue, #182
Takoma Park, Maryland 20912

www.beyondnuclear.org

Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abolish both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic.

By admin at Sat, 03/02/2024 - 12:20

NRC Issues Annual Assessments for Nation's Nuclear Plants

Nuclear Regulatory Commission - News Release
No: 24-016 March 1, 2024
CONTACT: Scott Burnell, 301-415-8200
 
NRC Issues Annual Assessments for Nation’s Nuclear Plants
 
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued annual letters to the nation’s operating commercial nuclear reactors assessing their performance in 2023.
 
Of the 94 reactors currently in the agency’s Reactor Oversight Process, 88 reached the highest performance category in safety and security. Those reactors (including Vogtle Unit 4, which was authorized for operation last year) remain under the NRC’s “baseline” inspection program, involving thousands of inspection hours for each reactor.
 
Six reactors were in the second performance category, as they need to resolve one or two items of low safety significance. For this performance level, regulatory oversight includes additional inspection and follow-up of corrective actions. Reactors in this category are Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 (Maryland), Columbia (Washington), River Bend (Louisiana), V.C. Summer (South Carolina); and Watts Bar Units 1 and 2 (Tennessee).
 
There were no reactors in the third or fourth categories, which trigger additional NRC oversight, or the fifth category, which requires a reactor to shut down to address its performance problems.
 
Later this spring and summer, the NRC will host public meetings or other events to discuss the details of the plants’ annual assessment results. Separate announcements will be issued for the public assessment meetings.
 
The NRC’s website outlines oversight of commercial nuclear power on the Reactor Oversight Process page. The NRC routinely updates each plant’s current performance and posts the latest information as it becomes available to the action matrix summary. Assessment letters are posted at https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/oversight/listofasmrpt.html (click on “2023006” for each plant). All plants also received an NRC inspection plan for the coming year in their annual assessment letter.
 
By admin at Sat, 03/02/2024 - 12:16

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR SUSQUEHANNA STEAM ELECTRIC STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 (REPORTS 05000387/2023006 AND 05000388/2023006)

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR SUSQUEHANNA STEAM ELECTRIC STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2 (REPORTS 05000387/2023006 AND 05000388/2023006)
 
ADAMS ACCESSION NUMBER: ML24057A082

AAL_SUS_ROP24 & Rpt 22.pdf

PDF iconAAL_SUS_ROP24 & Rpt 22.pdf
By admin at Sat, 03/02/2024 - 12:13

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION, UNITS 2 AND 3 (REPORTS 05000277/2023006 AND 05000278/2023006)

ANNUAL ASSESSMENT LETTER FOR PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION, UNITS 2 AND 3 (REPORTS 05000277/2023006 AND 05000278/2023006)
 
By admin at Sat, 03/02/2024 - 12:11

Korea Times: KHNP to buy enriched uranium from US energy firm Centrus

KHNP to buy enriched uranium from US energy firm Centrus
Posted : 2024-02-28 11:28
Updated : 2024-02-28 14:19
 
 
 
Park Jae-hyuk

 
By Park Jae-hyuk
 
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Centrus Energy to ensure the stable supply of enriched uranium from the U.S. nuclear fuel and services provider, the state-run nuclear and hydroelectric plant operator said Wednesday.
 
They signed the non-binding agreement in Washington on Monday local time, following their signing of a memorandum of understanding last April.
 
"Through the signing of this LOI, both parties will engage in concrete discussions regarding stable nuclear fuel supply and plan to continue exploring business opportunities in the nuclear sector by expanding the future nuclear fuel supply chain," KHNP CEO Whang Joo-ho said.

The KHNP said the latest agreement outlines substantive business objectives to enhance uranium resource security and nuclear cooperation between the two parties.

"We aim to diversify the supply of enriched uranium used as nuclear fuel," it said in a press release.
"KHNP expects to strengthen nuclear cooperation between Korea and the United States by establishing strategic relationships with Centrus, which is working to re-establish a robust uranium enrichment capacity in the United States."

Centrus is the only American company that has obtained a production license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is used as fuel for advanced reactors and small modular reactors.

In November, the company succeeded in the initial production of 20 kilograms of HALEU at its facility in Piketon, Ohio. The achievement demonstrated its technological and production capabilities for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The KHNP said it has opened the possibility of securing fuel for future reactors as well as for existing commercial reactors, as a result of cooperation with Centrus.
By admin at Fri, 03/01/2024 - 01:34

Mary Stamos Obituary

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Mary Stamos Obituary
 
Mary Stamos, 80, of Harrisburg, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 19 at The Gardens at Camp Hill. 

A beloved mother, sister, aunt, friend and passionate advocate for the environment and peace, Mary was born August 2, 1943, in Cambridge, Mass., and was the daughter of the late George and Evangeline (Stamoulis) Stamos. She was preceded in death by her son, Nicholas Ray Osborn. 

Mary was a decades-long member of Three Mile Island Alert (TMIA) and served on its Planning Council, joining the organization after the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in 1979. She conducted door-to-door surveys as part of the 1984 Voluntary Community Health Study, documented increased cancer incidences and mortalities, and became internationally recognized for collecting hundreds of deformed and mutated plants. She was interviewed by international media and documentarians and has made dozens of presentations about the health and environmental effects of the TMI accident in Europe, Asia, and throughout America. 

In recognition of the unique value of botanical specimens she collected from the Three Mile Island area and categorized with the help of TMIA volunteers, part of her collection was accepted by the Smithsonian Institution's Natural History Museum. Under the care of staff in the Department of Botany, the specimens were accepted to be made available for Smithsonian scientists and other researchers who wish to examine them for their relevance to the Three Mile Island event of 1979. 

Surviving is her daughter, Leslie O. Amoros and her husband, Abraham; four grandchildren, Alessandra Amoros, Sabrina Amoros, Kevin Osborn and Shane Osborn; two sisters, Elizabeth I. Stamos and Helen Sheaffer, and Helen's husband David Sheaffer; three brothers, Nickolas G. Stamos and his wife Doris Stamos, James Stamos and William Stamos; two nieces, Amanda L. Carricato and Gina M. Smith and her husband Thomas Smith; and many family members and friends across the world. 

A graduate of Harrisburg Area Community College, Mary worked at Aetna and Millers Mutual Insurance Company before serving as a paralegal for a few law practices in Harrisburg and Lancaster. She was a friendly face to many as a cashier at Harrisburg Transit News and loved sharing her Greek culture and rice pudding with family and friends. 

In addition to her advocacy, she will be remembered for her kindness and compassion, her love of nature, classic films and the Beatles. 

A Memorial Service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, March 1 in Neill Funeral Home, 3501 Derry St., Harrisburg. Burial will be in East Harrisburg Cemetery. A visitation will be from Noon, Friday until the time of the service at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to Three Mile Island Alert, 315 Peffer Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102. www.pennlive.com/obits
By admin at Sun, 02/25/2024 - 22:02

Indian Point owner Holtec used $63K in ratepayer funds for sports teams, fashion show

Gannett | THOMAS C. ZAMBITO, NEW YORK STATE TEAM


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday cited Holtec International for dipping into ratepayer funds meant for the teardown of the Indian Point nuclear power plant for $63,000 to sponsor baseball and softball teams, a golf outing and a high school fashion show.

The NRC said the payments “do not constitute legitimate decommissioning activities” and gave Holtec 30 days to respond to a violation notice.

Holtec has been told to reimburse the money taken out of roughly $2 billion in decommissioning trust funds it inherited after buying the lower Hudson Valley nuclear plant from Louisiana-based Entergy in May 2021.

The money in the funds come largely from fees collected from ratepayers during the plant’s 60 years of operation.

The payments turned up during an NRC review of financial records and interviews with company officials between July 2021, when Holtec took over the plant, and June 2023.

Closing: Why Indian Point nuclear plant won't close until 2041

Where the $63,000 went

Among the organizations that received funding were a little league team, a girls softball team in the Town of Cortlandt, a fashion show at Hendrick Hudson High School, a golf outing and a parade.

“We take our responsibility as watchful stewards of the trust fund very seriously,” Holtec spokesman Patrick O’Brien said. “We are also deeply committed to our local communities we serve as part of the decommissioning process. It is in that spirit as a strong community partner that these charitable expenditures were made, as part of our regular community outreach and engagement activities. We take any violation very seriously and have already taken corrective actions to ensure the amount was restored to the trust fund, with interest, and that this issue does not recur with our future community and charitable contributions.”

Indian Point 3 and Indian Point 1 are pictured at the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan March 28, 2023, as the site is undergoing decommissioning by Holtec Decommissioning International.

Indian Point 3 and Indian Point 1 are pictured at the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan March 28, 2023, as the site is undergoing decommissioning by Holtec Decommissioning International.

The NRC also turned up an unspecified amount of decommissioning funds spent on lobbying New York state lawmakers, but chose not to issue a violation.

“The NRC determined that the lobbying efforts associated with keeping New York State legislators informed and educated about decommissioning issues at IPEC (Indian Point Energy Center) fall within the objectives in accordance with the definition of decommissioning...,” the NRC writes in a letter to Holtec president Kelly Trice.

Similarly, the NRC allowed Holtec to spend decommissioning funds for legal expenses associated with the U.S. Department of Energy’s spent fuel settlement efforts.

The DOE has agreed to pay the owners of nuclear power plants to store steel-and-cement canisters loaded with used nuclear fuel on their sites until an underground repository for the nation’s radioactive waste is built.

Critics: Indian Point shutdown was supposed to quiet anti-nuclear critics. Not a chance

More bad news for Holtec

This is the latest setback for Holtec, which last month agreed to pay New Jersey $5 million in penalties to avoid prosecution over alleged misstatements made on tax-credit applications linked to its Camden, N.J. manufacturing hub.

The tax credits for Holtec and a related real estate firm were valued at $1 million.

Spent fuel storage casks are pictured at the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan March 28, 2023. The site is undergoing decommissioning by Holtec Decommissioning International.

Spent fuel storage casks are pictured at the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan March 28, 2023. The site is undergoing decommissioning by Holtec Decommissioning International.

Holtec denied wrongdoing, noting it agreed to settle the dispute “under threat of unfounded retaliatory criminal prosecution.”

And last year, the company sparred with environmental groups over its plan to discharge millions of gallons of radioactive water recovered from the plant’s spent fuel pools into the Hudson River.

Radiation: Hochul inks Indian Point bill but radiological waste debate rages on

In November, after Gov. Kathy Hochul sided with environmental groups by signing a law banning the release, Holtec said it would need more time to finish the teardown. Instead of demolishing the plant’s three reactors and other buildings on the 240-acre site by 2033, Holtec said it will need until 2041.

The radioactive water will remain on the site while Holtec weighs a legal challenge.
 
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Indian Point owner Holtec used ratepayer funds for sports teams, golf
By admin at Sun, 02/25/2024 - 22:00

Radioactive Waste Wars Heat Up in the Permian Basin; Article on Mary Osborn

https://files.constantcontact.com/abc65024401/7ee258bf-32c2-48a3-bbd6-c0cec7c545aa.jpg?rdr=true
Beyond Nuclear Bulletin
February 22, 2024

TOPPLING NUCLEAR POWER
Film's Message Applies Today
 
Fifty years ago, on February 22, 1974, a young man toppled a weather tower erected by a nuclear company planning to build a nuclear reactor in his community of Montague, Massachusetts. In doing so, Sam Lovejoy had broken the law. But, as the historian Howard Zinn testified at Lovejoy’s subsequent trial, when grievances become too deep, people sometimes have to “commit civil disobedience in order to dramatize something that was happening.” A film — Sam Lovejoy’s Nuclear War, viewable free on YouTube — tells his story. You can also hear an interview with Lovejoy on NPR’s Here and Now. Activists continue to draw attention to nuclear dangers and the climate crisis with acts of civil disobedience just as Lovejoy did half a century earlier.
 

URANIUM IMPACTS
Indigenous Peoples' Human Rights

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States will hold a historic thematic hearing in Washington, D.C. on Wed., Feb. 28 at 11am ET. Members of the Navajo Nation, Ute Nation and Oglala Lakota Nation will testify on the impacts of uranium exploitation on the human rights of Indigenous Peoples in the United States. As the United States doubles down on the misguided notion that nuclear power is a solution to the climate crisis, the uranium development industry is beginning to benefit from generous taxpayer giveaways to the nuclear industry as a whole. The hearing can be attended in person, or viewed at IACHR’s website or YouTube channel.
 
 

MARY OSBORN, PRESENTE!
Three Mile Island Botanist Passed on 2/19
 
Eric Epstein, executive director of Three Mile Island Alert (TMIA), shared with us the sad news that Mary Osborn has passed on. Mary was a long time member of TMIA. She gathered flowers, leaves and plants that show signs of mutations that reveal the negative impact of radiation on their growth and reproduction since shortly after the 1979 meltdown. Her full collection has been accepted by the Smithsonian Institution to be preserved, digitized, and made available to the public. Mary helped preserve and tell the truth about Three Mile Island, including at numerous conferences across the country (in Harrisburg PA, Chicago IL, and elsewhere), and in major media interviews.
 
Six years ago, Mary was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. She had suffered a stroke, and hadn’t walked in 15 months. Her sister is relieved that Mary’s suffering is over and she’s at peace. Mary’s daughter Leslie is handling the arrangements.

 
 
 

RADIOACTIVE WASTE WARS
Permian Basin Dumps Under Fire
 
On Feb. 18, the Wall Street Journal published a lengthy article entitled "The War Over Burying Nuclear Waste in America’s Busiest Oil Field: Plans to store
used nuclear fuel in the Permian Basin could boost the nuclear sector but are opposed by oil-and-gas producers." The article featured a photo of Danny Berry, a rancher very near the Holtec site in New Mexico targeted for the world's largest high-level radioactive waste dump. He and his family are Beyond Nuclear members and supporters, who have provided us with legal standing to challenge the dump in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, with oral arguments on March 5.
 
And on Feb. 20, the Permian Basin Coalition put out a press release announcing that Andrews County, Texas passed a resolution banning highly-radioactive Greater-Than-Class-C "low-level" radioactive waste. The county has joined the coalition in opposing the plans of Waste Control Specialists and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 

Beyond Nuclear | 301.270.2209 | www.BeyondNuclear.org
Donate
By admin at Fri, 02/23/2024 - 12:07

Half-Life Histories

A mini documentary series exploring nuclear weapons, technology, and disasters.
By admin at Thu, 02/22/2024 - 15:00

Here's Mary's Obituary

If you can’t open it, there will be a service on Friday, March 1at 1PM at the Neill Funeral Home, 3501 Derry Street, Harrisburg, with a visitation for friends and family at noon.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/mary-stamos-obituary?pid=206380450&utm_source=MarketingCloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ObitShare_PPNBlock_072023&utm_content=ViewObituary&sfmc_id=120533782&env=65e6fbcecefacb0401be97d25ab46307d5a5fb077002e37a657cea46e7b34375&et_rid=120533782

By admin at Thu, 02/22/2024 - 14:56

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