Beyond Nuclear - Centralized Storage - Despite setbacks, Beyond Nuclear and allies continue to challenge high-level radioactive waste generation, storage, transport, and dumping!

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Oct262016

Despite setbacks, Beyond Nuclear and allies continue to challenge high-level radioactive waste generation, storage, transport, and dumping!

Maps showing the national and TX-specific routes for commerical irradiated nuclear fuel railway shipments to WCS.Despite setbacks, Beyond Nuclear and our allies are not backing down on high-level radioactive waste.

First, the setbacks. On June 3rd, a three-judge D.C. Ciruit Court of Appeals panel issued an outrageous ruling against us, and our environmental coalition partners, instead backing the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) absurd "Nuclear Waste Confidence" (as in Con Game) policies. Beyond Nuclear responded to the outrageous ruling on June 6th, and the coalition appealed en banc, to the full 13-judge D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, on July 18th.

Incredibly, on August 8th, the full 13-judge D.C. Circuit simply supported the outrageous ruling.

But we've not let these injustices slow down our challenges to high-level radioactive waste risks and illegalities.

On Wednesday, Oct. 26th, Beyond Nuclear and allies (Nuclear Information Resource Service, Public Citizen, and SEED Coalition) sent a letter to NRC, urging it stop reviewing a license application by Waste Control Specialists, LLC (WCS) to construct and operate a de facto permanent parking lot dump for commercial irradiated nuclear fuel in Andrews County, west Texas. (See maps of national and Texas transport routes to WCS; see a larger version here.)This is required, because the application, and its review, are illegal, in several regards.

On Thursday, Oct. 27th, the environmental coalition issued a press release.

Beyond Nuclear's Radioactive Waste Watchdog, Kevin Kamps, was quoted:

“By requiring a permanent deep geological repository to be operating before centralized interim storage could be opened, Congress wanted to prevent the very real danger of a de facto permanent parking lot dump – a nuclear waste storage site that would be designed for the short-term but be there forever," said Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste specialist, Beyond Nuclear. He added: “WCS is a cynical shell game and taxpayers are sure to lose. Congress was right that liability for the costs of storing commercial irradiated nuclear fuel belongs with the generators and should not be shifted onto the backs of the American public.”

On all of these high-level radioactive waste regulatory and legal matters, Beyond Nuclear and its environmental coalition allies are served by legal counsel Diane Curran of Harmon, Curran, Spielberg + Eisenberg, LLP of Washington, D.C., as well as Mindy Goldstein of Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

Update on October 27, 2016 by