U.S. Rep. Upton grilled about problem-plagued Entergy Palisades atomic reactor in S.W. MI

As reported by the Kalamazoo Gazette, U.S. Representative Fred Upton (R-MI, photo left) took part in a "Live Chat" with constituents and concerned citizens on August 14th. Lucas Hixson at Enformable Nuclear News got this response back to his question about nuclear safety and the problem-plagued Entergy Palisades atomic reactor, located in Upton's congressional district (Entergy is one of Upton's top campaign contributors):

'...Enformable Nuclear News asked: "As you are the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee please explain what "regulatory capture" means to you? Given your comment that you do not want to "look over the NRC's shoulder" how else do you expect to ensure proper regulation of critical nuclear safety issues?"

UPTON: "I have made it clear from the start that the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) have the proper tools in [sic] ensure safe nuclear power at each of our 100 sites. I brought one of the NRC Commissioners in May to the Palisades facility and in earlier years, the Secretary of Energy. I have a very key staffer with enormous expertise on nuclear issues that has accompanied me as well. I have sat down with just the NRC staff on site at Palisades as well. We are in constant communication between all parties and the message is pretty clear from my end--either safe or off. Palisades did spend some $10 million addressing their tank issue as they should have. There is a planned outage coming in January when a number of tests will be conducted that have to "pass" to be able to see their current license continue. I will be watching that action closely."...' (emphasis added)

Beyond Nuclear joined with Michigan Safe Energy Future--Shoreline Chapter and other local concerned residents to request a meeting with Rep. Upton and NRC Commissioner Svinicki when they conducted their emergency tour of Palisades after its latest leak into the Lake. Given that their request was not even acknowledged, the groups and neighbors decided to hold a vigil at Palisades' front entrance while Upton and Svinicki held a press conference at the reactor.

In addition, that Secretary of Energy visit to Palisades that Upton bragged about orchestrating actually took place at the Cook nuclear power plant, 30 miles south of Palisades -- but then again, all those atomic reactors look alike, eh?! Beyond Nuclear protested Upton's and George W. Bush's Energy Secretary, Samuel Bodman's, pro-nuclear visit to Cook in August 2007.

Many additional questions were asked  on the Kalamazoo Gazette "Live Chat" about dirty, dangerous, and expensive energy sources. They ranged from the million-gallon Canadian tar sands crude oil pipeline spill in the Kalamazoo River in July 2010 -- the worst inland oil spill in U.S. history -- and its clean-up (or lack thereof); to fracking for natural gas; and the climate crisis. However, no such energy issue generated as many questions as Entergy's Palisades atomic reactor, including from Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps. However, Upton only responded to the single one, of many, Palisades-related questions posed, above.

In the spirit of environmental solidarity, on August 13th, Kevin took part in a local 350.org rally held at Upton's Kalamazoo district office. His placard read "Remember the Kalamazoo! Enbridge Dilbit Disaster, 7/25/10, > 1 Mil. gals. 'Save the Bell's' (beer)! ---Another Kalamazooan against tar sands pipelines!"

"Dilbit" is short for "Diluted Bitumin," another name for Canadian tar sands crude oil. The Inside Climate News multi-part series entitled "The Dilbit Disaster: Inside the Biggest Oil Spill You've Never Heard Of" won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting earlier this year.

Kevin, born and raised in Kalamazoo, carried the same sign at a climate march to, and rally at, the White House a couple weeks ago, the culmination of the five-days-long "Walk for Our Grandchildren" -- through 100 degree heat and high humidity -- from Camp David, Maryland to Washington, D.C. President Eisenhower (who also infamously delivered the "Atoms for Peace" speech at the UN General Assembly in 1953, which launched the nuclear power industry) named the presidential retreat, Camp David, after his grandson. The march and rally were held in opposition to the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The sponsors included Beyond Nuclear ally and neighbor Chesapeake Climate Action Network of Takoma Park, Maryland, as well as 350.org.

Paul Gunter discusses Fukushima leaks into the ocean on RT

Kevin Kamps discusses the latest Fukushima crisis on The Big Picture

Kevin Kamps discusses the worsening Fukushima crisis on RT

Court "orders the doing of a useless act": federal appeals panel orders NRC to resume Yucca dump licensing despite next to no funds

Jim Day, Las Vegas Review Journal, 2010 (be sure to court the toes!)

The Yucca Mountain radioactive waste dump zombie's sixth toe twitched today.

By a 2-1 split decision, a three judge panel of the federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit approved a writ of mandamus sought by the States of Washington and South Carolina, et al., ordering the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to resume the licensing proceeding for the proposed Yucca Mountain national dumpsite for high-level radioactive waste (HLRW). NRC had suspended the proceeding for lack of congressionally appropriated funding in 2011.

Two of the appeals judges felt the $11.1 million remaining in NRC's Yucca licensing coffers is a substantial amount of funding with which to resume the proceedings.

But Chief Judge Garland disagreed, pointing out that in its last fully funded year of the proceedings, NRC budgeted nearly $100 million. Since, NRC has largely dismantled its digital and physical infrastructures for even conducting the proceedings, as has the former license applicant, the U.S. Department of Energy, which has moved to withdraw the license application, and has let go or transferred its Yucca program staff.

He also pointed out that Yucca's ultimate price tag would require Congress to approve not just over $100 million per year in licensing support, but, if the application is ultimately approved, many tens of billions of dollars to carry out construction and operation (DOE's last estimate for the total cost of Yucca, should it proceed, made several years ago, was nearly $100 billion).

Chief Judge Garland then dissented to the ruling, arguing that what little money NRC has remaining should be used to preserve the existing records from this largest licensing proceeding in the agency's history, writing:

"In short, given the limited funds that remain available, issuing a writ of mandamus amounts to little more than ordering the Commission to spend part of those funds unpacking its boxes, and the remainder packing them up again."

Extensive media coverage of the court decision, and reactions to it, are posted at the State of Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects "What's News" website.