NRC Nuke Waste Con Game public comment meetings begin next week

An irradiated nuclear fuel assembly being moved underwater in an indoor storage pool.The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has published information on how you can take part in the very first "Nuclear Waste Confidence" draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) public comment meeting, to be held on Tuesday, October 1st from 2 to 5 PM Eastern at NRC's Rockville, MD HQ.

While it is not required to pre-register to view the proceedings on the NRC's webcast (as NRC has stated, "It is not necessary to register to view the webcast. Please go to http://video.nrc.gov for connection information), Beyond Nuclear encourages you to testify orally, to provide public comments. Sample public comments can be found here. (You can also submit public comments by various means -- email, internet webform, snail mail, fax, etc. -- anytime between now and Nov. 27th. Here is how you can do so.)

Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) also has a helpful resources page you can check out in preparation for the upcoming public comment meetings.

If you are in the D.C. area and can attend this first public comment meeting on Oct. 1 in person, great! But if you are not able to come in person, you can still take part by listening in and watching at the webcast, and very importantly, by providing oral public comment over the phone.

Note that this Oct. 1st meeting, and the very last meeting of all on Nov. 14th (again, to be held at NRC's HQ in Rockville, MD), are the only public meetings of the dozen to be held around the country where viewing by webcast and providing oral public comment by phone will be allowed. To take part in the dozen additional public comment meetings across the U.S., you must attend in person (NRC is urging pre-registration for those, too).

In order to provide oral public comments on Oct. 1st (whether in person, or by phone), you must pre-register as soon as possible. Following are NRC's pre-registration instructions:

REGISTRATION:

Persons interested in providing oral comments at the October 1 meeting are encouraged to register no later than 3 days prior to the meeting; however, registration will be accepted at the meeting. Please note that individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, depending on the number of persons who register.

NRC will accept written comments any time during the meeting.

Registration by Telephone:

To register for and request to provide oral comments at the October 1 meeting, whether in-person or by teleconference, please call 301-287-9392.

Voicemail is available for calls received after hours or if no one is available to take your call directly. Please clearly state your name, affiliation or organization if appropriate, and request for accessibility accommodations if necessary. Also, please indicate whether you would like to provide oral comments. Registration will be confirmed by phone.

Registration by Email:

Please send your name, affiliation or organization if appropriate, and request for accessibility accommodations if necessary, to WCRegistration@nrc.gov. Also, please indicate whether you would like to provide oral comments. Registration will be confirmed by email.

To attend the open house and/or meeting at NRC headquarters in person, please provide your full name as it appears on a government-issued photo ID, which you must present upon entering the NRC facility. Directions to the NRC and parking information will be sent to you upon registration.

To provide comments by telephone during the webcast, dial 1-888-603-9749 and provide passcode 5132332. An operator will assist you. Speaking priority will be given to those who have registered in advance. Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, depending on the number of persons who register.

For more information on NRC's Nuke Waste Con Game, please see Beyond Nuclear's weekly email bulletin entry from last week.