NIRS: What would it take for YOU to CONSENT to Nuclear Waste? DOE wants to know
Environmental coalition members from the Crabshell Alliance, Sierra Club Nuclear-Free Campaign, NIRS, PSR, NEIS, and Public Citizen "just say NO!" at the NRC HQ nuke waste con game public comment meeting on 11/14/13 in Rockville, MD. Photo credit David Martin and Erica Grey.Our friends and colleagues at NIRS put out the following action alert on March 10, 2016:
The US Dept. of Energy (DOE) is holding 8 Public Meetings and taking written comments on
“CONSENTING” to TAKE NUCLEAR WASTE
After decades of trying to force-feed the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear dump down the throats of Nevadans and the Western Shoshone Nation, the DOE and nuclear proponents want to know what it will take to get people to “consent” or appear to consent to take nuclear waste.
DOE openly acknowledges this is “consent” to future nuclear waste production as part of the “integrated waste management system.” They say that the future of nuclear energy in this country depends on this.
Meetings will be held from noon or 1 PM to ~ 5PM
CHICAGO, IL March 29, 2016 University of Chicago Conference Center
ATLANTA, GA April 11, 2016 Georgia Institute of Technology Conference Center
SACRAMENTO, CA April 26, 2016 (Chernobyl+30) 5-9:30PM Pacific, Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza, 300 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
[The following DATES were not included in NIRS' action alert on March 10th; later that very same day, however, a DOE spokesman at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Regulatory Information Conference, during the "Spent Fuel - Perspectives on Interim Consolidated Storage" workshop session, confirmed the following dates, but still not the exact locations, other than the city and state.]
DENVER, CO Late May, 2016 Exact location yet to be announced
BOSTON, MA Early June, 2016 Exact location yet to be announced
TEMPE, AZ Late June, 2016 Exact location yet to be announced
BOISE, ID Mid-July, 2016 Exact location yet to be announced
MINNEAPOLIS, MN Late July, 2016 Exact location yet to be announced
DOE seeks our input on how to be FAIR, WHO to include, what RESOURCES it will take to induce participation.
They want to identify who adequately represents a community and will “consent” or claim to agree to take nuclear waste.
They are not defining exactly what or how much nuclear waste we would be “consenting” or not consenting to accept.
They are not asking how a community can refuse or express permanent “non-consent,” although you can let them know that if you choose to.
Although they have reports, diagrams of storage containers and systems, ideas and plans for the tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste in this country, they claim to want to negotiate with communities who would “consent” to take it forever or supposedly temporarily.
NO CONSIDERATION OF THE RIGHTS OR CONSENT OF THOSE ALONG TRANSPORT ROUTES IS BEING MADE OR REQUESTED. Although one of the greatest dangers to the most people, environments and ecosystems is the movement of tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste on roads, rails and waterways, DOE stated at its Washington DC ‘kickoff’ meeting that there is complete federal preemption over transport of nuclear waste so that would not be part of the process.
There is NO Consideration of the rights of future generations who will inevitably be affected.
The nuclear industry is eager for volunteers or consenting communities to take the waste and for the US Department of Energy to take title to it.
Meetings will be in 8 US CITIES from MARCH TO JULY 2016.
Comment deadline [had been] June 15*, 2016; email to consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov. Please include “Response to IPC” [which stands for "Invitation for Public Comment"] in the subject line.
[*But sure enough, DOE has been extended to July 31, 2016: DOE is extending the comment period for the "Invitation for Public Comment to Inform the Design of a Consent-Based Siting Process for Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal Facilities'' to July 31, 2016. See the Federal Register Notice, dated March 22, 2016.]
DETAILS:
Federal Register Notice:
DOE website for more of their information and to REGISTER for MEETINGS: http://www.energy.gov/ne/consent-based-siting
Info coming soon at www.nirs.org at Stop Fukushima Freeways
More info: dianed@nirs.org; after March 21 maryo@nirs.org; For Chicago meeting neis@neis.org
(See Beyond Nuclear's web post from January 2016, immediately following DOE's Washington, D.C. "Kick-Off" meeting for its "Consent-Based Siting" public comment proceeding (which, by the way, included NO oral public comment opportunity! Supposedly, future public meetings listed above WILL include an oral public comment opportunity -- that is the whole point! But we will see. Another disconnect that still has to be resolved is, public comment meetings are scheduled for AFTER the deadline for public comment -- so DOE must extend the public comment deadline until at least all scheduled meetings are finished and done!)
March 17, 2016