24 Jan Tell the US government – don’t privatize nuclear waste storage

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/centralized-storage/

Please submit public comments to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by its Friday, January 27th deadline expressing opposition to “Private Initiatives” for high-level radioactive waste “Interim Storage Facilities”
DOE has made a Request for Information (RFI) regarding Private Initiatives (PI) for commercial irradiated nuclear fuel consolidated or centralized Interim Storage Facilities (ISF). Public comments are due by Friday, January 27th at 11:59pm Eastern time.

DOE has asked a dozen questions in particular, and Beyond Nuclear has prepared responses you can use to write your own public comments (either simply cut and paste Beyond Nuclear’s responses into your own public comment, or use them as a sample model, to write your own).

Beyond Nuclear has also prepared additional sample comments you can use to write your own, in addition to DOE’s list of specific questions.

(Depending on how much time you have to devote to this, do as many — or as few — points as you can. Every little bit helps!)

Here are instructions on how to submit your comments to DOE by the 11:59pm Eastern, Fri., Jan. 27 deadline: Email your comments to privateISF@hq.doe.gov. Please be sure to use the subject line: “Response to RFI on Private Initiatives to Develop Consolidated SNF Storage Facilities.”

You can also snail mail (U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Response to RFI on Private Initiatives to Develop Consolidated SNF Storage Facilities, 1000 Independence Ave. S.W., Washington, DC 20585) or fax (202-586-0544; please include “Response to RFI on Private Initiatives to Develop Consolidated SNF Storage Facilities” on the fax cover page) in your comments, as well as submit them via regulations.gov. (See this link for more information.) The responses can be submitted in the following formats: Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Portable Data Format (PDF) readable by Adobe Acrobat software.

Why is this important? The private centralized interim storage sites — currently proposed at Waste Control Specialists, LLC (WCS*) in Andrews County, West Texas; at Eddy-Lea [Counties] Energy Alliance just 50 miles from WCS near the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Hobbs, New Mexico; and elsewhere — would launch unprecedented numbers of shipments of high-level radioactive waste by rail and barge, on the railroads and waterways, through many states (see the map of likely routes). WCS, for one, is located above aquifers that communicate with the Ogallala, the largest in North America, stretching from Texas to South Dakota and providing millions in numerous Great Plains states with vital drinking and irrigation water. And the plan is for title and liability for the high-level radioactive wastes to transfer from the nuclear power utilities that profited from its generation, onto the public. The public will pay all costs, and bear all liability. The only question is, what percentage will ratepayers (from the Nuclear Waste Fund) and taxpayers (DOE’s budget, from the U.S. Treasury) pay for construction and operation costs of the centralized interim storage facility; if anything goes wrong, the public could be left holding the bag for unlimited liabilities. The private facilities stand to make billions of dollars, at public expense. And there is a distinct danger that so-called “interim” surface storage facilities will turn into de facto permanent “parking lot dumps,” risking catastrophic releases of hazardous radioactivity over long enough periods of time, due to loss of institutional control.