ML19178A387
| ML19178A387 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | HI-STORE |
| Issue date: | 06/27/2019 |
| From: | Annette Vietti-Cook NRC/SECY |
| To: | Haaland D US HR (House of Representatives) |
| SECY RAS | |
| References | |
| ASLBP 18-958-01-ISFSI-BD01, RAS 55059, Holtec International | |
| Download: ML19178A387 (6) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON , D.C. 20555-0001 June 27, 2019 SECRETARY The Honorable Deb Haaland United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congresswoman Haaland:
On behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), I am responding to your letter of June 19, 2019, to Chairman Svinicki regarding the license application from Holtec International for a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in New Mexico. Your letter states your opposition to interim storage of high-level radioactive waste in the state of New Mexico.
The NRC is reviewing the application submitted by Holtec on March 30, 2017, to construct and operate a CISF. Six hearing requests on this application were received and considered by an NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board . On May 7, 2019, the Board issued a ruling on the petitions. The Board did not grant any of the hearing requests; it found that no petitioner had both demonstrated standing and proffered an admissible contention, as is required by the NRC's procedural rules. Five petitioners have appealed the Board's decision to the Commission.
Your letter raises some of the same issues currently before the Commission on appeal.
Because the appeals are pending before the Commission in its quasi-judicial capacity, the Commission must remain impartial during the pendency of the adjudication and it would be inappropriate for the Chairman to discuss or comment on your letter at this time.
A copy of your letter and this response will be served on the participants in the Holtec CISF adjudication.
Sincerely,
~~~
Annette L. Vietti-Cook
DEB HAALAND COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 1sr D ISTRICT, NEW MEXICO SUBCOMMITTEES:
M ILITARY PERSONNEL WASHINGTON OFFICE READINESS 1237 LONGWORTH BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20515 PHONE: (202) 225-6316 COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES ,
VICE-CHAIR NEW MEXICO OFFICE (tongrtss of tht tlnittd ~tarts SUBCOMMITTEES:
400 GOLD AVENUE SW N ATIONAL PARKS, FORESTS, AND P UBLIC LANDS, CHAIR SUITE 680 ALBUQUERQUE , NM 87102 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE UNITED STATES
!lonsr or Rrprr.srntati\lts PHONE: (505) 346-6781 NATIVE AMERICAN CAUCUS , Co-CHAIR HTTP:/IHAALAND .HOUSE.GOV/
REGIONAL WHIP June 19, 2019 The Honorable Rick Perry Secretary U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Ave, SW Washington, DC 20585 The Honorable Kristine Svinicki Chairman U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Mail Stop 0-16B33 Washington, DC 20555-0001
Dear Secretary Perry and Chairman Svinicki:
I write in opposition to the interim storage of high-level radioactive waste in New Mexico. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is evaluating Holtec International's application for a license to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for commercial spent nuclear fuel in Lea County, New Mexico. I believe such a facility poses too great a risk to the health and safety of New Mexicans, our economy, and our environment.
Operation ofthis facility would require shipping of high-level radioactive waste along railways and roads throughout our state. Our existing railways were not built to withstand the weight of waste containers and there are no plans for new construction or renovations within this proposal.
Cities and counties across New Mexico, as well as the state itself, would be asked to bear the cost of the infrastructure improvements needed for safe transportation, as well as for the emergency response personnel and equipment that will be needed to respond to an incident. The Department of Energy ' s (DOE) modeling of rail transportation of waste to Yucca Mountain predicted accidents at a rate of 1 in 10,000 shipments, meaning it is essential that such measures be put in place.
The concept of an interim storage facility is inherently flawed, because it will result in waste being moved twice, first to the interim facility and then to a permanent repository. This increases the chances that the waste will be involved in an incident during transportation, the riskiest portion of the process. DOE has found that a severe accident involving one radioactive waste cask releasing only a small amount of waste could contaminate a 42 square mile rural area with cleanup costs exceeding $620 million, and in an urban area cleanup costs could exceed $2 billion and take years. And waste shipments emit radiation even during routine transportation. Should an incident occur in the area of the Holtec site, it would wreak havoc on New Mexico 's economy, as the agricultural industry in Lea and Eddy Counties, where the facility would be located, contributes $300 million to our economy annually.
Finally, the lack of a permanent high-level radioactive waste repository means that any interim storage facility will serve as a de-facto permanent repository that will not meet the technical requirements for permanent waste isolation. As a result, the waste stored at an interim facility will require repackaging over time, which will increase the risk of accidents and endanger the health of New Mexicans. Rather than wasting time and money on an interim storage facility that increases the risk posed by nuclear waste, we should be focusing storing the waste more securely at the sites where it currently resides while we develop a permanent repository. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended, recognizes the folly in this and prohibits DOE from taking title to spent nuclear fuel if a permanent repository is not operating.
Based on the risks that an interim storage facility for high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel poses to the state ofNew Mexico, I am opposed to the Holtec application.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely, Deb Haaland Member of Congress
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the Matter of )
)
)
HOLTEC INTERNATIONAL ) Docket No. 72-1051-ISFSI
)
)
(HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage )
Facility) )
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing Letter from NRC Secretary, Annette Vietti-Cook, to Congresswoman Haaland have been served upon the following persons by Electronic Information Exchange (EIE).
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication Office of the Secretary of the Commission Mail Stop: 0-16833 Mail Stop: 0-16833 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: ocaamail@nrc.gov E-mail: hearingdocket@nrc.gov U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel Office of the General Counsel Mail Stop: T-3F23 Mail Stop 14A44 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Paul S. Ryerson, Chair Sheldon Clark, Esq .
Administrative Judge Joseph I. Gillespie, Esq.
Esther Houseman, Esq.
Nicholas G. Trikouros Sara B. Kirkwood, Esq.
Administrative Judge Mauri Lemoncelli, Esq.
Patrick Moulding, Esq.
Dr. Gary S. Arnold Carrie Safford, Esq.
Administrative Judge Thomas Steinfeldt, Esq .
Alana M. Wase, Esq .
Joseph McManus, Law Clerk Brian Newell, Senior Paralegal Taylor A. Mayhall, Law Clerk E-mail: sheldon.clark@nrc.gov Molly Mattison, Law Clerk joe.gillespie@nrc.gov esther.houseman@nrc.gov E-mail: paul.ryerson@nrc.gov sara.kirkwood@nrc.gov nicholas.trikouros@nrc.gov mauri.lemoncelli@nrc.gov gary.arnold@nrc.gov patrick.moulding@nrc.gov joseph.mcmanus@nrc.gov carrie.safford@nrc.gov taylor.mayhall@nrc.gov thomas.steinfeldt@nrc.gov molly.mattison@nrc.gov alana.wase@nrc.gov krupskaya .castellon@nrc.gov brian.newell@nrc.gov
Docket No. 72-1051-ISFSI Letter from NRC Secretary, Annette Vietti-Cook, to Congresswoman Haaland Counsel for Holtec International Don't Waste Michigan Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP 316 N. Michigan Street, Suite 520 1200 Seventeenth Street, NW Toledo, OH 43604-5627 Washington, DC 20036 Terry J. Lodge, Esq.
E-mail: tjlodge50@yahoo.com Meghan Hammond, Esq.
Anne Leidich, Esq. Counsel for Sierra Club Michael Lepre, Esq. 4403 1st Avenue SE, Suite 402 Jay Silberg, Esq. Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 Timothy J. Walsh, Esq.
E-mail: meghan.hammond@pillsburylaw.com Wallace L. Taylor, Esq.
anne.leidich@pillsburylaw.com E-mail: wtaylor784@aol.com michael.lepre@pillsburylaw.com jay.silberg@pillsburylaw.com Counsel for NAC International Inc.
timothy.walsh@pillsburylaw.com Robert Helfrich, Esq.
NAC International Inc.
Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg LLP 3930 E Jones Bridge Rd., Ste. 200 1725 DeSales Street NW Norcross, GA 30092 Suite 500 E-mail: rhelfrich@nacintl.com Washington, DC 20036 Diane Curran, Esq. Hogan Lovells LLP E-mail: dcurran@harmoncurran.com 555 13th Street NW Washington, DC 20004 Sachin S. Desai, Esq.
Robert V. Eye Law Office, LLC Allison E. Hellreich, Esq.
4840 Bob Billings Parkway E-mail: sachin.desai@hoganlovells.com Lawrence, KS 66049 allison.hellreich@hoganlovells .com Robert V. Eye, Esq.
Timothy J. Laughlin, Esq.
E-mail: bob@kauffmaneye.com Law Office of Nancy L. Simmons tijay1300@gmail.com 120 Girard Boulevard SE Albuquerque, NM 87106 Turner Environmental Law Clinic 1301 Clifton Road Nancy L. Simmons, Esq.
Atlanta, GA 30322 E-mail: nlsstaff@swcp.com Mindy Goldstein, Esq.
E-mail: magolds@emory.edu Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance 102 S. Canyon Carlsbad, NM 88220 John A. Heaton E-mail: jaheaton1@gmail.com 2
Docket No. 72-1051-ISFSI Letter from NRC Secretary, Annette Vietti-Cook, to Congresswoman Haaland Eddy County, NM* City of Hobbs, NM 101 W. Greene Street 2605 Lovington Highway Carlsbad, NM Hobbs, NM 88242 Rick Rudometkin Garry A. Buie E-mail: rrudometkin@co.eddy.nm.us E-mail: gabuie52@hotmail.com
- Eddy County not served due to no representative for the County assigned at the time of Mr. Rudometkin 's departure. City of Carlsbad, NM 1024 N. Edward Carlsbad, NM 88220 Lea County, NM 100 N. Main Jason G. Shirley Lovington , NM 88260 E-mail: jgshirley@cityofcarlsbadnm.com Jonathan 8. Sena E-mail: jsena@leacounty.net Office of the Secretary of the Commission Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of June, 2019 3