Welcome to the CSG Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee Update. With so much happening in connection with the committee and the CSG Transportation Project, we'll be using "e-newsletters" like this to keep everyone up to date. You'll still receive individual messages, but these updates will pull all the major activities into one message that you can file away for easy reference. We welcome your feedback on the value of this new method of keeping you all informed.

Spring Committee Meeting Details Set

The spring meeting of the Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee will be June 27-28 in Jefferson City, Missouri, at the Capitol Plaza Hotel. The agenda is very full, including updates from DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Office of Environmental Management, and Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. We'll also be hearing from Exelon Generation, the Yucca Mountain Task Force, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, and the other state regional groups. A highlight of the agenda will be our discussion of state fees on June 27.

Jane Beetem, committee co-chair and our host for the meeting, has some optional activities planned, such as a tour of the Missouri state capitol. Because Jefferson City does not have direct air service, committee members will need to fly into Columbia, St. Louis, or Kansas City and drive or take a shuttle. If you're interested in car pooling with other meeting attendees, please call Sarah at 630-925-1922 so that she can coordinate the driving arrangements.

Please note: the deadline for registering for the meeting and reserving a room at the Capitol Plaza is May 19.

Click here to see more details and to register.

2007 Committee Appointments

The 2007 appointments process is well underway. The response to the committee's requests for new legislative appointments has been very positive, with seven states responding to date. In addition to the legislative appointments, all but two of the gubernatorial appointments are in place. By the June meeting, we hope to have finalized all appointments to the committee.

To ensure the highest level of legislative participation, we're hoping each gubernatorial appointee will contact his or her counterpart in the legislature to welcome the new member, with an emphasis on highlighting the June meeting. If any members would like published materials or other information to assist in this outreach, please don't hesitate to call Lisa or Sarah. We'll be sending the list of new legislative appointments as soon as it is finalized.

Click here to see a current committee roster.

Committee Correspondence Picks Up

The Midwest recently sent two letters to DOE. The first, directed to the OCRWM director, inquired about the draft policy and procedures for implementing Section 180(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. As many of you may recall, the Midwest and the other regions worked extensively with OCRWM to develop the draft policy. The regions have been waiting since December of 2005 for OCRWM to publish the draft policy in the Federal Register. The staff sent the committee's letter on January 24. As of March 19, we haven't received a response.

Click here for the full text of the Section 180(c) letter.

The committee's second letter pertained to DOE's Transportation External Coordination Working Group (TEC/WG). Co-signed by the co-chairs of the committees in the Midwest, Northeast, and West, the letter suggested ways to improve the TEC/WG meetings and topic group activities. The committees addressed the letter to the directors of the OCRWM and EM transportation programs, who are the ex officio co-chairs of the TEC/WG. We sent the letter on March 5, 2007. In response to our letter, we did receive from the OCRWM staff and advance copy of the draft agenda for the next TEC/WG meeting, which will be July 24-25 in Kansas City. The committee's representatives on the TEC/WG are currently reviewing the draft agenda, with feedback due no later than Friday, March 23. The three regional groups will work together to compile our feedback into one set of comments.

Click here for the full text of the TEC/WG letter.

Thanks for reading! Look for our next update in your inbox in two weeks.

Sincerely,
Lisa Janairo and Sarah Wochos
Committee Staff