Welcome to the CSG Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee Update. Below are links and summaries of several important happenings from the last few weeks. Please don't hesitate to contact Lisa (920/458-5910) or Sarah (630/925-1922) with any questions or concerns about any of these issues.

Live From TEC!

Members of the Midwestern committee are in Kansas City this week to participate in DOE's Transportation External Coordination Working Group (TEC) meeting. Along with states from other regions, the Midwest is engaging in dialog with DOE, tribes, utilities, railroads, other transportation groups, and other stakeholders. The main focus of the meeting is to discuss the recently issued draft of the National Transportation Plan, to have an initial dialog about the 180(c) draft Federal Register notice, to continue the work of existing Topic Groups, and to formulate a plan for the new Inter-modal subgroup in the Rail Topic Group. This subgroup will discuss issues concerning the transfer of shipments between truck, rail, and barge. Committee members also heard in-depth detail of upcoming EM shipping campaigns, including the remote-handled transuranic waste shipments from Argonne and the spent fuel transfer project, which will begin in 2009.

The staff and chairs of the regional committees also met with OCRWM Director Ward Sproat. This is the first time the states have met privately with Mr. Sproat. The states used the opportunity to outline the priorities for the states in developing the national transportation system and to ask questions about DOE decisions and legislative initiatives.

Stay tuned for a full round-up of the meeting!

Click here to see an agenda of the TEC meeting.

Click here to go to the TEC website.

180(c)...Finally!

After a year and a half wait, DOE has finally published the draft 180(c) policy and procedures in the Federal Register. The Midwest's 180(c) work group, through the 180(c) Topic Group, worked with DOE and the other regions to draft recommendations on the policy and procedures. The recommendations from the Topic Group were submitted to DOE in December 2005, after about a year and a half of discussion and negotiation. DOE had originally said they planned to issue the notice shortly thereafter. The internal review and concurrence process took much longer than anticipated, and the draft was finally published on Monday. At first glance, the document contains at least some of the language from the recommendations, including the language pertaining to the fund allocation formula.

Lisa and Sarah will be contacting the 180(c) work group to set up a conference call to begin our review of the notice.

Click here to see the Federal Register notice.

Click here to see the recommendation papers from the 180(c) Topic Group.

Click here to see a side-by-side comparison of the notice and the recommendations.

National Transportation Plan

Another long-awaited document has also finally come to fruition. DOE released a draft of the National Transportation Plan for shipments to Yucca Mountain. The states have been requesting a comprehensive plan for years, realizing that some critical decisions would have to be included as they are made. In February, DOE gave the states an outline of the contents of the plan and last week, DOE released the draft of the plan. More strategic in nature than operational, the plan addresses how the national transportation system will be developed instead of how it will work. Nonetheless, the committee will conduct a thorough review of the contents and will submit comments. Some of the contents of the plan include:

• Lists of key milestones, key documents, key decisions, and resolved and unresolved issues.
• An overview of assumptions that, unless modified, will drive the development of the details of the plan. A list of constraints is also included.
• Necessary capital assets and general timelines for acquiring those assets.
• An overview of operations development, and key studies and decisions already made and yet to be made.
• Key logistic development initiatives, including route identification and 180(c) policy and procedure implementation.
• Roles and responsibilities of various federal entities and stakeholders.

Click here for a copy of the draft transportation plan.

DOE is asking for feedback by September 7th. Lisa and Sarah will be contacting members of the transportation planning work group to set up a conference call to begin our review of the plan.

Thanks for reading! Look for the next issue in two weeks!

Sincerely,
Lisa Janairo and Sarah Wochos
Committee Staff