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.

Columbus, Here We Come!

The committee will hold its next meeting November 27-28th in Columbus, OH, with an optional tour of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion plant on November 29th. The meeting will begin with a business session on the afternoon of the 27th, continue all day on the 28th, and then have the tour on the 29th. The meeting will take place at The Columbus, A Renaissance Hotel, which is located in the heart of downtown Columbus. Look for the meeting announcement, preliminary agenda and more information later this month. But for now, mark your calendars to join us November 27-28th!

For more information on The Columbus, click here.

For more information about Columbus, Ohio, click here for the visitors bureau website.

Click here for past meeting summaries.

Committee Reports to Midwestern Legislative Conference

Last week, Indiana Rep. David Niezgodski reported on the committee's activities to the Midwestern Legislative Conference (MLC) Executive Committee during the MLC Annual Meeting in Traverse City, MI. The Executive Committee, chaired by Michigan Sen. Patty Birkholz is the governing body of the MLC. Rep. Niezgodski reported on 180(c) Federal Register notice, the past and upcoming committee meetings, and CSG's plans to sponsor a tour of Yucca Mountain for Midwestern legislators in FY08. He also mentioned his own belief in the importance of our committee and the need for more legislators to be informed of the issues and the outcomes of our activities. He said that with the recent appointment of Sen. Buehrer of Ohio and Rep. Gordon of Illinois, 8 of the 10 Midwestern states affected by radioactive materials shipments have representation on the committee. Sen. Jay Emler, 2nd Vice Chair of the Executive Committee and one of the legislators that joined us in Carlsbad last year, also spoke of the importance of legislative appointees attending committee meetings and staying involved in committee activities. Rep. Niezgodski received several questions from Executive Committee members and overall received very positive feedback on his report. The MLC Executive Committee will next meet in Oklahoma City for the CSG Annual Meeting on November 11-14.

Click here for more information on the MLC Annual Meeting.

Click here to see more information on MLC committees and activities.

180(c) Draws Attention

A few committee members have reported that they have had inquiries from their governor's office or other state agencies regarding DOE's Federal Register notice on Section 180(c) implementation. We previously reported (July 25) that the committee's 180(c) work group would review the draft policy and prepare some initial comments for the committee to review. The work group has done that and we'll be sharing those draft comments with the full committee early next week.

Please note that the draft policy in the Federal Register is the result of 18 months of coordinated effort among the state regional groups and DOE. The Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee was especially active in shaping the draft policy. For this reason, our hope is that all the Midwestern comments on the draft policy will be consistent or, at the very least, not contradict one another. The committee will send one set of comments, but it would also be a good idea for individual states to submit comments. Key points that the committee will raise include support for the risk-based formula for determining award levels; the need for DOE to cover states' expenses for operations, not just training; the treatment of fees; and the need to cover expenses for equipment. The states might wish to comment on these points, as well.

Committee members should look for the draft regional comments in their e-mail inboxes next week. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the 180(c) policy and procedures, don't hesitate to call Lisa or Sarah.

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

Sincerely,
Lisa Janairo and Sarah Wochos
Committee Staff