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.

Independents Day

Last week, DOE announced that two independent assessments concluded that the Yucca Mountain repository project is on track. The assessments found that the OCRWM Quality Assurance (QA) Program and its engineering processes and procedures are consistent with industry practices. The assessment of the QA Program, performed by InfoZen Inc., found that DOE was making significant steps to correct prior quality related problems. The engineering assessment, performed by Longenecker & Associates, Inc., found no barriers to successfully completing the engineering work on the repository.

DOE is celebrating the findings of the assessments as they gear up to submit a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in June.

To see a copy of the press release, click here.

To see a copy of the assessments, click here.

Show Me the Money...Or Not

In related news, OCRWM should enjoy the glow from the independent assessments throughout the holiday season, because 2008 may not be as jolly. Monday night the House passed an ominbus spending bill (HR 2764) that significantly cuts DOE's budget request for the Yucca Mountain project. If passed by the Senate, the bill would appropriate only $390 million for Yucca Mountain, which is $105 million less than requested. OCRWM is focusing its time and money on the license application, which Director Ward Sproat wants to submit to the NRC in June. The reduced budget could potentially push that date further into the future.

Another DOE program facing budget cuts in the bill is the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, the department's spent fuel recycling initiative. The bill would cut the budget to $179 million, which is less than half of the original request.

The one area that saw a significant boost, however, was loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants. The appropriation was increased to $18 billion. Under the program, the federal government would back up loans that utilities receive from banks for construction of new plants, thus providing assurance to the funding banks. The program was started as part of the Energy Bill of 2005.

Click here for an article on the budget cuts.

Click here for an article on the loan guarantees.

TEC Messaging

In early February, several members of the committee will travel to San Antonio to attend the Transportation External Coordination (TEC) Working Group meeting. These meetings are held every 6 months or so, and give states and other stakeholders an opportunity to voice questions and concerns about DOE shipping campaigns directly to the DOE staff. This time around, the regional staff worked closely with DOE to develop an agenda that will make the meeting worthwhile and productive. In addition to standard programmatic updates, participants will hear about tribal cultural issues relating to transportation, an update on the Federal Railroad Administration's study of shortline railroads that service nuclear power plants, and an overview of the societal risks inherent in a cross country spent fuel campaign of the magnitude of the proposed Yucca Mountain campaign.

Participants will also use this meeting as an opportunity to reassess the TEC, its role in the transportation planning, its goals, and its methods of achieving those goals. In a series of consecutive breakouts, small groups of participants will work with DOE staff to identify the good, the bad, and the ugly of TEC. Jane Beetem, Kevin Leuer, and Tim Runyon, along with Lisa and Sarah, will represent the committee at the meeting, though additional members are welcome to also participate.

Click here for a preliminary TEC agenda.

Thanks for reading! Look for our next update after the holidays.

Sincerely,
Lisa Janairo and Sarah Wochos
Committee Staff