SITING CONSIDERATIONS FOR CONSOLIDATED STORAGE OF USED FUEL -ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF KEY DEVELOPMENTS SINCE RELEASE OF THE BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION REPORT

摘要

This paper has examined the key elements factors in the process of selecting a site for the consolidated storage of used nuclear fuel. Unless our nation begins to initiate a defined and understandable process very soon, we will have to rely on the status quo for energy production. We will continue to create a huge liability for the next generation and likely affect the quality of the air they will breathe. Unfortunately, the status quo is well entrenched and characterized by over dependence on fossil fuel. The resultant damage is likely to be harmful to the environment and public health and is altering our weather patterns. The best way is to offset this damage is to begin planning now for newer cleaner sources of energy including planning for the development of nuclear energy as one critical component of a cleaner future portfolio. In order to stimulate the development of clean nuclear energy we must do all that we can to address the waste issue. This will require that new disposal/storage facilities be developed. The technology exists to do this but the will do to so has eluded us. Although, the Blue Ribbon Commission has laid out a good blue print for locating sites in its report it did not anticipate important court rulings that affect the opening of the Yucca Mountain Repository, problems at WE?P nor did it anticipate the deadlock in Congress over necessary implementing legislation. This will raise the stakes even higher in finding states and communities that will agree to host a site in the future. This also means that if a nuclear waste negotiation process is to be reestablished then the burden rests squarely on the shoulders of the DOE and Congress to be able to provide an attractive minimum incentive package to get the negotiation process started. The lesson learned from siting failures points to the need for state involvement early on and thereby the Governor's office should be the first point of contact for any Federal effort to identify and locate a site. This should be followed by strong stakeholder education efforts not only in communities where a site is being proposed but also all across a potential host state. Statewide benefits such as a reverse severance tax that would be provided to every resident household should be considered as a viable approach to maintain sustainable statewide support for a proposed site while it is being investigated. Finally, as problematic as the situation at WIPP appears, the DOE, the contractor industry, policy-makers should glean the lessons learned and apply them to develop new approaches that will result in storing and managing our used nuclear fuel safely, securely and cost-effectively in the future.