***************************************************************** 02/04/05 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 13.27 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 Guardian Unlimited: Diplomats: Iran to Allow IAEA Access 2 BBC: America's tough rhetoric on Iran 3 WorldNetDaily: Iran? Let the Israelis do it 4 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL]Read between the lines 5 YWS: Chinese Envoy to Visit N. Korea to Jump-start Stalled Nuke Talk 6 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: Agency cautious on uranium transfer 7 US: NRC: In the Matter of Soil Consultants, Inc., ATTN: Mr. Joseph W 8 US: Las Vegas SUN: Nevadans say ground is laid for historic debate i 9 The Jakarta Post: U.S. policy on nuclear weapons in the mire 10 US: State of the Union: Reaction from Carl Pope, Executive Director 11 US: NRC: NRC Meeting with Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority 12 TheStar.com: It's time to grow energy: Expert 13 Scoop: Marjorie Cohn: Another World Is Possible NUCLEAR REACTORS 14 US: Limerick Gets Better Tax Deal Than TMI 15 US: NRC: Duke Cogema Stone and Webster's Proposed Mixed Oxide Fuel 16 US: NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Find 17 US: Las Vegas RJ: ENERGY: Enron scams may precede crunch 18 US: Platts: U.S. nuclear generation set record in 2004, NEI says 19 US: Platts: Duane Arnold nuclear plant owners to sell station in auc 20 US: toledoblade.com: Detroit Edison restarts Fermi II after leak rep 21 US: JOURNAL NEWS: NRC seeks public comment on guideline changes 22 US: Hudson Valley News: Indian Point wants to present its case to Ul 23 US: NRC: NRC Announces New Senior Resident Inspector at Point Beach 24 US: NRC: Note to Editors: NRC to Conduct FY2006 Budget Briefing Feb. 25 US: NRC: NRC Restores Web-Based Access to Online Library NUCLEAR SAFETY 26 US: ABQjournal: High Levels of Uranium Found in Private Wells 27 Bellona: Two last Oscar-I Russian nuclear subs have been scrapped 28 BBC: Gibraltar sub visit angers Spain NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 29 US: [epa-impact] Duke Cogema Stone and Webster's Proposed Mixed Oxid 30 NRC: Application for a License To Export High-Enriched Uranium 31 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Meeting on Planning an 32 Las Vegas SUN: Guinn asks for Yucca documents 33 Las Vegas SUN: Congressman pushes Yucca action 34 Las Vegas SUN: Report: Nevada making headway in Yucca fight 35 US: Carlsbad Current-Argus: Officials hopeful uranium plant will lo 36 US: AZ Republic: French firm to clean waste of proposed N.M. uranium NUCLEAR WEAPONS 37 Guardian Unlimited: Mideast, Iran Head Rice Agenda in Europe US DEPT. OF ENERGY 38 The New Mexican: LANL agrees to changes in pollution monitoring 39 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Judge hears Hanford initiative case 40 ABQjournal: LANL Storm Water Runoff Agreement Signed 41 Las Vegas SUN: Test Site cleanup to include destroying unexploded sh 42 DenverPost.com: Crews begin cleaning up radioactive Flats ponds 43 www.GovExec.com: Nuclear security agency needs more scientists, GAO 44 Paducah Sun: Second protest of North Wind Paducah cleanup contract f OTHER NUCLEAR ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Guardian Unlimited: Diplomats: Iran to Allow IAEA Access From the Associated Press [UP] Friday February 4, 2005 3:16 PM AP Photo VAH109 By GEORGE JAHN Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran has agreed to give the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency a fresh look at a military complex linked by the United States to possible atomic arms research, diplomats said Friday. The diplomats, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said no date for the inspection had been set. But one of them suggested it could come before the planned Feb. 28 meeting of the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency - the U.N. watchdog group now investigating Tehran's nuclear activities. One of the diplomats said the Iranians gave their ``agreement in principle'' about 10 days ago. IAEA inspectors last visited the Parchin complex just outside Tehran in mid-January in their search for radiation that could point to such research. Diplomats accredited to the agency or familiar with its work said the inspectors were given partial access to the site and were allowed to take environmental samples for analysis. Washington has accused Iran of being part of an ``axis of evil'' with North Korea and prewar Iraq. The United States alleges Iran may be testing high-explosive components for nuclear weapons, using an inert core of depleted uranium at Parchin as a dry run for a bomb that would use fissile material. Diplomats last month said that as far as they knew the IAEA experts were not impeded in their first visit, beyond the limitations placed on where they could take their samples. But one of the diplomats said the fact that the agency had requested fresh access to another part of the site suggested there were continued questions about the nature of the work conducted at Parchin. In leaks to media last year, U.S. intelligence officials said a specially secured site at Parchin may be used in research for high-explosive components of nuclear weapons. Iran asserts its military is not involved in nuclear activities, and the IAEA has found no firm evidence to the contrary. The agency also has not been able to support U.S. assertions that nearly two decades of covert nuclear programs discovered more than 2 years ago were aimed at making nuclear weapons - not generating electricity, as Tehran claims. But an IAEA report in October expressed concern about published intelligence and media reports relating to equipment and materials that could serve military purposes. At the time, diplomats said the phrasing alluded to Parchin. As part of his investigation into Iran's nuclear activities, IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei has produced a series of reports on what to do about Iran's nuclear activities. His refusal to declare Iran in breach of the Nonproliferation Treaty has angered U.S. officials by derailing their drive to have the U.N. Security Council examine Iran's nuclear dossier. Suggesting that military action remained a possibility, President Bush said last month that he did not rule out any option for confronting Iran. But on Friday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said a U.S. attack ``is simply not on the agenda at this point.'' Speaking in London, her first stop on a weeklong tour of European capitals, Rice said there is broad international agreement that Iran cannot be allowed to use a civilian nuclear power project to conceal a weapons program. But she said the United States believed that ``there are plenty of diplomatic means at our disposal to get the Iranians to finally live up to their international obligations.'' --- On the Net: www.iaea.org Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 2 BBC: America's tough rhetoric on Iran Last Updated: Friday, 4 February, 2005 Analysis By Paul Reynolds World Affairs correspondent, BBC News website [Condoleezza Rice and Jack Straw] Condoleezza Rice: US attack on Iran "not on agenda at this point" American rhetoric about Iran has been stepped up because it wants to pressure the Iranian government to give up any ambition to build a nuclear bomb. Talks are currently going on between Iran and three European countries - France, Germany and the UK - about Iran's nuclear programme. The United States wants it to be known that there will be consequences in the event of failure. These talks are likely to reach a conclusion one way or another in the summer. So there is still a window open for diplomacy. Which is why the new US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at a news conference in London that a US attack on Iran was "not on the agenda at this point." That means, however, that it might get onto the agenda at a later point. Iran is the main threat Israel in the long run Lt Gen Shaul Mofaz Israeli Defence Minister When political leaders do not rule something out, it is sensible to keep a look out. Secretary Rice's comments follow the strong words used about Iran by President Bush in his State of the Union address when he declared: "And to the Iranian people, I say tonight: As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you." The United States has not declared hostilities against Iran. But it has declared hostility. Nuclear issue So why Iran and why now? The background is the deep antipathy between the United States and Iran since the Shah was overthrown in 1979 and an Islamic republic was set up. This colours all their relations. The United States regards Iran as troublemaker in the region, helping Hezbollah fight Israel from Lebanon and helping Hamas in the Palestinian territories. Iran regards the United States as an evil empire. The optimistic view is th Iran does not want a confrontation... the pessimistic view is that Iran is simply going through the motions Dr Gary Samore International Institute for Strategic Studies in London A diplomatic campaign against Iran's rulers also fits in with the agenda of the Bush administration to foster the spread of what Mr Bush referred to as the "guiding ideal of liberty for all". Cynics might argue that it also helps to divert opinion from the problems in Iraq. But the immediate issue is Iran's nuclear programme. In 2002, Iran was forced to admit that for 18 years it had been secretly developing the ability to enrich uranium, the first step in building a nuclear device. As a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is not allowed to make a nuclear bomb but it can develop a civilian nuclear power programme. It has argued that it needs to learn how to enrich so it can produce fuel for its nuclear power plant, which is still under construction. But because of its secret work, the West does not trust it anymore. Western countries do not want Iran to have any enrichment capability because the technology used to enrich uranium to a standard needed for nuclear power can also be used to enrich it further to a standard needed for a nuclear explosion. Diplomatic route The United States failed last year to get Iran reported to the UN Security Council to face possible sanctions. The three European countries are now negotiating with Iran to turn a freeze on its enrichment activities into a cessation. [Technicians at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant] Iran says its nuclear regime is peaceful In return Iran will be offered nuclear fuel supplies, improved trade arrangements and possibly security guarantees. Iran on the other hand says that enrichment must go ahead though it is willing to accept strict inspections, or "objective guarantees" as they are called in the diplomatic jargon. If this effort collapses, then there will be further talk about taking Iran to the Security Council to face sanctions. All this has left the Bush administration deeply sceptical about Iran's intentions and it has not taken part in the negotiations itself. Instead it is now issuing threats and warnings from the sidelines. This is a well-known diplomatic tactic like the good and bad cop routine. But in this case there is something else and that something else is Israel. Lieutenant General Shaul Mofaz, the Israel Defence Minister, said in London recently: "Iran is the main threat to Israel in the long run." Like Ms Rice, he too said that diplomacy was the route for the moment though, like her, he also refused to rule anything else out later on. It is possible that if the talks fail and Iran presses ahead with enrichment, then Israel would consider mounting an air attack. The US Vice President Dick Cheney mentioned the possibility the other day. However, the military options are not good given that Iran's nuclear facilities are spread out widely. According to Dr Gary Samore, of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, there is an optimistic and a pessimistic scenario. "The optimistic view is that Iran does not want a confrontation with the Security Council and might rest on its laurels. It has probably not decided yet. "The pessimistic view is that Iran is simply going through the motions with the Europeans and that these talks are doomed." ***************************************************************** 3 WorldNetDaily: Iran? Let the Israelis do it SATURDAY JANUARY 29 2005 [Gordon Prather] © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Hours before his "ratification" inaugural, Vice President Dick Cheney was chatting with Don Imus on MSNBC about Iraqi and Iranian "nuclear programs." Now, Cheney appears to know the difference between a "nuclear program" and a "nuclear weapons program." Bush may not. In any case, both Cheney and Bush want you to hear "nuclear weapons" when they say "nuclear." Recall that in the months and weeks before Bush-Cheney launched a "preventive" war against Iraq on the pretext of keeping Saddam from giving nuclear weapons to terrorists, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had reported to the U.N. Security Council that there was no evidence that any attempt had been made in the past decade to reconstitute Saddam's nuclear programs. That's right. Not only did Saddam not have a "nuclear weapons program"; he didn't even have a "nuclear program." Nevertheless, right up until the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Cheney was claiming – without a shred of evidence – that Saddam had a nuke program and that ElBaradei couldn't find it with both hands and a covert road map. Now, in the years, months and weeks before Cheney's "ratification" inaugural, Cheney has been claiming – without a shred of evidence – that the Iranian mullahs have a nuke program and that ElBaradei couldn't find it with both hands and a covert road map. Iran has been a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty since 1970, its "nuclear programs" subject to an IAEA Safeguards Agreement. But, in his 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush had this to say about Iran, Iraq and North Korea. States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic. More than a year ago, after watching what Bush did to Iraq, Iran voluntarily subjected itself to an intrusive go-anywhere see-anything additional protocol to their IAEA Safeguards Agreement.. Under the additional protocol, activities and sites that formerly did not need to be "declared" at all, or only shortly before operations involving "special nuclear materials" began, must now be "declared" while still in the planning stage. Iran volunteered to temporarily "freeze" its gas-centrifuge research, development and production program. Any past or present violations of Iran's Safeguards Agreement, was to be reported to the IAEA Board of Governors. If and only if the board decided the violations amounted to a violation of the NPT, itself, the board was to refer the matter to the U.N. Security Council for possible action. The IAEA has now visited every site the Iranians have "declared" under the additional protocol, as well as at least two sites the U.S. "suspected" ought to have been declared, but weren't. Iran had also given the IAEA permission to review its import and export records, going back at least a decade. Result? The IAEA has found some minor violations, but no indication that Iran is now pursuing – or ever has pursued – a nuclear weapons program. The IAEA even verified that the Iranians have not yet operated their pilot-plant uranium-enrichment cascade, or even completed their commercial-scale plant. But, Bush-Cheney and the Israelis are loudly demanding that the "freeze" be made permanent and that Iran never be allowed to have a uranium-enrichment capability, even one subject to IAEA safeguards. So, back to Cheney and Imus. After asking Cheney "what will happen" if we find out the Iranians do have a nuclear weapons program, Imus wondered aloud, "Why don't we make Israel do it." Cheney replies; Well, one of the concerns people have is that Israel might do it without being asked, that if, in fact, the Israelis became convinced the Iranians had significant nuclear capability, given the fact that Iran has a stated policy that their objective is the destruction of Israel, the Israelis might well decide to act first, and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards. Now, some pundits have interpreted that remark to be a warning to Israel to not launch pre-emptive strikes against Iran's safeguarded facilities. But, others have interpreted it to be a "green light" for the Israelis. After all, as far as Cheney is concerned, there will merely be a "diplomatic mess" to clean up. Which is it? Stay tuned. Physicist James Gordon Prather has served as a policy implementing official for national security-related technical matters in the Federal Energy Agency, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Department of Energy, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Army. Dr. Prather also served as legislative assistant for national security affairs to U.S. Sen. Henry Bellmon, R-Okla. -- ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and member of the Senate Energy Committee and Appropriations Committee. Dr. Prather had earlier worked as a nuclear weapons physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico. © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. webmaster@worldnetdaily.com ***************************************************************** 4 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL]Read between the lines 2005.02.05 [http://www.voiceware.co.kr] U.S. President George Bush has improved the prospects for early resumption of the stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear problem by reaffirming his commitment to a diplomatic solution during his State of the Union Address. All the reference Bush made about North Korea during his one-hour-long speech was just one short sentence, "We're working closely with the governments in Asia to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions." But much can be read into this terse statement. First of all, Bush refrained from mentioning the latest U.S. media reports alleging North Korea sold processed uranium to Libya. Just one day before the speech, the New York Times and Washington Post reported that scientific testing of the uranium hexafluoride surrendered by Libya last year has concluded "with a certainty of 90 percent or better" that the material originated from North Korea. The finding, if confirmed, has serious implications. It indicates North Korea has been secretly pursuing a uranium enrichment program to complement its already admitted weapons program based on plutonium. Thus far, Pyongyang has denied the existence of a uranium program. Furthermore, the conclusion about Libya could be regarded as evidence of Pyongyang's involvement in spreading atomic technology abroad. Given the U.S. determination to prevent nuclear proliferation, the sale of uranium hexafluoride to Libya could entirely alter Washington's view of the nuclear threat posed by North Korea. But Bush made no reference of the media reports. We take it as strongly indicating the U.S. intention to refrain from provoking North Korea and thereby create an environment conducive to the six-party talks. This reading is supported by the harsh references Bush made of Iran. Calling Iran "the world's primary state sponsor of terror," Bush accused it of "pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they and deserve." The same reference could have been made of North Korea. Bush added that the United States is working with European allies to make Iran realize that "it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium reprocessing." In his State of the Union address three years ago, Bush called North Korea, along with Iraq and Iran, the "axis of evil." The fact that he did not group North Korea with Iran indicates he wanted to treat the two countries differently. This prudence is in contrast with the inclusion of North Korea in the six "outposts of tyranny" by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice two weeks ago. Bush also reiterated in the speech that "the United States has no right, no desire and no intention to impose our form of government on anyone else." This could be seen as intended to convey to Pyongyang the message that Washington would not seek a regime change. Pyongyang has indicated, officially and unofficially, that it would make a decision on the six-party talks after confirming the U.S. policy toward it as sketched in Bush's State of the Union address. We strongly urge the leadership in the reclusive country to read between the lines of the speech and come forward to the long-delayed talks as early as possible. [http://www.heraldcampus.co.kr/Premium/] ***************************************************************** 5 YWS: Chinese Envoy to Visit N. Korea to Jump-start Stalled Nuke Talks YONHAPNEWS WORLD SERVICE::ENGLISH NEWS [http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/] .. 2005/02/04 12:59 KST SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- A Chinese envoy will visit North Korea this month on what appeared to be a mission to restart stalled six-way talks ending North Korea's nuclear arms program. The senior Chinese Communist Party official, whom Unification Minister Chung Dong-young declined to identity, will visit Pyongyang after Lunar New Year holiday which falls on Feb. 9. The Chinese official visited Pyongyang last September for a similar mission. [http://english.yna.co.kr/ ***************************************************************** 6 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: Agency cautious on uranium transfer February 5, 2005 KST 11:24 (GMT+9) February 05, 2005 ¤Ñ BERLIN ¡ª The International Atomic Energy Agency is not ruling out that Libya could have obtained its cache of uranium from a country other than North Korea, a spokeswoman said yesterday. When asked if "another country" could mean Pakistan, Melissa Fleming, the nuclear agency's spokeswoman, declined to comment. Ms. Fleming pointed out that in order to be absolutely sure whether Pyeongyang had any hand in the transfer, samples from North Korea's uranium would be needed. The agency also still has to determine whether Pyeongyang's nuclear program is capable of producing highly-enriched uranium. Another official of the nuclear watchdog, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said it would be hard to believe that the nuclear material originated from North Korea. The official did not provide any further explanation for the comment. The official said that the agency is still investigating people allegedly involved in helping Syria obtain nuclear material. It is also investigating Pakistani scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who confessed early last year to selling atomic secrets to Libya, North Korea and Iran. Earlier, U.S. media reported that North Korea may have transferred uranium to Libya. The country gave up its nuclear program last year. Analysts in Seoul predicted that Washington would toughen its stance on Pyeongyang if the report is accurate. North Korea has said it is willing to sit down for a fourth round of six-party talks aimed at ending the North Korean nuclear crisis but has not indicated a schedule. by Ryu Kwon-ha africanu@joongang.co.kr> [http://joongangdaily.joins.com/faq.html] Copyright by Joins.com, Inc. Terms of Use | ***************************************************************** 7 NRC: In the Matter of Soil Consultants, Inc., ATTN: Mr. Joseph W. FR Doc 05-2136 [Federal Register: February 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 23)] [Notices] [Page 6046-6047] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr04fe05-130] Dixon, President, 9303 Center Street, Manassas, VA 20110-5547; Order Imposing Civil Monetary Penalty I Soil Consultants, Inc. (Licensee) is the holder of Materials License No. 45-15200-04 issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) on October 6, 2004, Amendment No. 03. The license authorizes the Licensee to use sealed source(s) contained in portable gauging devices (registered pursuant to 10 CFR 32.320 or equivalent Agreement State regulation) for measuring properties of materials in accordance with the conditions specified therein. II An investigation of the Licensee's activities was completed on February 11, 2004. The results of this investigation and the NRC's further consideration of this matter, including a predecisional enforcement conference held with you on August 12, 2004, indicated that the Licensee had not conducted its activities in full compliance with NRC requirements. A written Notice of Violation and Proposed Imposition of Civil Penalty (Notice) was served upon the Licensee by letter dated October 6, 2004. The Notice states the nature of violation, the provision of the NRC's requirements that the Licensee had violated, and the amount of the civil penalty proposed for the violation. The licensee responded to the Notice in letters dated November 5, 2004, and December 2, 2004. In its response, the Licensee denied a violation occurred. III After consideration of the Licensee's response and the statements of fact, explanation, and argument for mitigation contained therein, the NRC staff has determined, as set forth in the Appendix to this Order, that the violation occurred as stated and that the penalty proposed for the violation designated in the Notice should be imposed. IV In view of the foregoing and pursuant to Section 234 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Act), 42 U.S.C. 2282 and 10 CFR 2.205, it is herby ordered that: The Licensee pay a civil penalty in the amount of $9,600 within 30 days of the date of this Order, in accordance with NUREG/BR-0254. In addition, at the time of making payment, the licensee shall submit a statement indicating when, and by what method, payment was made, to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738. V The Licensee may request a hearing within 30 days of the date of this Order. Where good cause is shown, such as requesting to engage in alternative dispute resolution, consideration will be given to extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of time must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, and include a statement of good cause for the extension. A request for a hearing should be clearly marked as a ``Request for an Enforcement Hearing'' and shall be submitted to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC 20555. Copies also shall be sent to the Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, to the Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and Enforcement at the same address, and to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406-1415. Because of continuing disruption in delivery of mail to United States Government offices, it is requested that requests for hearings be transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-1101 or by e-mail to hearingdocket@nrc.gov [ hearingdocket@nrc.gov] and also to the Office of the General Counsel either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov [OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov] . If a hearing is requested, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and place of the hearing. If the Licensee fails to request a hearing within 30 days of the date of this Order (or if written approval of an extension of time in which to request a hearing has not been granted), the provisions of this Order shall be effective without further proceedings. If payment has not been made by that time, the matter may be referred to the Attorney General for collection. [[Page 6047]] In the event that the Licensee requests a hearing as provided above, the issues to be considered at such hearing shall be: (a) Whether the Licensee was in violation of the Commission's requirements as set forth in the Notice referred to in Section II above, and (b) Whether, on the basis of such violation, this Order should be sustained. Dated this 27th day of January 2005. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Frank J. Congel, Director, Office of Enforcement. [FR Doc. 05-2136 Filed 2-3-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 8 Las Vegas SUN: Nevadans say ground is laid for historic debate in Congress February 03, 2005 By Benjamin Grove and Suzanne Struglinski SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Nevada's congressional delegation agreed that President Bush in his State of the Union speech on Wednesday laid out a framework for a historic debate in Congress on the future of Social Security. But the agreement is likely to soon end there. The state's three Republicans have said they generally back Bush's proposal to allow younger workers to divert some of their Social Security payroll taxes to private investment accounts. They offered cautious support after Bush's address, saying they were still eager to study Bush's proposals, which were not detailed in his address. Nevada's two Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, offered no applause for Bush's proposed changes, and reasserted their skepticism about private accounts. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said there is no crisis on Social Security now, but if Congress allows it to become a crisis, the country's children and grandchildren will suffer. "We are going to look at every suggestion, there are dozens of suggestions that will be available for review," Gibbons said. He said 1930s' ideas that drove the formation the system need to be changed to meet the 21st Century. Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., was hesitant to commit to full support of the personal saving accounts, and said the purpose of Congress is to hear from seniors and hear from experts on what should be done. "I support the debate of any idea that's brought before Congress, because that's our responsibility," Porter said. "Private accounts are one of those areas that will be debated and I will look at the pros and cons." He said he has heard disgust and frustration from his constituents, especially those who received calls from groups not telling the truth on what Congress wants to consider. Gibbons and Porter emphasized that current Social Security beneficiaries will not be affected by any changes and will continue to receive full benefits. Ensign hailed Bush for his call to overhaul Social Security. Ensign criticized Democrats led by Ensign friend Reid, for saying that they have the votes to block Bush's recommendations, as Reid said this week. "There is not even a specific proposal on the table to talk about yet, so to say that they have the votes to block it is irresponsible," Ensign said. Giving the Democrats' rebuttal after Bush on national television with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Reid said Bush's plan was dangerous because it would add another $2 trillion to the deficit. "That's an immoral burden to place on the backs of the next generation," Reid said. Reid said the Bush proposal wasn't a reform. "It's more like Social Security roulette," Reid said. "Democrats are all for giving Americans more of a say and more choices when it comes to their retirement savings. But that doesn't mean taking Social Security's guarantee and gambling with it. And that's coming for a senator who represents Las Vegas." Rep. Shelly Berkley, D-Nev., said she has "no idea" what the president's plan really involves. She said she had heard different things from the administration and the White House's own estimates showed his proposal would cost $6 trillion over the next 20 years and cut benefits by 40 percent. But Bush has not shown where the money will come from or which benefits would be cut. "It is ludicrous to me to have our retirees' income dependent on the mercy of the stock market," Berkley said. "I mean has anybody ever heard the expression, 'I lost my shirt in the stock market?' Social Security is for security, people aren't supposed to get rich by it. They are supposed to be able to live their golden years with security, knowing they are not going to starve and they will have a roof over their heads." Criticism of Bush's Social Security plan was swift from a coalition of national groups opposing the plan called Campaign for America's Future. The coalition includes the AFL-CIO, the NAACP and the National Organization for Women. Bush's proposal seems fraught with dangerous unknowns, said Venicia Considine, president of the Nevada chapter of NOW. Bush hasn't adequately explained how he would pay for the costly transition from the current system, she said. Market fluctuations and hidden costs for financial account managers are other significant worries, she said. Considine said Bush talked about freedom from fear at one point in his speech, but then used "scare tactics" to try to convince listeners that the threat of Social Security shortfalls is imminent and only fixable with private accounts. "Privatization is the wrong way to go," she said. Ensign agreed with many who watched Bush's address that the most poignant moment of the evening came when two of Bush's guests -- Iraqi human rights advocate Safia Taleb al-Suhail and Janet Norwood, mother of fallen Marine Sgt. Byron Norwood -- embraced in the House gallery near Laura Bush. Ensign and Berkley both said the moment brought them to tears. Berkley agreed with Bush that there should be not be a specific set date for the United States to leave the country. "I think it is a ridiculous military strategy to tell the enemy when you are leaving," Berkley said. Porter said there no "exact science" in determining when U.S. troops will leave Iraq, but the embrace between the two women summarized the reason the troops are there, he said. Ensign was not surprised Bush mentioned that he would continue to goad Congress to pass a comprehensive energy policy that includes "safe, clean nuclear energy." Bush approved Yucca Mountain to be the site of a national repository for the highly radioactive waste piling up at U.S. nuclear power plants. Opening the proposed waste site is important to Bush's vision of opening new nuclear power reactors in the United States. Ensign said he supports nuclear energy in principle, but added, "Yucca Mountain is not the solution to our nuclear waste problem." Berkley said when the president touts nuclear energy as part of his energy policy, Nevadans have to be mindful that it brings more pressures to build the repository at Yucca, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. She said the president was only "throwing pennies" at renewable energy resources and not looking toward enough alternatives that would not allow waste to move to Nevada. Gibbons said the United States should look at what other countries are doing and move toward reprocessing. Porter also said he is not against nuclear power, just how the country manages the waste. Bush told lawmakers he would reduce or eliminate 150 wasteful government programs from the 2006 budget, set for release Monday. Ensign said he was not aware yet if those cuts could affect any Nevada programs. Porter jokingly suggested Bush just eliminate the Energy Department, while Gibbons suggested cutting the Yucca Mountain project. "It's the most wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars I can think of," Gibbons said. ***************************************************************** 9 The Jakarta Post: U.S. policy on nuclear weapons in the mire The Journal of Indonesia Today www.thejakartapost.com Opinion February 05, 2005 Jonathan Power, London The sixtieth anniversary of the Red Army's liberation of Auschwitz is barely over when we are reminded of Russia's determination to make the 60th anniversary of the Soviet conquest of German-occupied Eastern Europe into another world event. Hard on its heels during the summer will be one other important 60th anniversary- the first and only use of nuclear weapons on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And this year will mark the fortieth anniversary of the opening of the negotiations on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the twentieth anniversary of the ice-breaking summit in Geneva of presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev that laid the ground for their subsequent summit in Reykjavik when the two of them drove their advisors to the brink of despair with their intimate discussions on how they might get rid of all nuclear weapons. In May there will be a review meeting of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a treaty that for all its flaws has been instrumental in keeping the number of nuclear-armed powers in single digits, much less than the 20-30 foreseen by President John F. Kennedy. Last November, a group appointed by the UN's Secretary General, including Brent Scowcroft, the former National Security Advisor to President George Bush senior, warned against a coming "cascade of proliferation" and argued that the nuclear-have powers need to honor the central bargain of the NPT treaty and engage in nuclear disarmament in return for the rest of the world abjuring the pursuit of nuclear weapons. Alarmingly, the usually reliable Kyodo news agency of Japan, recently reported that, "The U.S. plans to suggest that the [NPT review conference] should invalidate a document adopted at the 2000 meeting in which the five [major] nuclear weapons' powers committed themselves to an "unequivocal undertaking" to a nuclear-free world, according to U.S. government and congressional sources." If this is so it comes as no surprise. The Bush administration after its initial effort to lower the U.S. and Russian arsenals by putting hundreds of warheads in storage has not followed it up by either more disarmament, an effort to take the remaining nuclear missiles off hair trigger alert, nor an adequate joint effort to neutralize and secure Soviet-era plutonium and enriched uranium that both sides are supposed to be working on together. It appears that Washington now plans to be honest about its intentions- it wants to re-write its public and often re-stated pledge to nuclear disarm. It has a certain crude logic. Why should the U.S. keep its side of the bargain when North Korea, Libya, Iran, and maybe Saudi Arabia and Syria, all signatories (or in North Korea's case ex-signatory) of the NPT have taken steps to develop nuclear weapons? The danger is that instead of being left with a more honest NPT we might be left at the end of the day with no NPT at all. For long enough the original nuclear- have powers were able to keep the restive rest of the world in line by pointing to the steady if slow progress made by the SALT and START negotiations of the superpowers, together with the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the progress towards the writing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. It may have only made a modest difference but at least the pace was forward. Since a Republican Congress rebuffed the attempt of the Clinton Administration to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty the momentum has been reversed. The Bush administration has withdrawn from the politically stabilizing Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, has spent a fortune on starting to construct an apparently irrelevant anti-missile defense (there is no defense against a suitcase bomb) and is pouring money into developing new types of nuclear weapons. Moreover, U.S. nuclear policy is rapidly becoming not just self-defeating but incoherent. When it first became clear in 1994 that North Korea had perhaps developed a nuclear weapon or two Republicans went ballistic with the likes of Henry Kissinger and Robert Gates demanding that President Bill Clinton use force to disarm North Korea. Now, after four years of huffing and puffing by a Republican Administration, Washington seems to have become if not passive, at least resigned to the status quo. At the same time, it is ratcheting up its military threats against Iran, even though Iran is a hundred times more open a society than North Korea and the one thing that gives its hard-liners popular support is this kind of American bluster. With neither does it understand that carrots must be on the menu. Hindsight should give us some foresight. For the fight to continue so that there will never be another Hiroshima we need to make sure that the NPT with its central and crucial promise is kept intact, indeed strengthened. Power is a London-based free-lance journalist. All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post. [webmaster@thejakartapost.com] ***************************************************************** 10 State of the Union: Reaction from Carl Pope, Executive Director [http://www.sierraclub.org/] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3 , 2005 CONTACT: David Willett 202-675-6698 Statement of Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director "While President Bush's State of the Union address indicated that he understands Americans want cleaner energy, his speech misrepresented the true thrust of his polluting energy initiatives. President Bush highlighted small parts of his energy plan while glossing over the unpopular centerpiece of his efforts -- drilling for oil in special places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And his ludicrous assertion that nuclear power is "safe and clean" completely ignored the fact that there is still no way to safely transport and store nuclear waste. "President Bush also failed to mention that strong enforcement of the existing Clean Air Act would do more to cut power plant pollution than his proposed legislation, which favors big energy companies. Similarly, while America does need energy policy that provides security while decreasing our oil dependence, the energy plan that Vice President Cheney developed behind closed doors with the energy industry will not get us there. "We can free ourselves from dangerous nuclear power and the polluting industries of the past. We need to invest in modern, 21st century solutions that will produce real increases in efficiency, fuel economy and reliance on renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. By investing in modern technology, America could cut its dependence on dirty fossil fuels while saving consumers money, preserving treasured places, and keeping our soldiers safe at home. We don't need to sacrifice Americans' lives, health or lands to meet our nation's energy needs." ### ***************************************************************** 11 NRC: NRC Meeting with Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority News Release - 2005-02 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 05-020 February 3, 2005 Thadani met with the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) for three days of technical discussions at the PNRA headquarters in Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb. 1-3. Discussions provided the Pakistani Authorities with a comprehensive overview of the NRC's regulatory approach to several civilian nuclear reactor safety technical issues, and gave the NRC staff a better appreciation of the technical work being performed in Pakistan on similar issues. This is the first visit by an NRC technical team to Pakistan. Last revised Thursday, February 03, 2005 ***************************************************************** 12 TheStar.com: It's time to grow energy: Expert [http://www.thestar.com/] Fri. Feb. 4, 2005. | Updated at 07:33 PM Forum offers ways to curb emissions Trees, plants seen as cheap solution PETER CALAMAI SCIENCE REPORTER EXETER, EnglandVast plantations of trees, sugar cane and other fast-growing plants could generate all the world's electricity and replace all fossil fuel with ethanol and biodiesel, an international climate science summit was told here yesterday. "The message is stop digging for energy and start growing it," said New Zealand economist Peter Read. Read's low-cost bioenergy approach contrasted with the pricey, high-tech schemes for curbing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels put forward by other climate experts on the closing day of a meeting called by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair asked scientists and policy advisers from 30 countries to identify the danger level of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, and advise leaders at the G-8 summit in Scotland this July how to avoid surpassing it. Many experts here agreed that carbon dioxide should not be allowed to go above 550 parts per million in the air, double the level before industrialization began in the mid-19th century. But they were less united on the best avoidance strategy, with a few backing a major expansion of nuclear power, others plumping for wind and solar energy and some wanting to pump carbon dioxide into old oil wells or salt caverns. Read argued a much simpler, more economical solution is taking advantage of the natural biosphere. Making better use of existing agricultural land would boost global plant production enough to provide wood to burn for electricity and crops like corn or wheat that could be converted into biofuels. Only about 10 per cent of arable land would be needed for this strategy, according to computer projections. Read said the green approach would also ready the world for a crash program to actually reduce atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide rather than just rein in their increase at the first sign of abrupt climate change. This would be accomplished by capturing and storing the carbon dioxide produced from burning the wood or making ethanol. "If we are going to need an ark, we need to build it before the rains begin," he said. A conference wrap-up report said a maximum 2 degrees Celsius increase in average global temperature, a target urged by many experts, means carbon dioxide emissions would have to peak in 2020, so the atmospheric level did not exceed 500 parts per million. The report said a delay of even five years could be significant and require more severe emission reductions to hold the temperature increase to 2 degrees. Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All www.thestar.com [http://www.thestar.com] is ***************************************************************** 13 Scoop: Marjorie Cohn: Another World Is Possible [http://www.scoop.co.nz/] Opinion: Marjorie Cohn t r u t h o u t | Perspective Wednesday 2 February 2005 From: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/020205AA.shtml The Fifth Annual World Social Forum (WSF) held in Porto Alegre, Brazil from January 26-31 garnered almost no media coverage in the United States. Timed to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the WSF drew 155,000 activists from 135 countries, who assembled to challenge Bush's agenda. The weeklong happening, called "Another World Is Possible," kicked off with a "march for peace." An estimated 200,000 people, many with turbans or indigenous clothing, carried bright flags and marched to the beat of omnipresent drums. Several bore posters with pictures of Bush ("The World's No. 1 Terrorist"). The mood was festive but purposeful as old and young, black, brown, yellow and white, prepared to strategize about how to create a just and peaceful world.. One of the most compelling speakers at the WSF was John Perkins, a former CIA operative and self-described economic hit man for U.S. imperialism. It was Perkins' job to meet with a leader of a targeted country and encourage him to accept a large loan for a project that both the CIA and the leader knew the country could not afford. The money would go to a bank in the United States and U.S. corporations would get the contract to do the job. The country was then beholden to the United States, manipulated to support U.S. policy and make its natural resources available to U.S. corporations. This is the model of "neo-liberalism." Where a head of state refused to accept the CIA's offer, Perkins would remind him that several leaders had been assassinated or become the victims of a coup and removed from office (e.g., Chile, Haiti). In such a situation, the CIA would back opposition movements within the target country, support corrupt military leaders, or undermine the country's economy. The CIA often sent in "jackals," or "hit men," who plied their trade when other methods failed. Omar Torrijos, former president of Panama, was one victim of these jackals. When both the economic hit men and the jackals were unsuccessful in bringing the country under U.S. domination, the tactic of last resort was war. This is what happened in Iraq after the U.S. was unable to convince Saddam to support its policies. Notwithstanding Bush's rhetoric about creating democracies throughout the world, the United States has tried mightily to facilitate the overthrow of twice democratically-elected Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. But it has thus far failed. (See my editorial, Chavez Victory: Defeat for Bush Policy). There was talk last week at the WSF that the U.S. is attempting to get Colombia to invade Venezuela, but Chavez and other Latin American leaders are trying to defuse the situation. Likewise, Dick Cheney lobbed out the possibility that Israel might attack Iran (thereby using Israel as a U.S. surrogate to enable the installation of an Iranian government more receptive to U.S. policies). Hugo Chavez, who also spoke at the WSF, received a hero's welcome. He highlighted the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), a proposal made by Venezuela as an alternative to the Free Trade of the Americas. The ALBA emphasizes social and cultural exchanges over profit-based economic deals. Chavez noted, "We can't wait for a sustained economic growth of 10 years in order to start reducing poverty through the trickledown effect, as the neoliberal economic theories propose." Chavez criticized Condoleezza Rice's recent assertion that Chavez was "a negative force in the region." He said relations between the U.S. and Venezuela will remain unhealthy as long as the United States continues its policy of aggression. "The most negative force in the world today is the government of the United States," Chavez said. Significantly, Chavez maintained, "We must start talking again about equality. The U.S. government talks about freedom and liberty, but never about equality." Indeed, Bush told the Congressional Black Caucus a few days ago that he was "unfamiliar" with the Voting Rights Act. Walden Bello, executive director of Focus on the Global South and professor of sociology and public administration at the University of the Philippines, analyzed the role that cultural oppression played in the U.S. presidential election. Bello said that although neo-liberalism and militarism are significant problems, "the cultural dimension is what led the Bush administration to victory by drawing its support largely based on white people in the U.S." He noted, "The Bush administration in fact appeals to traditional forms of cultural oppression through traditional forms of cultural ethnocentrism and of traditional and old forms of racism." The people who voted for Bush, according to Bello, "were voting against blacks, they were voting against immigrants, the feminist movement, foreign imports and foreign ideas that are not American." The American Association of Jurists (AAJ), in association with the Latin American Association of Labor Lawyers, sponsored three days of panel discussions on Law, Public Order and Social Integration at the WSF. As the U.S. representative to the AAJ, I gave a presentation on Human Rights and the New World Order, in which I noted that Bush told his advisors on the evening of September 11, 2001, that the terrorist attacks provided a "great opportunity" for the United States. Likewise, when the tsunami devastated Asia, Condoleezza Rice used almost the same words. She said the tsunami was a "wonderful opportunity" for the U.S. I presented an analysis of how the neoconservatives have hijacked United States foreign policy and the resulting decimation of human rights, including the torture of prisoners in U.S. custody. Another speaker at the AAJ conference was Arnel Medina Cuenca, president of the National Union of Cuban Jurists. Discussing the U.S. policy of neo-liberalism, he said, "Matan a los pobres pero no a la pobresa" ("They kill the poor but not the poverty.") The AAJ passed a resolution in support of the five Cuban political prisoners incarcerated in New York for what was, in effect, their anti-terrorist actions against terrorists in the U.S. who sought to overthrow the Cuban government. Another AAJ resolution calls for the return of Vieques, a United States military installation on the land of the U.S. colony Puerto Rico. The resolution also calls on the U.S. government to finance the decontamination of Vieques, which has been poisoned by depleted uranium and heavy metals from U.S. weapons testing and military training exercises. As a result the people of Vieques have the highest incidence of cancer in Puerto Rico. Programs at the WSF advocated sustainable development, cancellation of Third World debt, an end to corporate abuse, struggle against United States imperialism, and termination of the occupation of Iraq. In Bush's State of the Union address this evening, we can expect to hear more rhetoric about "freedom," "liberty" and "spreading democracy throughout the world." For most of the people of the world, however, Bush's words signal the spread of neo-liberalism, aggression and regime change, to their detriment. The World Social Forum is one small step toward uniting progressives from around the world to defy Bush's agenda which threatens us all. ***************** Marjorie Cohn, is a contributing editor to t r u t h o u t, a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, executive vice president of the National Lawyers Guild, and the U.S. representative to the executive committee of the American Association of Jurists. Home Page [http://www.scoop.co.nz/welcome.htm] | Headlines Copyright (c) Scoop Media ***************************************************************** 14 Limerick Gets Better Tax Deal Than TMI Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2005 18:11:32 -0800 February 4, 2005 Editors: Please note that Exelon recently settled with taxing authorities in Montgomery County for the Limerick 1 & 2 nuclear power facility. The deal is substantially more lucrative that the proposed settlement for Three Mile Island Unit-1 and related taxing bodies. Eric Epstein, Chairman, TMI-Alert 717-541-1101 ericepstein@comcast.net The Breakdown* € TMI: Lower Dauphin School District would receive $395,000 in 2004, $332,000 in 2005 and $303,000 for 2006-08. € Limerick: Spring-Ford Area School District, ³Under the proposed terms of the four-year agreement, PECO would pay the school district $2,082,000 in taxes for both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years and $1,874,260 for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years². Spring-Ford Area School District would also receive about $500,000 more in state reimbursements form the Department of Education as a result of the agreement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- € TMI: Dauphin County would receive $147,000 in 2004, $123,000 in 2005 and $112,000 for 2006-08. € Limerick: Montgomery County would receive $392,400 from Exelon from 2005-2009. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- € TMI: Londonderry Township would receive $30,000 in 2004, $34,000 in 2005 and $31,000 in 2006-08. € Limerick: The Township would receive $109,230 from 2005 -2009. ----- * Source: Patriot News, January 05, 2005 * Source: The Mercury, February 3, 2005 1 Three Mile Island -1 Source: Patriot News, January 05, 2005 Background: ³Under the proposed settlement, the assessment of Unit 1 would drop from $64.9 million to $20 million in 2005, then $18.3 million through 2008.² Limerick 1 & 2 Source: The Mercury, February 3, 2005 Background: ³A countywide reassessment, which took effect in 1998, placed a value of $939.4 million on the nuclear plant property. PECOappealed the assessment in 1999 to the county Board of Assessment Appeals and won a $26.8 million assessment reduction to $912.6 million.² ³PECO, claiming that even the $912.6-million assessment was excessive, appealed that decision to the county court where ithas been pending since that time.² ³PECO contended that the value of the property, which includes a nuclear power plant constructed in the late 1970s at a cost of $6.8 billion, is less than zero.² 2 ***************************************************************** 15 NRC: Duke Cogema Stone and Webster's Proposed Mixed Oxide Fuel FR Doc 05-2137 [Federal Register: February 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 23)] [Notices] [Page 6047-6049] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr04fe05-132] Fabrication Facility; Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of availability of final environmental impact statement. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Blevins, Senior Project Manager, Environmental and Performance Assessment Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 415-7684; e-mail: mxb6@nrc.gov [mxb6@nrc.gov] . SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory [[Page 6048]] Commission (NRC) is issuing a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the proposed construction and operation of a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The FEIS is being issued as part of the NRC's decision-making process on whether to authorize Duke Cogema Stone & Webster (DCS), a contractor of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to construct and operate the proposed MOX fuel fabrication facility (MOX facility). The proposed MOX facility would convert depleted uranium dioxide and weapons-grade plutonium dioxide into MOX fuel. The FEIS discusses the purpose and need for the proposed MOX facility, and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action, including the no-action alternative. The FEIS also discusses the environment potentially affected by the proposal, presents and compares the potential environmental impacts resulting from the proposed action and its alternatives, and identifies mitigation measures that could eliminate or lessen the potential environmental impacts. The FEIS is being issued as part of the NRC's decision-making process on whether to authorize DCS to begin construction of the proposed MOX facility. The FEIS will also be relevant to any later decision on whether to authorize DCS to operate the MOX facility. Based on the evaluation in the FEIS, the NRC environmental review staff have concluded that the proposed action will generally have small effects on the public and existing environment. This FEIS reflects the final analysis of environmental impacts of DCS's proposal and its alternatives including the consideration of public comments received by the NRC. In addition, the FEIS provides summaries of the substantive public comments on the draft EIS, and responses, as appropriate. Several pages in the FEIS have been removed from public access based on the additional security reviews that the NRC initiated on October 25, 2004. The material on these pages is being withheld pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390(a).\1\ ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- \1\ Please note that the MOX proceeding is governed by the old 10 CFR Part 2 provisions. Under the old regulation, the material being withheld is in accordance with 10 CFR 2.790(a). ADDRESSES: The NRC maintains an Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The FEIS and its appendices may be accessed through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html] . If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800- 397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov [pdr@nrc.gov] . Please note that on October 25, 2004, the NRC suspended public access to ADAMS, and initiated an additional security review of publicly available documents to ensure that potentially sensitive information is removed from the ADAMS database accessible through the NRC's Web site. Pending resumption of public access to ADAMS, interested members of the public may obtain copies of the referenced documents that have undergone security screening by contacting the Public Document Room at the above phone number. The FEIS is also available for inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, U.S. NRC's Headquarters Building, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Upon written request and to the extent supplies are available, a single copy of the FEIS can be obtained for a fee by writing to the Office of the Chief Information Officer, Reproduction and Distribution Services Section, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; by electronic mail at DISTRIBUTION@nrc.gov [ DISTRIBUTION@nrc.gov] ; or by fax at (301) 415-2289. A selected group of documents associated with the MOX facility may also be obtained from the Internet on NRC's MOX facility Web page: http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/mox/licensing.html [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fa c/mox/licensing.html] (case sensitive). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January 2000, the DOE issued a Record of Decision pertaining to its surplus plutonium disposition program and the DOE's 1999 EIS related to this program (65 FR 1608). The fundamental purpose of the DOE program is to ensure that plutonium produced for nuclear weapons and declared excess to national security needs is converted to forms that are inaccessible and unattractive for use in nuclear weapons. The FEIS for the proposed MOX facility was prepared by the staff of the NRC and its contractor, Argonnne National Laboratory, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the NRC's regulations for implementing NEPA (10 CFR part 51). The proposed action involves a decision by NRC of whether to authorize DCS to construct and later operate the proposed MOX facility at the Savannah River Site to convert surplus weapons plutonium into MOX fuel. If approved by the NRC, the proposed MOX facility would be built in the F-Area of the DOE's Savannah River Site (SRS). Feedstock (surplus plutonium dioxide and depleted uranium dioxide) would have to be transported to SRS to make the MOX fuel. To support operation of the proposed MOX facility, two other new facilities would have to be built by the DOE at the SRS. Infrastructure upgrades, such as construction waste transfer pipelines, electric utility line realignment, and addition of access roads, would also be required. Any MOX fuel made at the proposed MOX facility would be transported to mission reactors, where it would be irradiated. The NRC published a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed MOX facility, and to conduct a scoping process, in the Federal Register on March 7, 2001 (66 FR 13794). NRC staff subsequently held scoping meetings, and issued a Scoping Summary Report in August 2001. In April 2002, DOE issued an amended Record of Decision changing its planned approach for surplus weapons plutonium disposition (67 FR 19432). On August 22, 2002, the NRC announced public meetings to discuss changes in DCS Environmental Report (ER) that resulted from changes in DOE's plans (67 FR 54501). The meetings were held on September 17, 2002, in Savannah, Georgia, September 18, 2002, in Augusta, Georgia, and September 19, 2002, in Charlotte, North Carolina. On June 20, 2003, DCS submitted Revision 3 of its ER, and on August 13, 2003, DCS submitted Revision 4 of its ER, and on June 10, 2004, DCS submitted Revision 5 of its ER. These revisions are summarized in Appendix J of the FEIS. The FEIS describes the proposed action, and alternatives to the proposed action, including the no-action alternative. The FEIS discussion of the no-action alternative evaluates the environmental impacts of the continued storage of surplus plutonium in various DOE locations nationwide, in the event NRC decides not to approve the proposed MOX facility. Alternatives considered but not analyzed in detail include alternate locations for the proposed MOX facility in the F-Area, alternative technology and design options, immobilization of surplus plutonium instead of producing MOX fuel, deliberately making off-specification MOX fuel, and the Parallex Project, the latter of which involves irradiating the MOX fuel in Canadian Deuterium-Natural Uranium Reactors. Additionally, the FEIS compares the impacts of using high-efficiency [[Page 6049]] particulate air filters to the impacts of using sand filters for removal of particulate air emissions. After weighing the impacts, costs, and benefits of the proposed action and comparing alternatives (see Chapter 4 of the FEIS), the NRC staff, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.91(d), sets forth its final NEPA recommendation regarding the proposed action. The NRC staff recommends that, unless safety issues mandate otherwise, the action called for is the issuance of the proposed license to DCS with conditions to protect environmental values. The NRC staff in the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards are currently completing the safety review of DCS' construction authorization request. The final decision is currently scheduled for the Spring of 2005. Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of December, 2004. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Scott C. Flanders, Deputy Director, Environmental and Performance Assessment Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. 05-2137 Filed 2-3-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 16 NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding FR Doc 05-2138 [Federal Register: February 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 23)] [Notices] [Page 6047] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr04fe05-131] of No Significant Impact for License Amendment for Genzyme Biosurgery's Facility in Ridgefield, NJ AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of availability. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy Dolce Modes, Materials Security & Industrial Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406, telephone (610) 337-5251, fax (610) 337-5269; or by e-mail: KAD@NRC.GOV [KAD@NRC.GOV] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a license amendment to Genzyme Biosurgery for Materials License No. 29-23308-01, to authorize release of its facility in Ridgefield, New Jersey for unrestricted use. NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of this action in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR part 51. Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate. The amendment will be issued following the publication of this notice. II. EA Summary The purpose of the action is to authorize the release of the licensee's Ridgefield, New Jersey facility for unrestricted use. Genzyme Biosurgery was authorized by NRC from December 23, 1983, to use radioactive materials for research and development purposes at the site. On June 4, 2004, Genzyme Biosurgery requested that NRC release the facility for unrestricted use. Genzyme Biosurgery has conducted surveys of the facility and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that the site meets the license termination criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for unrestricted use. The NRC staff has prepared an EA in support of the license amendment. The facility was remediated and surveyed prior to the licensee requesting the license amendment. The NRC staff has reviewed the information and final status survey submitted by Genzyme Biosurgery. Based on its review, the staff has determined that there are no additional remediation activities necessary to complete the proposed action. Therefore, the staff considered the impact of the residual radioactivity at the facility and concluded that since the residual radioactivity meets the requirements in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20, a Finding of No Significant Impact is appropriate. III. Finding of No Significant Impact The staff has prepared the EA (summarized above) in support of the license amendment to terminate the license and release the facility for unrestricted use. The NRC staff has evaluated Genzyme Biosurgery's request and the results of the surveys and has concluded that the completed action complies with the criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20. The staff has found that the environmental impacts from the action are bounded by the impacts evaluated by NUREG-1496, Volumes 1-3, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed Facilities'' (ML042310492, ML042320379, and ML042330385). On the basis of the EA, the NRC has concluded that the environmental impacts from the action are expected to be insignificant and has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the action. IV. Further Information Documents related to this action, including the application for the license amendment and supporting documentation, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html] . From this site, you can access the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the documents related to this notice are: Environmental Assessment (ADAMS Accession No. ML050270048), ``Report of the Decommissioning of the Genzyme Biosurgery Research and Development Laboratories for the Purpose of Surrendering the Company's Radioactive Materials License'' included with the licensee's letter dated June 4, 2004 (ADAMS Accession No. ML041800154) and additional information dated October 15, 2004 (ADAMS Accession No. ML042990427). Please note that on October 25, 2004, the NRC terminated public access to ADAMS and initiated an additional security review of publicly available documents to ensure that potentially sensitive information is removed from the ADAMS database accessible through the NRC's Web site. Interested members of the public may obtain copies of the referenced documents for review and/or copying by contacting the Public Document Room pending resumption of public access to ADAMS. The NRC Public Documents Room is located at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, MD, and can be contacted at (800) 397-4209, (301) 415-4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov [pdr@nrc.gov] . Dated in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania this 27th day of January, 2005. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. James P. Dwyer, Chief, Commercial and R Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I. [FR Doc. 05-2138 Filed 2-3-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 17 Las Vegas RJ: ENERGY: Enron scams may precede crunch Friday, February 04, 2005 Sierra Pacific Resources official again pushes to have contracts voided By GENE JOHNSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SEATTLE -- Disgraced energy giant Enron Corp. was running scams to drive up the cost of power years before the West Coast energy crunch, audio transcripts and documents unveiled Thursday by a small public utility district north of Seattle show. It's the first evidence that Enron appears to have been honing its fraudulent schemes well before the power crisis of 2000-01, when rolling blackouts darkened California as the company made at least $1.6 billion. By November 1997, Enron apparently knew of loopholes in California's ill-advised deregulation plan, and by May 1998 -- a month after the plan took effect -- Enron was already falsifying transmission schedules to inflate prices, Snohomish County PUD officials said. One of the transcribed conversations highlights a scheme that involved a 50-megawatt plant in Las Vegas. Michael Yackira, chief financial officer for Sierra Pacific Resources, said the new information shows that the power supply contracts between Nevada Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Power Co. should be voided. "If this indeed shows that they were manipulating the market before we entered into contracts with them, then it calls into question the validity of the contracts at all," Yackira said. Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power hope to invalidate the contracts, because that would mean that Enron Corp. isn't entitled to termination payments totaling about $300 million. A federal judge in New York has returned a $336 million summary judgment in favor of Enron and its creditors to bankruptcy court for a trial. Also, the Nevada companies are appealing an earlier decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission not to overturn the contract with Enron as well as contracts with other suppliers. Yackira said Enron has been losing the battle "in the court of public opinion," but he did not know what affect, if any, public opinion will have on court and regulatory proceedings. The Snohomish investigation underscores the Nevada utilities' position. "Enron should not profit from its wrongdoing," he said. "It's that simple." In one scheme, believed to have been nicknamed "Project Stanley" in honor of the Stanley Cup hockey trophy, Enron traders in Alberta conspired with other companies to artificially inflate energy prices in Canada in 1999. References to "Project Stanley" were discovered on former Enron Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling's calendar on at least two dates, and recorded phone conversations between project leader John Lavorato and Portland, Ore.-based Enron trader Tim Belden show they knew it was illegal. Belden has since pleaded guilty to charges of involvement in fraudulent trading schemes. Enron collapsed in the fall of 2001 after its extensive misdeeds surfaced. Skilling, ex-Chairman Kenneth Lay and former top accountant Rick Causey are scheduled to face trial in Houston in September. PUD lawyers filed the evidence with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this week. Some of the most damning evidence arises from taped phone conversations involving Enron traders. Traders typically record conversations as a way of keeping track of oral contracts. One transcribed conversation reveals that Enron and the Las Vegas plant, LV Cogen, conspired to take the plant off line on Jan. 17, 2001 -- the same day rolling blackouts hit an estimated 1 million customers in California. A subsidiary of Enron owned the plant at the time, but the Enron subsidiary sold the plant to a subsidiary of Black Hills Corp. of Rapid City, S.D., in a deal that closed later that year. Taking the plant off line was in direct violation of an order by U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson requiring generators to send their energy to California. In the conversation late on Jan. 16 that year, an Enron worker identified as Bill told a plant worker identified as Rich not to take notes because "this is going to be a word-of-mouth kind of thing." Bill: "Ah, we want you guys to get a little creative." Rich: "OK." Bill: "And come up with a reason to go down." Rich: "OK." Bill: "Anything you want to do over there? Any ..." Rich: "Ah ..." Bill: "Cleaning, anything like that?" Rich: "Yeah, yeah. There's some stuff we could be doing." The plant went off line, compounding California's crisis. Enron spokeswoman Jennifer Lowney said only that the company is cooperating with federal investigations. Review-Journal writer John G. Edwards contributed to this report. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal ***************************************************************** 18 Platts: U.S. nuclear generation set record in 2004, NEI says [The McGraw-Hill Companies] + U.S. nuclear plants had record output and stable costs in 2004 according to preliminary data, the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) said today. U.S. plants generated a record 786.5-million megawatt-hours (MWH) in 2004, breaking the 2002 record of 780-million MWH, NEI said. In a presentation to Wall Street analysts in New York City, NEI President/CEO Joe Colvin said NEI's figures put the 2004 average net capacity factor at 90.6%, trailing only the 91.9% achieved in 2002 and the 90.7% in 2001. The slightly lower capacity factor, despite the higher output, occurred because nuclear operators nationwide have been uprating their units to squeeze more power out of them. Colvin also introduced his designated successor, Adm. Frank L. "Skip" Bowman, who urged the audience to analyze nuclear power "factually and unemotionally." Washington (Platts)--3Feb2005 Copyright © 2005 - Platts, All Rights Reserved [The McGraw-Hill Companies] ***************************************************************** 19 Platts: Duane Arnold nuclear plant owners to sell station in auction [The McGraw-Hill Companies] + The 583-MW Duane Arnold nuclear power plant is to be put up for sale in a competitive auction, its owners said Thursday. All three stakeholders in the Iowa plant--Interstate Power and Light Co, Central Iowa Power Cooperative and Corn Belt Power Cooperative--will sell their stakes after Interstate convinced the other two to join it in disposing of the plant. Interstate, an Alliant Energy Corp unit, said Dec 22, 2004 it wanted to sell its stake in the plant. The co-owners hope to agree a deal with the winning bidder by June 30. Concentric Energy Advisors has been retained to serve as the auction manager and financial advisor. The deal "allows CIPCO the chance to re-evaluate our long-term power supply portfolio and may offer a viable opportunity to further optimize our generation mix," CEO Dennis Murdock said. "By participating in the process, Corn Belt will keep abreast of the options open for its share of the Duane Arnold Energy Center, which will ultimately hold down costs for our member cooperatives," its General Manager Dale Arends said. This story was originally published in Platts Electricity Alert http://www.electricityalert.platts.com Washington (Platts)--4Feb2005 Copyright © 2005 - Platts, All Rights Reserved [The McGraw-Hill Companies] ***************************************************************** 20 toledoblade.com: Detroit Edison restarts Fermi II after leak repair Friday, February 04, 2005 Article published Friday, February 4, 2005 By TOM HENRY [thenry@theblade.com] BLADE STAFF WRITER NEWPORT, Mich. - Fermi II was restarted Wednesday night and is expected to be back at full power this weekend, a Detroit Edison official said. John Austerberry, a spokesman for the utility, said the reactor at the Monroe County nuclear plant, about 30 miles north of Toledo, slowly increased its power-generating capacity yesterday. The plant was expected to be producing electricity last night, he said. Jan Strasma, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman, said there were no complications with restart. Fermi II was shut down manually Jan. 24 because of unexplained leakage in its radioactive containment area, which houses the nuclear reactor. Within hours, Detroit Edison ruled out the possibility of a potentially dangerous accident involving radioactive coolant that passes through the reactor. Tests of collected samples showed the leakage stemmed from a nonradioactive, secondary cooling loop that passes through the containment area, but not the reactor. Upon further examination, the utility pinpointed the leak to a gasket on one of 14 containment air coolers. Those coolers work like air conditioners to help keep air inside the containment area from getting too hot. Detroit Edison ended up doing maintenance work on five of the 14 coolers, even though only one was known to be leaking, Mr. Austerberry said. Records showed that gaskets in those five chillers each had the same type of sealant applied to them at various intervals between 1988 and 1996. Rather than wait to see if problems would occur with the other four coolers, the utility went ahead and serviced all five, he said. "We suspect the sealant might have contributed to the problem," Mr. Austerberry said. The NRC has no evidence the gasket sealant in question has caused widespread problems in the industry, Mr. Strasma said. All 14 coolers were inspected. No problems were detected on the nine that had other adhesives, he said. 2005 The Blade. The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660 , (419) 724-6000 ***************************************************************** 21 JOURNAL NEWS: NRC seeks public comment on guideline changes By THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: February 4, 2005) The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is accepting public comment on three proposals that would guide how nuclear power plant operators apply for license renewals. The draft documents are intended to clarify the NRC's expectations of what information should be provided in renewal applications, taking into account agency analyses of the effects of aging on power plants. The licenses for the Indian Point 2 and Indian Point 3 power plants in Buchanan expire in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Indian Point 2 is 31 years old and Indian Point 3 is 29. The NRC documents may be found at: www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/guidance/updated -guidance.html [http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/guidance /updated-guidance.html] . Public comments will be accepted through March 30 and should be addressed to: Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C., 20555-0001. Comments also may be e-mailed to NRCREP@nrc.gov [NRCREP@nrc.gov] . A public workshop on the documents will be held March 2 from 8 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. at NRC headquarters, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Md. Home [http://www.thejournalnews.com] -Business Copyright 2005 The Journal News, a Gannett Co [http://www.gannett.com/] . Inc. newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties in New York. Service [http://www.thejournalnews.com/include/terms.html] (updated 12/17/2002) ***************************************************************** 22 Hudson Valley News: Indian Point wants to present its case to Ulster County lawmakers Friday, February 4, 2005 Copyright © 2004 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide News Network, Inc. Officials of Entergy, the company that owns the Indian Point nuclear power plants in Westchester County, would like an opportunity to talk about the facilities with members of the Ulster County Legislature. On Wednesday night, a member of the Westchester County Legislature who is opposed to Indian Point, addressed a committee of the Ulster Legislature, stating his case against the plants and their impact on Ulster, should they have a problem. Indian Point spokesman James Steets yesterday said he would like to present their side. I think if Im given the opportunity to discuss how well protected Indian Point is, that there is no need to worry in Ulster County, for sure, about Indian Point; how important Indian Point is in providing clean electricity, that replacing it will only bring toxic air emissions from fossil fuel burning plants, he said. Ulster County Legislature Chairman Richard Gerentine Tuesday night said before he make up his mind one way or the other regarding Indian Point, he would want to hear Entergys side of the story. Steets and Gerentine talked later yesterday and may work out a briefing from officials of the nuclear plants. HEAR today's news on MidHudsonRadio.com [http://www.midhudsonradio.com] , the Hudson Valley's only Internet radio news report. ***************************************************************** 23 NRC: NRC Announces New Senior Resident Inspector at Point Beach Nuclear Power Station News Release - Region III - 2005-00 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III No. III-05-004 February 4, 2005 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov [opa3@nrc.gov] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has assigned Robert G. Krsek as the senior resident inspector at the Point Beach Nuclear Plant located in Two Creeks, Wisconsin. Before his assignment to Point Beach, Krsek had worked as the senior resident inspector at the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Station in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, the resident inspector at the Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Michigan, and as a fuel cycle safety inspector in the NRCs Region III Office in Lisle, Illinois. Prior to joining the NRC, he worked in the Air and Radiation Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as a health physics technician at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Krsek holds a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Krsek, his wife and four children live in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Krsek joins Michael Morris the current resident inspector at the Point Beach nuclear plant. Point Beach resident inspectors can be reached at (920) 755-2309. Each U.S. commercial nuclear power plant has at least two NRC resident inspectors. They serve as the agencys eyes and ears at the facility, conducting regular inspections, monitoring significant work activities and interfacing with plant workers and the public. Last revised Friday, February 04, 2005 ***************************************************************** 24 NRC: Note to Editors: NRC to Conduct FY2006 Budget Briefing Feb. 7 in Rockville, Maryland News Release - 2005-02 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 05-021 February 3, 2005 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct a briefing for interested reporters on its budget for Fiscal Year 2006 (Oct. 1, 2005, to Sept. 30, 2006) on Monday, Feb. 7, at 4:00 p.m. at 11555 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Md. The FY 2006 budget provides the necessary resources for the agency to carry out its mission regulating the safe and secure use and management of radioactive materials for the public good. Jesse L. Funches, the agencys Chief Financial Officer, will lead the budget presentation in the Press Room 1F22 of the One White Flint North Building located across the street from the Metro Red Lines White Flint Station. Immediately following the presentation will be a question and answer session. Reporters planning to attend the briefing are asked to notify the Office of Public Affairs in advance. A limited number of copies of the agencys budget (NUREG-1100, Volume 21) are available from the Office of Public Affairs by calling 301-415-8200. The document also will be available Feb. 7 on NRCs Web site at http://www.nrc.gov at the Plans, Budget, and Performance link in the bottom right-hand corner of the Web page or may be purchased from the Government Printing Office by calling 202-512-1800. Last revised Thursday, February 03, 2005 ***************************************************************** 25 NRC: NRC Restores Web-Based Access to Online Library News Release - 2005-02 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 05-022 February 4, 2005 access tool. On Oct. 25 the NRC suspended public access to the ADAMS online library and some other parts of its Web site to review documents and remove any that could reasonably be expected to aid a potential terrorist. As previously announced, the agency has already restored non-sensitive documents in several categories, including those pertaining to reactors and selected hearings, and allowed access to parts of ADAMS by using Citrix software. Now users may access documents directly from the NRC Web site, rather than only through Citrix. This Web-based ADAMS, which was initially available in January 2003, features basic and advanced search options for users to search and retrieve files of publicly available documents. Although links to some documents in ADAMS are not active yet, we expect to restore them soon. The NRC continues its review to restore non-sensitive documents to its Web site. Last revised Friday, February 04, 2005 ***************************************************************** 26 ABQjournal: High Levels of Uranium Found in Private Wells the Albuquerque Journal newspaper. Friday, February 4, 2005 Albuquerque Journal--> By Adam Rankin Journal Staff Writer Many private drinking water wells in Pojoaque, Nambé and Tesuque have high levels of naturally occurring uranium, in many cases well above federal standards. Of the 447 water samples collected last summer and fall, about half exceed the 30 parts per billion drinking water standard. Of the samples that exceeded the standard, about 10 percent were 10 times more than the limit or higher. "We got some that were 100 times the standard, actually more than that, one was about 300 times the standard," said Steve Wust, hydrologist for Santa Fe County, which helped organize the testing. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that total uranium levels above 30 parts per billion increase the risk of kidney failure from chemical toxicity and the risk of potential carcinogenic effects from uranium's radioactive decay. "I knew there was uranium around, but I was surprised to see both how many there were (above the standard) and how high they were," Wust said, adding that results are still being interpreted and mapped. He said all residents who supplied water for testing have been notified of the results and which constituents are above safe drinking water standards. The water samples were collected at a series of water fairs in Nambé and Tesuque and two in Pojoaque, then tested with the cooperation of the state Environment Department and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Wust said the county, LANL's Water Research Technical Assistance Office and NMED are planning to hold a public meeting in Pojoaque, possibly in April, to explain the results and the long-term health risks. The uranium is a naturally occurring element in much of the area's deep, underlying basement igneous and metamorphic rock, as well as in volcanic tuff found closer to the surface, Wust said. The highest readings were from water taken nearest the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, where the basement rock is closest to the surface, he said. Uranium wasn't the primary concern going into the sampling, which was set up to evaluate the potential need for a regional waste-water treatment facility, he said. "We expected to see that if we were getting contamination from septic tanks that we should see a lot of nitrate; we didn't see much nitrate at all, but we did see a lot of uranium," Wust said. The area affected is under consideration for a $280 million regional water supply system as part of the 1966 Aamodt water-rights case now in settlement negotiations. Non-Indian and commercial water users in an area that stretches from Tesuque to Pojoaque would be required to disconnect their wells and transfer their water rights to a private, nonprofit regional water agency in exchange for treated water service. But non-Indian residents in the area have voiced significant opposition to the idea of capping their private wells. Wust said people have expressed concerns that one of his recommendations for solving the uranium problem is to build a regional water supply system, such as the one proposed through the Aamodt settlement. "This is not an endorsement or even a comment (on Aamodt), it is just a technical conclusion about one way to handle natural contaminants in water," he said. Other solutions include residential treatment units that use reverse osmosis, distillation or anion exchange. Copyright Albuquerque Journal ***************************************************************** 27 Bellona: Two last Oscar-I Russian nuclear subs have been scrapped Zvezdochka shipyard completed dismantling of the two Oscar-I nuclear submarines sponsored by the UK. 2005-02-04 14:21 The specialists of the Zvezdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk have completed dismantling of the two Oscar-I nuclear submarines, project 949, K-206 Murmansk and K-525 Arkhangelsk. The German company RWE NUKEM, operator of the project, confirmed the completion of the project which was financed by the Great Britain, which allocated $15 m total for the project. The empty reactor compartments have been already shipped to the temporary storage facility in Sayda Bay on the Kola Peninsula. Sevmash started dismantling of these submarines one year ago, Interfax reported on January 19. The Design Bureau Rubin in St Petersburg developed the Oscar-I class submarines. Originally, it was planned to build 20 nuclear submarines of this type, but in reality only two were constructed as an upgraded 949A project was developed instead. The two submarines, K-525 and K-206, were both assigned to the Northern Fleet and having their home base in Bolshaya Lopatka, Zapadnaya Litsa Bay on the Kola Peninsula. K-525 was commissioned in 1980, and K-206 in 1981. Both submarines had been waiting for dismantling from 1998 till January 2004 in Severodvinsk. Publisher: Bellona Foundation [bellona@bellona.no] , President: Frederic Hauge [frederic@bellona.no] Information: info@bellona.no [info@bellona.no] , Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no [webmaster@bellona.no] Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 28 BBC: Gibraltar sub visit angers Spain Last Updated: Friday, 4 February, 2005 [HMS Sceptre in Gibraltar] HMS Sceptre is expected to stay in dock for six days A UK nuclear submarine, HMS Sceptre, has docked in Gibraltar for repairs, prompting protests from Spain. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said he had asked the UK that no more nuclear submarines be sent to the Rock for maintenance work. Visits by UK submarines have been a cause of concern for Spain - especially since HMS Tireless needed repairs to a pipe near its nuclear reactor in 2000. Madrid wants the Rock returned to Spain but Gibraltarians want to stay British. Last year marked 300 years of UK rule of the Rock. HMS Sceptre arrived in Gibraltar, at the southern tip of Spain, on Thursday. Request Mr Moratinos told Spanish television the visit could not be compared to the almost year-long stay by HMS Tireless, when there were fears the damage could cause a leak and contaminate the environment. "The breakdown is purely in the diesel engine's cooling systems," he said. "That is to say - and I wish to clarify this - it is not in the submarine's nuclear system. "We have asked that no more nuclear submarines be given repairs for this kind of breakdown in future, whatever their nature or scale, and for us in future to be able to restore calm in our co-operation with the United Kingdom, which we want to be as fruitful as possible." A UK Ministry of Defence spokesman said HMS Sceptre had been scheduled to stop in Gibraltar and was taking the opportunity to carry out repairs on its water cooling system in the diesel room. "There is no question of any nuclear repairs or nuclear safety issues," he told the BBC News website. The UK Foreign Office refused to comment on the contents of the conversation between Mr Moratinos and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. The submarine is due to leave Gibraltar on 9 February. ***************************************************************** 29 [epa-impact] Duke Cogema Stone and Webster's Proposed Mixed Oxide Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2005 11:22:25 -0500 (EST) http://epa.gov/EPA-IMPACT/2005/February/Day-04/ ======================================================================= [Federal Register: February 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 23)] [Notices] [Page 6047-6049] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr04fe05-132] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 70-3098] Duke Cogema Stone and Webster's Proposed Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility; Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of availability of final environmental impact statement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Blevins, Senior Project Manager, Environmental and Performance Assessment Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 415-7684; e-mail: mxb6@nrc.gov. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory [[Page 6048]] Commission (NRC) is issuing a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the proposed construction and operation of a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The FEIS is being issued as part of the NRC's decision-making process on whether to authorize Duke Cogema Stone & Webster (DCS), a contractor of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to construct and operate the proposed MOX fuel fabrication facility (MOX facility). The proposed MOX facility would convert depleted uranium dioxide and weapons-grade plutonium dioxide into MOX fuel. The FEIS discusses the purpose and need for the proposed MOX facility, and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action, including the no-action alternative. The FEIS also discusses the environment potentially affected by the proposal, presents and compares the potential environmental impacts resulting from the proposed action and its alternatives, and identifies mitigation measures that could eliminate or lessen the potential environmental impacts. The FEIS is being issued as part of the NRC's decision-making process on whether to authorize DCS to begin construction of the proposed MOX facility. The FEIS will also be relevant to any later decision on whether to authorize DCS to operate the MOX facility. Based on the evaluation in the FEIS, the NRC environmental review staff have concluded that the proposed action will generally have small effects on the public and existing environment. This FEIS reflects the final analysis of environmental impacts of DCS's proposal and its alternatives including the consideration of public comments received by the NRC. In addition, the FEIS provides summaries of the substantive public comments on the draft EIS, and responses, as appropriate. Several pages in the FEIS have been removed from public access based on the additional security reviews that the NRC initiated on October 25, 2004. The material on these pages is being withheld pursuant to 10 CFR 2.390(a).\1\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ Please note that the MOX proceeding is governed by the old 10 CFR Part 2 provisions. Under the old regulation, the material being withheld is in accordance with 10 CFR 2.790(a). ADDRESSES: The NRC maintains an Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. The FEIS and its appendices may be accessed through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http:// www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800- 397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Please note that on October 25, 2004, the NRC suspended public access to ADAMS, and initiated an additional security review of publicly available documents to ensure that potentially sensitive information is removed from the ADAMS database accessible through the NRC's Web site. Pending resumption of public access to ADAMS, interested members of the public may obtain copies of the referenced documents that have undergone security screening by contacting the Public Document Room at the above phone number. The FEIS is also available for inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room, U.S. NRC's Headquarters Building, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Upon written request and to the extent supplies are available, a single copy of the FEIS can be obtained for a fee by writing to the Office of the Chief Information Officer, Reproduction and Distribution Services Section, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; by electronic mail at DISTRIBUTION@nrc.gov; or by fax at (301) 415-2289. A selected group of documents associated with the MOX facility may also be obtained from the Internet on NRC's MOX facility Web page: http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/mox/licensing.html (case sensitive). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In January 2000, the DOE issued a Record of Decision pertaining to its surplus plutonium disposition program and the DOE's 1999 EIS related to this program (65 FR 1608). The fundamental purpose of the DOE program is to ensure that plutonium produced for nuclear weapons and declared excess to national security needs is converted to forms that are inaccessible and unattractive for use in nuclear weapons. The FEIS for the proposed MOX facility was prepared by the staff of the NRC and its contractor, Argonnne National Laboratory, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the NRC's regulations for implementing NEPA (10 CFR part 51). The proposed action involves a decision by NRC of whether to authorize DCS to construct and later operate the proposed MOX facility at the Savannah River Site to convert surplus weapons plutonium into MOX fuel. If approved by the NRC, the proposed MOX facility would be built in the F-Area of the DOE's Savannah River Site (SRS). Feedstock (surplus plutonium dioxide and depleted uranium dioxide) would have to be transported to SRS to make the MOX fuel. To support operation of the proposed MOX facility, two other new facilities would have to be built by the DOE at the SRS. Infrastructure upgrades, such as construction waste transfer pipelines, electric utility line realignment, and addition of access roads, would also be required. Any MOX fuel made at the proposed MOX facility would be transported to mission reactors, where it would be irradiated. The NRC published a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed MOX facility, and to conduct a scoping process, in the Federal Register on March 7, 2001 (66 FR 13794). NRC staff subsequently held scoping meetings, and issued a Scoping Summary Report in August 2001. In April 2002, DOE issued an amended Record of Decision changing its planned approach for surplus weapons plutonium disposition (67 FR 19432). On August 22, 2002, the NRC announced public meetings to discuss changes in DCS Environmental Report (ER) that resulted from changes in DOE's plans (67 FR 54501). The meetings were held on September 17, 2002, in Savannah, Georgia, September 18, 2002, in Augusta, Georgia, and September 19, 2002, in Charlotte, North Carolina. On June 20, 2003, DCS submitted Revision 3 of its ER, and on August 13, 2003, DCS submitted Revision 4 of its ER, and on June 10, 2004, DCS submitted Revision 5 of its ER. These revisions are summarized in Appendix J of the FEIS. The FEIS describes the proposed action, and alternatives to the proposed action, including the no-action alternative. The FEIS discussion of the no-action alternative evaluates the environmental impacts of the continued storage of surplus plutonium in various DOE locations nationwide, in the event NRC decides not to approve the proposed MOX facility. Alternatives considered but not analyzed in detail include alternate locations for the proposed MOX facility in the F-Area, alternative technology and design options, immobilization of surplus plutonium instead of producing MOX fuel, deliberately making off-specification MOX fuel, and the Parallex Project, the latter of which involves irradiating the MOX fuel in Canadian Deuterium-Natural Uranium Reactors. Additionally, the FEIS compares the impacts of using high-efficiency [[Page 6049]] particulate air filters to the impacts of using sand filters for removal of particulate air emissions. After weighing the impacts, costs, and benefits of the proposed action and comparing alternatives (see Chapter 4 of the FEIS), the NRC staff, in accordance with 10 CFR 51.91(d), sets forth its final NEPA recommendation regarding the proposed action. The NRC staff recommends that, unless safety issues mandate otherwise, the action called for is the issuance of the proposed license to DCS with conditions to protect environmental values. The NRC staff in the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards are currently completing the safety review of DCS' construction authorization request. The final decision is currently scheduled for the Spring of 2005. Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 21st day of December, 2004. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Scott C. Flanders, Deputy Director, Environmental and Performance Assessment Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. 05-2137 Filed 2-3-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ------------------------------------------ Comments: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/comments.htm Search: http://epa.gov/fedreg/search.htm EPA's Federal Register: http://epa.gov/fedreg/ ------------------------------------------ You are currently subscribed to epa-impact as: NEWS@energy-net.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to leave-epa-impact-46782Y@lists.epa.gov OR: Use the listserver's web interface at https://lists.epa.gov/read/all_forums/ to manage your subscription. For problems with this list, contact epa-impact-Owner@lists.epa.gov ------------------------------------------ ***************************************************************** 30 NRC: Application for a License To Export High-Enriched Uranium FR Doc 05-2134 [Federal Register: February 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 23)] [Notices] [Page 6045-6046] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr04fe05-129] Pursuant to 10 CFR 110.70(b)(2) ``Public notice of receipt of an application,'' please take notice that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received the following request for an export license. Copies of the request can be accessed through the Public Electronic Reading Room (PERR) link http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html] at the NRC Homepage. A request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene may be filed within 30 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Any request for hearing or petition for leave to intervene shall be served by the requestor or petitioner upon the applicant, the Office [[Page 6046]] of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555; the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; and the Executive Secretary, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520. In its review of the application for a license to export special nuclear material as defined in 10 CFR Part 110 and noticed herein, the Commission does not evaluate the health, safety or environmental effects in the recipient nation of the material to be exported. The information concerning the application follows. NRC Export License Application for High-Enriched Uranium ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- Name of applicant Date of application Date received Material type End use Country of destination Application number Docket number ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- DOE/NNSA--Y12....................... High-Enriched Uranium.. To fabricate targets Canada. September 7, 2004................... for irradiation in the September 24, 2004.................. National Research XSNM03369........................... Universal (NRU) 11005512............................ Reactor to produce medical isotopes ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Dated this 24 day of January, 2005, at Rockville, Maryland. Margaret M. Doane, Deputy Director, Office of International Programs. [FR Doc. 05-2134 Filed 2-3-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-M ***************************************************************** 31 NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Meeting on Planning and FR Doc 05-2135 [Federal Register: February 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 23)] [Notices] [Page 6049] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr04fe05-133] Procedures; Notice of Meeting The Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) will hold a Planning and Procedures meeting on February 23, 2005, Room T-2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The entire meeting will be open to public attendance, with the exception of a portion that may be closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(2) and (6) to discuss organizational and personnel matters that relate solely to internal personnel rules and practices of ACNW, and information the release of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: Wednesday, February 23, 2005--8:30 a.m.-10 a.m. The Committee will discuss proposed ACNW activities and related matters. The purpose of this meeting is to gather information, analyze relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee. Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements and/or written comments should notify the Designated Federal Official, Mr. Michael P. Lee (Telephone: (301) 415-6887) between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (e.t.) five days prior to the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Electronic recordings will be permitted only during those portions of the meeting that are open to the public. Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by contacting the Designated Federal Official between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (e.t.). Persons planning to attend this meeting are urged to contact the above named individual at least two working days prior to the meeting to be advised of any potential changes in the agenda. Dated: January 27, 2005. John H. Flack, Acting Branch Chief, ACRS/ACNW. [FR Doc. 05-2135 Filed 2-3-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 32 Las Vegas SUN: Guinn asks for Yucca documents Letter sent to Energy Department By Suzanne Struglinski SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Gov. Kenny Guinn wants the Energy Department to recognize Congress's requirement that the state receive all information pertaining to the planned nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, he told the new energy secretary. The department has denied a Freedom of Information Act request and an appeal filed by attorneys working for the state to get the repository's draft license application and other documents, said Joe Egan, one of the state's attorneys. The information will be useful for Nevada to understand more about the department's work, he said. Guinn sent a letter to new Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman demanding the department give the state a copy of the draft application, the Total System Performance Assessment, which shows how all the elements of the project work to isolate the waste, information on software used to produce results and a document on tornado analyses. Guinn argues the Nuclear Waste Policy Act gives Nevada, as the host state for the proposed repository, a "unique posture giving it special access" to any information or plans made on the development, design, licensing and construction of the repository. The law requires the department to give Nevada complete information at the governor's request. "As we approach the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing proceedings for the Yucca Mountain facility, Nevada's need for the timely and complete disclosure of information has become acute," Guinn said in his letter to Bodman. "Accordingly, in my judgment, it is particularly appropriate now for me to exercise the authority given to me by Congress." Guinn gave the department a 30-day deadline to get the documents to Bob Loux, executive director of Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects. Egan said he wants the draft application to compare to the final application, if the department completes one. "We want to know what they changed and why," he said. He also wants to check if the department is satisfying additional questions posed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on its answers to the 293 Key Technical Issues. The department and the commission agreed the issues, known as KTIs, needed more information or clarification. The department finished answering all the questions at the end of last year and now the commission is reviewing them. Egan said the department has told the commission in some cases that it will answer certain requests for more information in the license application. Egan said the draft would be a "road map" for all the areas the department is not following the rules, which could lead to more arguments once or if the licensing hearing begins. ***************************************************************** 33 Las Vegas SUN: Congressman pushes Yucca action By Suzanne Struglinski SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department needs to get moving on shipping nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain if the country is serious about national security, a key lawmaker said Thursday. Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, who heads the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, said the department is "dragging its feet" on the proposed repository at Yucca, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "If we are truly concerned about terrorists getting their hands on nuclear material and creating a dirty bomb, we would not be so complacent about leaving spent nuclear fuel stored at reactor sites scattered throughout the country," Hobson said at a meeting of the Arms Control Association. "Circumstances have forced a change in our priorities and minimizing the number of storage sites is now a serious security requirement. We need to get on with completing Yucca Mountain," said Hobson, whose committee writes the Energy Department's budget bill. Some repository supporters have pushed the national security side of moving waste to Nevada more since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Their reasoning is that leaving used fuel at 103 nuclear reactors across the country leaves too many terrorists targets while moving the waste to one location would be better. Hobson said the country needs to do more domestically and internationally to secure nuclear materials, but the department is moving too slow in consolidating its own materials. He part of the reason for the delay is Nevada Sen. Harry Reid opposition to the program and his position in the Senate. Reid is now the Senate's Minority Leader and the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee that writes the energy budget. He sarcastically described conferences between the House and Senate on funding the project as "the fun time of year." Yucca critics, including the congressional delegation, stress that shipping waste across roads and rails just provides moving targets for terrorists and the threat of accidents as well. Some critics deem shipping containers "Mobile Chernobyls" and points to a lack of tests and national planning to move the waste. Critics also point to the fact the as long as nuclear power plants continue to operate, waste will still be generated and stored on site because it all cannot be moved to Yucca at once, so putting waste in the mountain just creates one more storage site. ***************************************************************** 34 Las Vegas SUN: Report: Nevada making headway in Yucca fight Commission on Nuclear Projects urges legislators to remain vigilant By Suzanne Struglinski SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Nevada should not give up its fight against the proposed nuclear waste storage site at Yucca Mountain and should not negotiate for benefits for accepting spent fuel, the state's Commission on Nuclear Projects said in a report issued this week. The seven-member commission concluded that last year's federal court fight and numerous other problems with the repository put the state in its best position ever to actually defeat the Energy Department's plan to store radioactive waste at Yucca, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, but it needs to keep up its opposition to follow through on its objections. "The commission believes it is only a matter of time before Congress and even the nuclear industry recognize the futility of continuing to invest money and resources in a project that has no chance of succeeding and that has become a financial, technical, legal, and environmental black hole instead of a viable solution to the nuclear waste problem," Commission Chairman Brian McKay wrote in a 39-page report sent to Gov. Kenny Guinn and the state Legislature. Last July a federal appeals court threw out a key radiation protection standard, throwing a wrench into the department's plan for the project. The department did not meet its December 2004 deadline to hand in a license application and many unanswered questions still remain on next steps. The commission wrote the court ruling was a "major victory" for the state, but did not outright stop the project. "While the proposed Southern Nevada high-level nuclear waste repository may be in the category of a 'dead man walking,' much remains to be done in the next two years to assure that the state does, in fact, prevail," the commission wrote. It recommended the governor, Legislature and the congressional delegation continue to actively fight the project, particularly for the Washington lawmakers to watch out for attempts to change the budget or overturn the court case, and for the Legislature to continue to provide money for the cause. "The commission believes the only thing that can save this failed and dangerous project is for the state to voluntarily give up the fight," according to the report. "That is something Nevada's leaders cannot do because the health and safety of Nevadans must not be for sale, at any price." Some Nevadans feel the waste is coming here, regardless of the state's opposition, and want to start working with the Energy Department to get benefits after the site opens. A Nuclear Energy Institute poll conducted in June showed a large percentage still opposed the site but found 78 percent of those surveyed felt the state should start negotiating for benefits and 48 percent said the site was "inevitable." A 16-member group that calls itself "For a Better Nevada" formed about a month ago and is ready to lobby state officials to make sure the state is getting everything it can from the project. Chris Barrett, a Carson City lobbyist who is coordinating the group, said the group wants Nevada-based businesses and attorneys getting contracts to work on things associated with the project. The group does not lobby for or against the repository, but Barrett said with so many people feeling the site is inevitable, "maybe it's time to start having this discussion" and talk about benefits for the state. He acknowledged the state's court victory but said it was only one of a handful of cases and millions of dollars in legal expenses. "It that a good use of taxpayer dollars? The political leaders have to answer that, not our group," Barrett said. The commission warned Guinn and state lawmakers that any negotiation is the wrong move. "Once the state indicates even a willingness to talk benefits, the battle is over and the state would have capitulated," the report says. "There is nothing to negotiate. No amount of compensation can change the fact that Yucca Mountain is an environmental disaster waiting to happen. The costs and risks to Nevada far exceed any benefits of the project." Former Nevada Gov. Bob List called the report "more of the same and what's to be expected from this particular group." List, who is a paid consultant for the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's main advocacy group said the industry believes the repository can be safe. He said the state's one legal victory is likely to be "addressed and corrected," which could put the project back on track. "I believe, and I think the vast majority of Nevadans believe that the time has come to get realistic here," List said. "The state needs to step up and have its seat at the table. I believe it's going to happen and I believe it is our right to demand benefits for this." List said the program is already bringing significant federal dollars into the state, but it should not stop there. "We should be pursuing opportunities to improve school and roads related to this," List said. He said research on on the project or renewable energy should be done in Nevada and Nevada companies should be providing any services the projects needs. List said the department's work on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the best example that it would keep its promise for any benefits. The department has exceeded its promise, providing more than $300 million to the community. "It should be many multiples of that in Nevada," List said. The governor-appointed, seven-member commission advises the governor and Legislature on waste issues and oversees the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, which is the state's top watchdog of the Yucca Mountain program. The members of the commission are: McKay; Las Vegas Councilman Larry Brown; former Sen. Richard Bryan; Michon Mackedon of Fallon; businessman Steven Molasky of Las Vegas; County Commissioner Myrna Williams; and Paul Workman of Las Vegas. ***************************************************************** 35 Carlsbad Current-Argus: Officials hopeful uranium plant will locate near WIPP [http://www.currentargus.com/] Updated: February 4, 2005 - 04:17:18 By Victoria Parker-Stevens/Current-Argus Staff Writer Feb 4, 2005, 04:15 am CARLSBAD — Local officials and economic development leaders are hopeful a company based in France will consider a site near the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant for construction of a uranium deconversion plant. AREVA Inc. reached an agreement this week with Louisiana Energy Services for possible construction of the plant, the area’s congressional delegation announced Thursday. The plant would handle waste generated at a uranium enrichment facility LES plans to build in Eunice. The state and environmental groups have voiced concerns about the waste remaining in New Mexico since LES proposed the facility a couple of years ago. No location has been selected for the deconversion plant, which would convert the waste into a material that could be disposed of at a low-level waste facility. WIPP only accepts transuranic, not low-level, waste. An application for an operating license for the plant is not expected until 2011. “I hope the plant goes into southeastern New Mexico and that we are able to obtain the jobs from that operation and the construction that will occur from it,” said state Rep. John Heaton, D-Carlsbad, on Thursday. Carlsbad leaders courted LES when it was looking at a site for the enrichment facility, which would refine uranium for nuclear reactors. But there were difficulties with being able to quickly obtain land in the vicinity of WIPP due to federal ownership and leases. Buying a couple of sections of land near WIPP is still on the table, said Mayor Bob Forrest. “We want to develop a nuclear park to put companies out there,” he said, noting because of WIPP, numerous studies of the area have already been done. “We want to take advantage of the expertise we have.” Forrest said it’s also close enough to Eunice that it would be easy to ship materials for enrichment facility spin-offs, like the deconversion plant. Conversations began months ago with one of the companies that make up AREVA. Container manufacturing would be another possibility, especially given the local presence of Washington Group’s Engineered Products Department, which builds containers for the nuclear industry, said Robert Detweiler, Carlsbad Department of Development executive director. “These businesses fit into our strategic plan well,” he said. Southeastern New Mexico’s congressional delegation applauded the memorandum of understanding between LES and AREVA, a nuclear energy services company. “I am tremendously impressed by the LES effort to be a good neighbor in New Mexico,” said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., in a statement. “I have visited one of AREVA’s deconversion facilities in France, and I can tell you that LES has picked an excellent partner.” “The deconversion facility is based on proven technology that will completely eliminate the concerns about the disposal of the NEF byproducts,” said Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., in a statement. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said he has supported the enrichment facility because it will introduce competition into the domestic uranium fuel market, as well as create high technology economic growth. “With this MOU, LES is making a good faith effort to do what it will take to remove the (waste) from New Mexico,” he said, in a statement, noting he supports the possibility of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirement to remove the waste. Copyright © 2004 Carlsbad Current-Argus, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. ***************************************************************** 36 AZ Republic: French firm to clean waste of proposed N.M. uranium plant [azcentral.com] Peter Barnes Associated Press Feb. 4, 2005 08:20 AM ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A consortium hoping to build a uranium enrichment factory in southern New Mexico announced Thursday it has reached an agreement with a French company to build a facility to handle the waste. Areva Inc., a nuclear energy company based in France, and Louisiana Energy Services said they have a memorandum of understanding on construction of a private uranium deconversion plant that would support LES's proposed National Uranium Enrichment Facility near Eunice. Deconversion would change radioactive waste to a material that could be shipped to a low-level nuclear waste dump outside New Mexico, possibly in Texas. Getting rid of the 217,000 tons of depleted uranium the plant could produce over its lifetime has been a major concern of Gov. Bill Richardson and environmental groups, among others. In a prepared statement, Richardson said the agreement announced Thursday represents LES's good faith but added that "it doesn't yet provide the assurance that there will be no long-term storage of waste in New Mexico." The deconversion plant would be built after the LES facility, and the exact site and design of the second plant may not be chosen for years. LES, a consortium of predominantly European backers, wants to build the $1.2 billion plant to refine uranium for nuclear reactors. It first proposed the New Mexico site in August 2003 after encountering significant resistance to proposed sites in Louisiana and Tennessee. Since waste from the plant could not be disposed of anywhere in the United States, officials have pressed for a promise that it will not be left in the state when LES leaves town. Areva has operated a similar plant in France since 1984. Clement said the company has treated about 330,000 tons of waste since then without any serious accidents. LES applied for a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license in December, 2003 for its enrichment plant, which would provide fuel for nuclear power plants through a gas centrifuge process that increases the concentration of the fissionable uranium-235 isotope. A round of hearings surrounding the LES plant's license will begin next week in Hobbs. Water contamination issues and the need for the plant are among the items to be discussed. The NRC would have to issue a separate license for the deconversion facility. Copyright © 2005, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 37 Guardian Unlimited: Mideast, Iran Head Rice Agenda in Europe From the Associated Press [UP] Friday February 4, 2005 9:31 AM AP Photo MDJM101 By ANNE GEARAN AP Diplomatic Writer LONDON (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice thanked British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the United States' closest ally in Iraq, as she held her first meeting Friday with a foreign leader since taking over from Colin Powell as the top American diplomat. Rice and Blair said their 90-minute breakfast meeting at Blair's Downing Street office would cover Iraq, the Middle East and other subjects. Rice thanked Blair for Britain's support in Iraq ``as we work to support the Iraqi people in their quest and most especially ... as we try to bring to the Israelis and the Palestinians a chance for a lasting peace.'' She was to meet later Friday with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. London is the site of a one-day conference in March to help the Palestinian government build democratic institutions. En route to London on Thursday, Rice indicated the United States may take a back seat for now in the international effort to bring Israel and the Palestinians closer to a lasting peace. Rice said she does not plan to attend next week's Middle East summit meeting in Egypt, although she will be close by for talks in Jerusalem and the West Bank. ``Not every effort has to be an American effort,'' Rice said. ``It is extremely important that the parties themselves are taking responsibility. It is extremely important that the regional actors are taking responsibility.'' She said the United States welcomes Egypt's help in hosting the summit and called it one of several hopeful signs for peace. Middle East peace is one of the main topics for Rice's discussions with European leaders over the coming week, as is Iran. She will visit eight European capitals and the Vatican, with a weekend side trip to see the Israeli and Palestinian leaders. In stops in Berlin later Friday and Paris next week, she may run into opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Iran's nuclear ambitions also is expected to be a topic of discussion with Europeans who are trying to head off nuclear weapons development. It is not clear how much international support there is for any potential action against Iran. The Europeans have offered Iran technological and financial support, and have hinted at a trade deal if weapons development stops. The Bush administration has been cool to the European diplomacy, preferring economic sanctions against Iran. In his State of the Union speech Wednesday night, President Bush called Iran ``the world's primary state sponsor of terror.'' At her Senate confirmation hearings last month, Rice said the United States wants ``a regime in Iran that is responsive to concerns that we have about Iran's policies, which are 180 degrees'' antithetical to America's interests. On Thursday, Rice said Iran's approach to human rights and its treatment of its own citizens were loathsome. ``I don't think anybody thinks that the unelected mullahs who run that regime are a good thing for the Iranian people and for the region,'' she said. Iran's supreme leader on Thursday said Bush's policies toward Iran would fail. ``America is like one of the big heads of a seven-headed dragon,'' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in Iran's capital. ``The brains directing it are Zionist and non-Zionist capitalists who brought Bush to power to meet their own interests.'' In her discussion with reporters, Rice said last weekend's election in Iraq vindicates the U.S.-led toppling of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Bush pledged $350 million in aid for the Palestinians in his State of the Union speech. Rice said it was too soon to say how that money would be spent. She issued a veiled rebuke to Arab countries that have lagged behind Europeans and others in financial or other support for Israeli-Palestinian peace or have not acted to quell terrorism. ``Some in the region have not been as generous as they might be,'' Rice said. ``I think it is time for everybody to look deep inside and say, `If we want the Israeli-Palestinian peace to be achieved and sustain momentum, what more can we do?''' Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 38 The New Mexican: LANL agrees to changes in pollution monitoring www.santafenewmexican.com February 4, 2005 When it comes to storm water, Los Alamos National Laboratory must live up to a new set of requirements. The worlds oldest nuclearweapons lab has piles of hazardous waste. When it rains, storm water flows from more than 1,000 hazardouswaste sites, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. On Thursday, the EPA signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to provide onsite protections and monitoring of contamination at Los Alamos. Water discharged at the lab has been regulated under a general permit designed for private industry in the United States. But that permit doesnt fit the Los Alamos situation, said Charles Faultry, chief of water enforcement for the Region 6 EPA in Dallas. Environmental conditions and unique waste concerns at Los Alamos make a custom-designed permit more appropriate, according to DOE and EPA. Based on samples collected at the lab under Thursdays agreement, a new permit will be drafted. As a result, the New Mexico Environment Department will significantly increase surfacewater testing at Los Alamos. This is an opportunity for us to address water-quality issues and concerns at LANL, Ed Wilmot, manager of the Energy Departments office in Los Alamos, said in a news release. How we manage this program is important  to all of us  and the Los Alamos community. Thursdays agreement also helps pave the way for more sweeping changes. By March, the state Environment Department, the Energy Department and the University of California, which operates the lab, are expected to agree to a cleanup schedule for environmental contamination at Los Alamos. Surface water was a problematic piece because New Mexico lacks the authority to enforce water-quality standards at the lab, or anywhere in New Mexico, state Environment Department spokesman Jon Goldstein said. Only the EPA in Dallas has that power. New Mexico Environment Department is now one step closer to moving forward with fence-to-fence cleanup of the entire LANL site, said Ron Curry, state Environment Department secretary. Copyright 2004 Santa Fe New Mexican ***************************************************************** 39 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Judge hears Hanford initiative case [seattlepi.com] Friday, February 4, 2005 By SHANNON DININNY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS YAKIMA -- The state Supreme Court must decide how a Hanford waste initiative should be interpreted before a federal court can rule on the constitutionality of the measure, state lawyers told a federal judge yesterday. It was the latest step in the dispute over Initiative 297, approved by state voters last fall. The measure bars the Energy Department from sending any out-of-state nuclear waste to the Hanford nuclear site until all existing waste there is cleaned up. The federal government has filed suit in federal court seeking to overturn the measure on grounds that it violates federal laws governing nuclear waste and interstate commerce, among other things. "The state strongly believes it's the responsibility of the state court to have the first stab at determining the voters' intent with the statute," state Assistant Attorney General Laura Watson argued in a telephone conference call with U.S. District Judge Alan McDonald. But Kenneth Amaditz, a Justice Department lawyer, said the state has no authority over radioactive waste with regards to safety. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com [newmedia@seattlepi.com] ©1996-2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer ***************************************************************** 40 ABQjournal: LANL Storm Water Runoff Agreement Signed the Albuquerque Journal newspaper. Friday, February 4, 2005 Albuquerque Journal--> By Adam Rankin Journal Staff Writer In a major step toward finalizing a state-ordered "fence-to-fence" cleanup of Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy have signed an agreement that will regulate storm water management at the 43-square-mile nuclear weapons research facility. "By signing this agreement, DOE demonstrates its commitment to work with EPA and New Mexico to protect the state's valuable natural resources," EPA regional administrator Richard E. Greene said in a statement announcing the deal. DOE's site manager at LANL, Ed Wilmot, said the agreement is an opportunity to address water quality and public concerns. "How we manage this program is important— to all of us— and the Los Alamos community," he said. State Environment Department director Ron Curry had said he would not sign a final LANL cleanup consent order— now in the works for more than three years— without a DOE and EPA agreement on monitoring laboratory storm water runoff. Known as a Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement, the deal allows the state Environment Department authority to monitor and report surface water and storm water runoff to EPA, which maintains ultimate authority to penalize LANL and DOE for allowing runoff above federal standards. "Through the agreement signed today, the state of New Mexico will play a strong role in surface water protection at Los Alamos," Curry said. New Mexico is one of a handful of states which lacks authority to regulate surface water discharges, but is working to gain that authority by 2006. State Environment Department spokesman Jon Goldstein said with the compliance agreement signed, the LANL cleanup order should be signed and finalized by the end of March. Copyright Albuquerque Journal ***************************************************************** 41 Las Vegas SUN: Test Site cleanup to include destroying unexploded shells Today: February 04, 2005 at 9:14:27 PST By Jace Radke LAS VEGAS SUN The National Nuclear Security Administration is scheduled during the next three months to detonate and destroy unexploded ammunition and ordinance found on the Nevada Test Site. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection has issued a temporary permit to the NNSA to dispose of the ordinance found at two locations within the Test Site as the government continues its environmental cleanup of the leftover infrastructure from the nation's nuclear testing program. "Our cleanup is ongoing, and its not uncommon for us to find old munitions as we work on these industrial sites across the test site," said Kevin Rohrer, a test site spokesman. In the past decade the Energy Department has identified 1,800 sites within the test site, about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, that are in need of environmental cleanup. The government has cleaned up 1,130 of these sites that have included leech fields, abandoned petroleum tanks, lead acid batteries and scrap metal. "Some are just a few batteries piled together and others are pseudo-landfills on huge-acre sites," Rohrer said. Cleanup is continuing at the two sites where unexploded ordinance was found. One of the sites was previously used as a shooting range for test site security, and the other had been previously used by the military and contains some cluster-bomb fragments, Rohrer said. All the live ammunition will be gathered up and destroyed, Rohrer said. The temporary permit was required from the state because the ordinance will be destroyed on the test site. ***************************************************************** 42 DenverPost.com: Crews begin cleaning up radioactive Flats ponds Published: Friday, February 04, 2005 By Kim McGuire Denver Post Staff Writer Post / John Prieto Work crews are using a filtration system capable of treating about 2 million gallons of water a day to decontaminate this radioactive pond at Rocky Flats. Work crews on Thursday began cleaning up more than 25 million gallons of radioactive pond water discovered at Rocky Flats in November by surprised state health officials. Cleanup managers still aren't sure how the ponds became contaminated with the radioactive element americium but suspect the source of pollution was the nearby Building 771, once considered the most dangerous building in America. That building - which housed the infamous infinity room, a storage area so contaminated with radioactivity that probes couldn't measure it - was demolished in October. "I am really reluctant to pin down a cause and effect, but I can say that we did not see this anomaly until the 771 project was underway," said John Rampe, a Department of Energy scientist. Environmental regulators found the plutonium derivative in the retention ponds at levels four times greater than what the cleanup plan for the former nuclear-trigger plant allows. Trace amounts of plutonium also were found. It was the first time radioactive elements above cleanup levels had been discovered in the ponds, which were designed to prevent the escape of runoff water from the site to downstream communities, including Broomfield and Westminster. Environmental regulators and cleanup managers say that public safety wasn't threatened and that the ponds functioned as they were designed - testing confirms that no radioactive water leaked off-site. More recent tests of the pond water show americium levels below the cleanup threshold, indicating that crews have successfully blocked the source of contamination, Rampe said. To clean up the ponds, crews are using a filtration system that should treat about 2 million gallons of water a day. They expect to be done in a matter of weeks. A spokesman for Kaiser- Hill, the contractor overseeing the $7 billion cleanup at the plant, which for decades made plutonium triggers for nuclear bombs, estimated it would cost between $2 million and $3 million to treat the pond water. Steve Gunderson, Rocky Flats project coordinator for the state Department of Public Health and the Environment, praised Kaiser- Hill for quickly responding to the contamination but urged caution as it proceeds to demolish the remaining buildings. "It should be quite a wake-up call for them," Gunderson said. "While they're taking down the last of these buildings, they've got to make certain that all the underground pathways are cut off." Nearly 40 years' worth of nuclear-weapons production at Rocky Flats left behind a trail of contaminated buildings, soil and water. The government is spending billions of dollars to clean up Rocky Flats, which will be turned into a national wildlife refuge after the task is done in 2006. Those plans have been criticized by some who worry that refuge visitors could be exposed to contamination that will remain on- site. Staff writer Kim McGuire can be reached at 303-820-1240 or kmcguire@denverpost.com [kmcguire@denverpost.com] . All contents Copyright 2005 The Denver Post ***************************************************************** 43 www.GovExec.com: Nuclear security agency needs more scientists, GAO says (2/3/05) DAILY BRIEFING By Kimberly Palmer kpalmer@govexec.com [kpalmer@govexec.com] The National Nuclear Security Administration, a unit of the Energy Department charged with maintaining nuclear weapons, is faced with a shortage of scientists and engineers, according to the Government Accountability Office. Personnel at eight facilities, all operated by contractors, are responsible for nuclear weapons. Over one-third of those workers are close to retirement, the report (GAO-05-164) stated. GAO found that contractors have started focusing more on recruiting new workers, but the facilities still face problems with obtaining timely security clearances and having fewer well-trained applicants. Two facilities, the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, are under contracts with the University of California that will expire Sept. 30, leading to additional questions about workforce continuity. Energy has indicated that it will extend the Lawrence Livermore facility contract. GAO noted that several contractors are taking steps to recruit new workers. For example, Sandia National Laboratories, which is operated by Lockheed Martin Corp., recruits at 22 select colleges and universities, in addition to offering 1,200 student internships. That facility also has a mentoring program and in-house training programs. z Overall, GAO found these efforts to increase hiring have worked. Between fiscal 2000 and 2003, all eight facilities hired about 70 percent more highly skilled workers than retired. "[The facilities] seem to be more focused on the gaps that will be coming along in the future, and are taking measures to try to minimize any shortages," said Elizabeth Erdmann, auditor of the report. Scientists and engineers need to be hired before the older members of the workforce retire, in order to foster institutional knowledge and skill transfers between generations, she said. The report comes on the heels of a survey by the Partnership for Public Service and the National Academy of Public Administration that indicated a governmentwide shortage of scientists and engineers. "Nuclear engineering and science is one of those occupational areas where people are in demand. They're competing for top talent in an environment which is already being pressed in terms of supply," said John Palguta, vice president for policy and research at the Prtnership for Public Service. He added that foreign students are increasingly making up for the declining interest in science among U.S. students, but agencies face restrictions on hiring non-U.S. citizens, especially in the national security field. Workforce planning issues have challenged departments as baby boomers prepare to retire. The Office of Management and Budget highlights human capital management as one of the key initiatives on the President's Management Agenda. All agencies except for OMB have won "green" scores from OMB, indicating they have a comprehensive human capital management plan in place. NNSA's personnel challenges are different than those at other agencies, because much of their workforce comes from private contractors. "One of the reasons they established these contract-operated labs is to bypass civil service requirements," said Richard Cheston, assistant director in the GAO's natural resources and environment unit, which released the report. A higher pay scale makes it easier for the facilities to hire highly skilled workers, he added. If the Los Alamos facility changed hands in September, Cheston said, some of the current benefits would be in question. UC currently gives scientists privileges within the university system than another contractor may not be able to match. "This is an open solicitation, so you might have a for-profit business getting the contract. Fellow scientists might decide this is not what they want and not what they arrived here for," he said. "Our scientists come to the laboratory because of the opportunity to do the kind of work that's here and to be part of the University of California system," said Chris Harrington, a spokesman for the university. NNSA recently withheld a $5 million payment from the university because of mismanagement at Los Alamos. In 2003, GAO criticized the agency for failing to adequately protect nuclear weapons production sites and laboratories and for poor oversight of contractors. NNSA disagreed with the findings of that report. NNSA generally agreed with the findings in Tuesday's report. ***************************************************************** 44 Paducah Sun: Second protest of North Wind Paducah cleanup contract filed - [http://www.paducahsun.com/] Paducah, Kentucky By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com 270.575.8656 Thursday, February 03, 2005 Two more bidders have filed protests this week with the General Accounting Office in the awarding of cleanup contracts at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and its closed sister plant in Piketon, Ohio. PM Tech-CDM Paducah Project is protesting the awarding of a $303 million contract to North Wind Paducah Cleanup Co. on Jan. 10 to work at the Paducah plant through Sept. 30, 2009. Previously, bidder Wastren Inc. of Grand Junction, Colo., filed a similar protest against North Wind, which is replacing Bechtel Jacobs as the plant's lead environmental contractor. "We believe our team provided the best overall-value proposal," said Joe Tarantino, Paducah site manager for CDM Federal Programs. "Beyond that, it's not appropriate to elaborate on the details of the pending legal process." The S.M. Stoller Corp. is protesting the new $141 million contract of LATA-Parallax Portsmouth for cleanup at the Piketon plant, replacing Bechtel Jacobs. Last week, the GAO dismissed a protest by Paducah-based bidder ELR Consultants. CDM Federal, a division of Cambridge, Mass.-based engineering firm Camp Dresser & McKee, is a subcontractor of Bechtel Jacobs at Paducah. PM Tech is a Denver firm that has done cleanup at other U.S. Department of Energy sites. PM Tech and CDM Federal formed a joint venture to bid for the lead contract work. Jeff Miles, press secretary for U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, said Wednesday that another bidder — a joint venture of Portage, Duratek and Shaw environmental firms — was expected to file a protest in the North Wind contract. Other bidders have through Monday to do the same. Whitfield, R-Hopkinsville, is the new chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over DOE. He is watching the protests out of ongoing concerns about cost increases and delays in Paducah plant cleanup. Last Friday, the Energy Department extended Bechtel Jacobs´ Paducah cleanup contract another 60 days until June 1 amid the GAO protest review, which could take up to 100 days. Bechtel Jacobs employs 160 people and oversees another 390 subcontract workers. North Wind pledged to hire most of those workers. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************