***************************************************************** 06/14/05 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 13.136 ***************************************************************** 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 AFP: Iran has failed to provide crucial nuclear information - 2 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Urged to Abandon Atomic Threat 3 Guardian Unlimited: S. Korean Official Arrives in Pyongyang 4 Guardian Unlimited: Senators Challenge White House on N. Korea 5 Korea Herald: Joint celebration kicks off in N.K. 6 Korea Herald: Five years since historic summit bring unprecedented 7 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: Surgical strike' unlikely, say Gregg, 8 Xinhua: Six-party talks to be discussed during ROK PM's China trip 9 Xinhua: US not to accept partial solution of DPRK nuclear issue 10 US State Dept: Nuclear-Free North Korea Can Receive Aid, State's Hil 11 AFP: US cannot accept "partial solution" to Korean nuclear crisis - 12 AFP: UN nuclear chief says solution to NKorean threat is urgent 13 US: Nuclear Warrior Replaces John Bolton as Arms Control Chief 14 US: [CMEP] Public interest groups join labor union to oppose 15 US: Stop the Nuclear Hustle: NIRS/FoE animation at nukeretro.com 16 US: Bellona: US Bipartisan forces set sights on changing Bush Admini 17 US: Norwich Bulletin: Don't cut subs, top admiral warns 18 US: The Advocate: AG says 1994 agreement requires feds to pay for ba 19 US: CNN: Some compromise possible in Senate energy measure - 20 US: TheDay.com: U.S. Should Add To Sub Base, Not Close It 21 Guardian Unlimited: ElBaradei gets third term as US caves in 22 UK The Times: West backs old rival to end nuclear stand-off 23 Xinhua: Riyadh denies having banned nuclear facilities 24 IAEA: IAEA Board Reappoints Director General Mohamed ElBaradei 25 IAEA: Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors 26 IAEA: Transcript: Director General´s Press Statement - NUCLEAR REACTORS 27 Why Nuclear power is NOT the answer to Global Warming 28 NEWS.com.au: No future in N-power - Garrett 29 Guardian Unlimited: Atomic spin-off's finances in meltdown 30 Ottawa Sun Online: China rejects AECL in $5B reactor upgrade 31 US: Tri-City Herald: Nuclear plant online, on time 32 US: APP.COM: Toxic nuclear byproducts still accumulate at plants 33 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collecti 34 US: NRC: Southern California Edison Company; Notice of Consideration 35 The Standard: US$4.3b for Zhejiang nuclear push - China Section 36 US: Hudson Valley News: Study of Indian Point alteratives released 37 Scotsman.com: US pressures G8 to support nuclear power 38 US: NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting NUCLEAR SECURITY 39 US: NRC to restore docs following security review 40 TheDay.com:Flagging Submarine Design System Called Dangerous Problem 41 asahi.com: Nuclear emergency drill to test readiness for terrorist NUCLEAR SAFETY 42 US: [NukeNet] News/US: Radioactive Waste Incinerator Planned for 43 US: deseret news Hundreds in study to get news of thyroid ills 44 BBC: Radioactive leak at navy 45 US: The Dispatch: New urine test will check for perchlorate 46 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes: Meeting 47 Scotsman.com News: Radioactive Spills Probed at Nuclear Sub Dock NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 48 [NukeNet] House Panel to Subpoena Yucca Mtn. Worker 49 US: [NukeNet] Radioactive Waste Incinerator Planned for Memphis, TN 50 US: Las Vegas SUN: Senate panel rebuffs House call for interim nucle 51 US: Viewpoint: Goshute Indians face atomic age alone 52 Guardian Unlimited: House Panel to Subpoena Yucca Mtn. Worker 53 UK The Times: Race against waste 54 Las Vegas RJ: Ex-Yucca scientist to face subpoena 55 Las Vegas SUN: Reid praises nuke industry, but pushes Yucca alternat 56 Las Vegas SUN: First subpoena to be issued in Yucca e-mail investiga 57 US: Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Progress in Tallevast 58 US: Shoreline Beacon:Waste storage proposal will have minimal enviro 59 US: courier-Post: Landfill water to go in sewers 60 Independent: BNFL leak leaves Tony Blair's nuclear ambitions in disa 61 News & Star: Nuke waste clean-up hailed as world first 62 US: Gallup Independent: New Mexico will no long subsidize uranium mi PEACE 63 US: DOE: 18 CFR Part 35: Decommisioning Trust Funds US DEPT. OF ENERGY 64 Guardian Unlimited: Public Glimpses Machines That Fueled Bomb 65 ABQjournal: 3 Labs Rip Nuclear Program 66 DOE: Agency Information Collection Extension 67 DOE: International Energy Agency Meeting 68 lamonitor.com: Lab workers press DOE for answers 69 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Rocky ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 AFP: Iran has failed to provide crucial nuclear information - ElBaradei Tuesday June 14, 07:26 PM VIENNA (AFP) - The UN atomic agency's investigation of Iran will continue as Tehran has failed to provide sufficient information on crucial questions about uranium-enriching centrifuges and nuclear smuggling, the agency's chief said. Mohamed ElBaradei, who was named Monday to a third-four year term as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, outlined the world's major proliferation hotspots in an address to a meeting in Vienna of the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors. The 62-year-old Egyptian also said that Iran had not given access requested by the IAEA to the Lavizan and Parchin military sites, where diplomats say weaponization work is suspected. Diplomats told AFP the agency had also requested but been denied access so far to interview key officials such as Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a brigadier general who has worked at Lavizan. ElBaradei reiterated his agency's concerns about "the importance and urgency to finding a solution" in North Korea, which kicked IAEA inspectors out in 2002 and now claims to have made atom bombs. The IAEA chief said his agency was still however "ready to work" with North Korea "to ensure that all nuclear activities (there) are exclusively for peaceful purposes as well as addressing the security needs of" Pyongyang. He also said a protocol designed to reduce inspections in nations with small nuclear programs has turned into "a weakness in the safeguards system" of controls verified by the IAEA. Saudi Arabia has turned down a European Union request to allow full international nuclear inspections, saying it will only agree to special investigations if other countries exempted from them do the same, EU diplomats said in Vienna. Saudi Arabia is insisting on its right to sign at this week's board meeting the Small Quantities Protocol (SPQ), which has been in effect since 1971 and is signed by 86 nations. Saudi Arabia, a key state in the tense Middle East, is not believed to be a direct nuclear proliferation threat, but diplomats are seeking to calm fears amid a major test of wills with nearby Iran, which US officials suspect of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. On Iran, ElBaradei said information is lacking over how close the Islamic Republic is to being able to use sophisticated centrifuges for enriching uranium as well as its links to international nuclear smuggling. "Iran has provided some additional documentation and information, which are not yet sufficient to answer several remaining questions," ElBaradei said. His comments came as Iran was seeking to have the IAEA's more than two-year-old investigation of its nuclear program closed, especially since it is negotiating with the European Union to guarantee it is not secretly developing atomic weapons and to win trade, security and technology benefits. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and designed to generate electricity but the United States says this civilian effort hides a covert atomic weapons program. ElBaradei said the IAEA "is making progress on one of the two key remaining issues, namely the origin of the low and high enriched uranium contamination on equipment at various locations in Iran." ElBaradei, who was elected after the United States dropped its opposition to his candidacy, formally declared Tuesday his support of a US proposal "to establish a committee to consider ways and means to strengthen the safeguards system." ElBaradei said the IAEA had set up a similar committee in 1996 to fix weaknesses in monitoring Iraq's nuclear program. Now "revelations such as the discovery of additional undeclared nuclear programs aided by covert nuclear supply networks and the risk associated with nuclear terrorism have confronted the agency's verification system and the non-proliferation regime in general with unprecedented challenges," he said. Copyright © 2005 AFP AFP. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 2 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Urged to Abandon Atomic Threat From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday June 14, 2005 11:46 AM AP Photo VIE130 By SUSANNA LOOF Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency urged North Korea on Tuesday to back away from its nuclear threat and asked Iran to improve cooperation with his organization's investigation of its atomic activities. Mohamed ElBaradei, who won a third term Monday as chief U.N. nuclear agency, also expressed regret at the failure of last month's international nonproliferation conference to strengthen the treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear arms. ``The lack of substantive agreement is particularly disheartening given the urgent challenges we face,'' he told the IAEA's 35-nation board, warning of the dangers posed by the ``faltering global security system.'' While Iran and North Korea - objects of the world's biggest-known proliferation concerns - are both agenda items at the conference, the agency has no purview over North Korea since its inspectors were ordered to leave in late 2002. Since then, the country has increased threats to develop - and possibly use - nuclear weapons against a perceived threat from the United States. ElBaradei said his agency stands ready to work with North Korea ``to ensure that all nuclear activities ... are exclusively for peaceful purposes.'' Iran, in contrast, has been the focus of an intense agency investigation since 2003, following revelations of nearly two decades of secret nuclear activities. The work included uranium enrichment, which can be used to make the core of nuclear warheads. Iran insists it wants to enrich only to generate nuclear power, but froze that program and linked activities late last year as it focused on talks with France, Britain and Germany meant to reduce concerns about Tehran's nuclear ambitions. While providing some information to help agency investigations, Iran's cooperation has not been sufficient, said ElBaradei, in particular on details of its enrichment program sought by the agency to verify whether Tehran only wants to generate power with the technology. ElBaradei also urged Iran to allow agency visits to Lavizan and Parchin. Parchin is a military site where the United States says Iran may be testing high-explosive components for nuclear weapons. A previous visit by agency inspectors was strongly restricted by the Iranians. The Lavizan-Zhian site near Tehran is an area where the agency believes Iran has stored dual-use equipment that can be used both for peaceful and nuclear weapons-related purposes. In a separate report for the board to be delivered at a later board session this week, diplomats said the Islamic republic will also be mildly criticized for not fully cooperating with the IAEA investigation. But they said Tehran also will be praised for freezing enrichment and related activities while negotiating with the Europeans. The diplomats described the report on Iran - likely to be delivered Tuesday or Wednesday by IAEA Deputy Director General Pierre Goldschmidt - as relatively mild compared with previous summaries since that nation's nuclear program became a matter of international concern three years ago. On the Net: www.iaea.org Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 3 Guardian Unlimited: S. Korean Official Arrives in Pyongyang From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday June 14, 2005 12:01 PM AP Photo XLEE105 By BURT HERMAN Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's top official on relations with the communist North arrived Tuesday in Pyongyang to join celebrations of the fifth anniversary of the only summit between leaders of the two Koreas amid tension on the divided peninsula over the North's nuclear weapons ambitions. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young was expected to press the North to return to nuclear disarmament talks that have been stalled for nearly a year. Chung heads a government delegation from Seoul to festivities marking the June 2000 summit between North Korea's Kim Jong Il and then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. Chung is to meet Thursday with Kim Yong Nam, the North's ceremonial head of state. Before his departure, Chung said nothing had yet been decided about a possible meeting during his four-day visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. ``I hope the day will come when going back and forth between Seoul and Pyongyang will no longer be a special thing,'' Chung said before his departure, which was delayed for about two hours due to bad weather. Chung joins a civic delegation of 295 South Koreans who arrived in North Korea earlier Tuesday with members of labor unions, religious and agricultural groups and politicians. ``The conflict between the North and the United States has deepened over the North's latest nuclear problem ... and there is a growing sense of a crisis that it will develop into an extreme situation no one wants,'' the delegation said in a statement before leaving Seoul. This year's celebrations ``will put an end to the history of disintegration and confrontation ... and show to the world our peoples' joint will to preserve peace in whatever situation,'' the delegation said. The North's main state-run Rodong Sinmun daily newspaper also heralded the upcoming celebrations that ``reflect our peoples' goals and will to open a new chapter of cooperation,'' according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. However, in a veiled reference to tensions between the Koreas, the newspaper noted difficulties in staging the celebrations due to ``obstacles by anti-unification forces both at home and abroad.'' The South was forced to cut its delegation in half after the North went back on agreements reached at inter-Korean talks last month - the first such contact in 10 months. The 2000 summit opened a new era of cooperation between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire. Since the meeting, some 10,000 relatives separated by the heavily armed border have held brief reunions and the two Koreas are working together at an industrial park just inside the North. However, progress on reconciliation has been hampered by tension over the North's nuclear program and defections of North Koreans to the South. North Korean leader Kim also hasn't yet met a pledge made in 2000 to come to Seoul for another summit. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 4 Guardian Unlimited: Senators Challenge White House on N. Korea From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday June 14, 2005 7:01 PM AP Photo WCAP101 By GEORGE GEDDA Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Bush administration efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament in North Korea are not working and should be reconsidered, Senate Foreign Relations Committee members said Tuesday. ``The administration policy has been a failure,'' said Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the ranking Democrat. ``Obviously, we've not seen progress here,'' said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. ``Something is not working.'' Responding to the criticisms at a committee hearing, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said the administration believes that the six-party disarmament negotiation ``is the way to go.'' Because of a North Korean boycott, there have been no negotiations for the past year. But North Korea, in meetings with U.S. diplomats on June 3, said they were willing to resume the discussions. U.S. intelligence officials and other analysts believe that North Korea could possess several nuclear weapons beyond the one or two the country has been thought to have had for years. Hill acknowledged the longer the impasse persists, the greater the risk of nuclear proliferation by Pyongyang. At the same time, he said, North Korea's boycott has meant that it cannot receive the economic and security benefits that a disarmament agreement would yield. ``If they are worried about their survival, they should think about another course,'' Hill said. International isolation is another price North Korea is paying for its refusal to disarm, he added. Several senators mentioned the U.N. Security Council as a possible alternative to the six-party process. Hill declined to speculate on other measures the administration may be contemplating. Biden said that as a result of the continuing impasse, ``the confidence in our ability to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia has been shaken.'' He said the administration, far from adopting a unified position, has been debating with itself over North Korea policy. As examples of officials he said are not in step with officially stated policy, Biden cited Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and U.N. Ambassador-designate John Bolton. Committee Chairman Richard Lugar said the U.S. partners in the six-nation process - South Korea, China, Japan and Russia - don't seem particularly willing to bring pressure to bear on North Korea. Hill agreed that China ``has been reluctant'' to use the full range of economic and political pressures to force a North Korean retreat. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 5 Korea Herald: Joint celebration kicks off in N.K. (smjoo@heraldm.com) By Joint Press Corps and Joo Sang-min 2005.06.15 The Nation's No.1 English Newspaper PYONGYANG - Four days of celebrations to mark the fifth anniversary of the historic inter-Korean summit kicked off yesterday in Pyongyang with 40 South Korean government delegates and 295 civilian representatives attending. The South Korean government delegation led by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young left Incheon International Airport at 3 p.m. for Pyongyang for the ceremonies to celebrate the June 15, 2000 summit between then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. A 300-member South Korean civic delegation of labor unions, farming organizations, religious groups and lawmakers arrived earlier in the North Korean capital, also from Incheon airport on a chartered flight. The opening ceremony in the evening was in Kim Il-sung Stadium, named after the communist country's founder and father of current leader Kim Jong-il. The South Korean government hopes the ceremonies pave the way for further inter-Korean reconciliation and help relieve tension on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's nuclear weapons development by getting the North back to resume six-party talks. A senior Seoul official told reporters there has been no plan for the South's officials to meet Kim Jong-il, but he did not rule out the possibility. The South's delegation will relay to the North a message from last weekend's Washington summit between Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and George W. Bush. The message conveys a guarantee of regime security for Pyongyang and a pledge that the communist state will have a collective security guarantee and a "more normal relationship" with Washington if it gives up its nuclear program. In Pyongyang on Thursday, Chung and his delegation will meet Kim Young-nam, the country's ceremonial head of state as chairman of the North's Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. The Seoul government delegation will also hold a joint ceremony with the 24-member North Korean government delegation led by Kim Ki-nam, vice chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, Senior Cabinet councilor Kwon Ho-ung, who is expected to lead the North Korean delegation at June 21-24 Cabinet-level inter-Korean discussions in Seoul, will also be in the North Korean delegation. So will Lim Dong-ok, a senior North Korean Workers' Party officia who has been maintaiing unofficial contacts with Minister Chung since late 2004. The two southern delegations will return to Seoul on Friday. ***************************************************************** 6 Korea Herald: Five years since historic summit bring unprecedented economic exchanges The Nation's No.1 English Newspaper But North's nuclear weapons program casts dark cloud over future relationship By Joo Sang-min The historic inter-Korean summit exactly five years ago has brought unprecedented economic and civil exchanges but heavy tension over the North's nuclear ambitions is a dark cloud, analysts here said. To mark the fifth anniversary of the historic inter-Korean summit on June 15, the two Koreas are holding joint celebrations in Pyongyang till Friday with government officials from the South attending the civilian-initiated ceremony for the first time. The June 15 Joint Declaration signed by then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il set the framework for inter-Korean cooperation in economic, political, military and cultural sectors with the ultimate goal being unification of the divided country and peoples. The scope and level of government and civil exchanges more than doubled after the summit, generating hopes that the enhanced inter-Korean relationship will help increase inter-dependency and resolve the 32-month-old nuclear standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. "For the past five years since the summit, the inter-Korean ties have enhanced to a level beyond imagination and the two Koreas are so interlocked with each other," former unification minister Jeong Se-hyun said at a recent forum. Jeong served as Seoul's top inter-Korean policymaker between 2002 and 2004. Professor Woo Seong-ji at Graduate School of International Studies in Kyunghee University said in a telephone interview, "A consistent liberal engagement policy by Seoul has successfully balanced out the hard-line South Korean notion about the North, despite some disagreements." Since the summit, the two Koreas have held a total of 124 meetings, or 24 meetings a year, including 14 rounds of Cabinet-level talks with another round scheduled for June 21-24 in Seoul. After the 1950-53 Korean War, there were no inter-Korean meetings until 1971. From 1971 till the summit there were an average of 12 meetings annually. Over the past five years, the South and North signed 46 joint agreements, compared to 49 from 1971 until the summit. Trade between Koreas has been shot up since the summit. In 2001, the year after the summit, trade was worth $400 million, up from $100 million in the mid-1990s and just $18.7 million in 1989. In 2004, the trade totaled $690 million, making the South the second largest trading partner with the North after China. The inter-Korean pilot program to build an industrial complex at the northern border town of Gaeseong and the tour project to Mount Geumgang are the most prominent symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation. Three of the 15 South Korean companies committed to the zone have started production operations, while the other 12 are at various stages of factory building. Currently, 2,300 North Koreans and 500 from the South work together at Gaeseong, but by the end of 2006 some 250 to 300 companies are expected to move in and begin manufacturing goods. Overland routes linking the two Koreas in the country's eastern and western section were completed last November, and cross-border railway links severed since the war are to be reopened soon. Since opening in November 1998, South Korean tours to Mt. Geumgang on the North's eastern coastline have attracted more than 1 million South Korean tourists, a landmark that was reached on June 7. The Diamond Mountain resort attracted a record 272,820 South Koreans in 2004, compared to 3,317 in 1998 and 7,280 in 2000. An estimated 23,946 family members separated during the Korean War had the opportunity to meet each other at 10 reunion ceremonies since Aug. 15. 2000. Before the summit, there was just one reunion event, in 1985 when only 187 family members met. Millions of Koreans remain separated following the division of Korea into north and south in 1945 and the war. There is no mail, telephone service or other communication between ordinary citizens across the border. Despite the exchanges and improvements since the summit, analysts said, there still is no fundamental change in the communist North and inter-Korean relations are not necessarily bright in view of the nuclear standoff. Also, while some officials in Seoul take a rosy view of expectations, the South possesses no clear leverage over Pyongyang. "In general, economic and personnel exchanges played a positive role as they helped the two Koreas harbor flexible notion to each other," professor Yoo Ho-yeol of North Korean Studies at Korea University said in a telephone interview. "However, the summit seems to block any critical view on inter-Korean issues as dogma or ideology, distancing Seoul from Washington's consultation priorities in an emergency." The United States, frustrated with the South's continued mainly one-sided engagement with the North, wants Seoul to speak with one clear voice with Washington. Yoo said the South is in a situation where it cannot reject North Korean demands for fear of jeopardizing inter-Korean talks, which brings about a public sense of frustration since the North has shown only lukewarm interest in the political or military fields. Last summer the North suspended all inter-Korean talks after the South accepted a large group of defectors and prevented a South Korean group from attending ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of the death of the North's founder, Kim Il-sung. The Unification Ministry had to sit and wait for about 10 months until the North suggested a recent vice-ministerial meeting to seek fertilizer aid from the South. Ending the nuclear standoff is a prerequisite to improving inter-Korean relations and prosperity in the peninsula, analysts said. But Pyongyang raised the stakes Feb. 10 by announcing that it possesses nuclear weapons and will boycott the six-party talks until Washington gives up its "hostile" policy. And, it unloaded 8,000 spent fuel rods from its Yongbyon nuclear power plant, a move that will help it increase its supply of weapons-grade plutonium. Some Pentagon officials suggested Washington might take its case against North Korea and its nuclear weapons program to the U.N. Security Council by the end of June, which the North has said it will consider a declaration of war. Amid the increasing tensions, the South Korean government has been in dilemma. The North has been urging the South to solidify inter-Korean collaboration, a phrase often used by the communist country to oppose Washington's influence in the peninsula. But analysts agreed that maintaining a formidable alliance with Washington is a key to resolving the issue through the multilateral framework of disarmament talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan, and Russia. Yoo cautioned against Seoul being taken in by the North's pretense of engaging in reconciliation. Professor Woo of Kyunghee University said the South's government assumes that economic cooperation will be followed by political cooperation, which is the right track to follow in a long-term plan. But he said Seoul has to develop a more realistic approach in dealing with the North, rather than taking a liberal and emotional approach. (smjoo@heraldm.com) 2005.06.15 ***************************************************************** 7 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: Surgical strike' unlikely, say Gregg, Pritchard June 15, 2005 KST 14:14 (GMT+9) June 14, 2005 ¤Ń A former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and a former U.S. official dealing with North Korean affairs agreed yesterday that there was little chance the United States would target North Korea's nuclear weapons technology in a military strike, because Seoul would oppose the idea and success would be far from certain. Donald Gregg, who was ambassador to Seoul from 1989 to 1993, and Jack Pritchard, who dealt with North Korea in the Clinton and Bush administrations, made the remarks in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo's senior columnist Kim Young-hie on the sidelines of the Jeju Peace Forum last weekend. "South Koreans will never agree to any kind of a surgical strike," said Mr. Pritchard, who left the Bush administration in 2003 and has since been a critic of its North Korea policy. "In addition, the Pentagon has to inform the president that the U.S. cannot stop 100 percent of North Korea's nuclear capabilities, nor can it decapitate their leadership," Mr. Pritchard said. Mr. Pritchard is currently a researcher at the Brookings Institution, a left-leaning private think tank in Washington. Mr. Gregg, who now chairs the Korea Society, a U.S.-based think tank, cited North Korea's conventional military threat as another reason Washington would refrain from attempting a "surgical strike." "Suppose the U.S. can get all the nuclear weapons and the North Korean leadership," said Mr. Gregg. "They still cannot stop the North Korean artillery, which can kill hundreds of thousands of South Koreans within 24 hours." Both analysts also agreed that Washington would not accept a North Korean attempt to turn the six-party negotiations into mutual nuclear disarmament talks. "Washington can't accept that," said Mr. Pritchard. "Because what you do is you start qualifying North Korea as a nuclear weapons state. [Neither] the Bush administration nor anyone should accept that." The two judged last week's meeting between President Roh Moo-hyun and Mr. Bush a success in terms of "alliance management," in that they displayed a united front on the nuclear crisis. As for a resumption of the six-party talks, Mr. Pritchard believed it was likely, if Washington takes certain steps. "The U.S. still needs to let the North save face and return to the talks as a more equal partner. In the current process, that has not been done," said Mr. Pritchard. "I would say it's a matter of months," he said. Concern about the possibility of a military strike targeting North Korea's nuclear weapons capacity has been escalating in South Korea in recent months as the standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear program has continued. by Brian Lee africanu@joongang.co.kr> Copyright by Joins.com, Inc. Terms of Use | ***************************************************************** 8 Xinhua: Six-party talks to be discussed during ROK PM's China trip www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2005-06-14 20:06:06 BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhuanet) -- China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will have an in-depth exchange of views on the six-party talks and the nuclear issue in the Korean peninsular during the ROK prime minister's visit to China, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao here Tuesday. ROK Prime Minister Lee Hae-Chan will pay an official visit to China from June 21 to 23 at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, Liu announced at a regular press conference. "Both China and the ROK are participants of the six-party talks, and China values the important role the ROK has been playing for the talks as well as its efforts to solve the nuclear issue in the Korean peninsular," he said. This is Lee Hae-Chan's first visit to China since he became prime minister, Liu said, adding that during the visit Lee will meet and hold talks with Wen, Chinese President Hu Jintao and top legislator Wu Bangguo. Liu said China and the ROK have maintained sound relations with a frequent exchange of high-level visits and deepening political trust. The two countries have enjoyed close economic cooperation. The trade volume between the two countries exceeded 90 billion US dollars last year and the personnel exchanges hit 3.5 million, he said. "The growth of Sino-ROK relations have brought substantial benefits to the people of both nations, and we feel happy for it," Liu said. Liu said China values its relationship with the ROK and will continue to push forward the comprehensive, cooperative partnership and close cooperation in safeguarding regional peace and stability. Enditem Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 Xinhua: US not to accept partial solution of DPRK nuclear issue www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2005-06-15 06:23:55 WASHINGTON, June 14 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States said on Tuesday that it would not accept a partial solution of the nuclearissue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). "We cannot accept a partial solution that does not deal with the entirety of the problem, allowing North Korea to threaten others continually with a revival of its nuclear program," said Christopher Hill, the US chief negotiator to the six-party talks, at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The United States sought "the dismantlement, verifiably and irreversibly, of all DPRK nuclear programs -- nothing less," Hill said. Hill said that the United States is prepared to have bilateral contacts with the DPRK within the six-party process. "We are prepared to have bilateral contacts and to meet bilaterally with the North Koreans within the six-party process. What we do not want to do is have bilateral contacts reach such a stage that the six-party process becomes irrelevant," he said. Hill also said that the United States at present does not plan to refer the DPRK nuclear issue to the United Nations Security Council. "I think Secretary Rice and Secretary Rumsfeld clarified this issue, and I will do as well, which is that we do not have a plan to bring this to the Security Council. That's a right we reserve, and we could do so in the future, but it is not something we're planning to do now," he said. Three rounds of the six-party talks have been held in Beijing but the talks have remained stalled since the last round of talks were held in June last year. Enditem Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 10 US State Dept: Nuclear-Free North Korea Can Receive Aid, State's Hill Says U.S. Dept. of State The international community is willing to offer North Korea trade, aid and investment, but the Pyongyang regime must abandon its nuclear weapons programs "verifiably and irreversibly," says Christopher Hill, the State Department's assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs. During a June 14 hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Hill said the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) "has an historic opportunity now to improve its relations with the international community and reap the full rewards."  But, he observed, "[t]o date, the DPRK has not demonstrated any readiness to do so." The assistant secretary reiterated that President Bush's policy is "to achieve the full denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula by peaceful multilateral diplomacy, through the Six-Party Talks."  In addition to North Korea, the talks include South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.  The latter five "are unwavering in their opposition to North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons," according to Hill. Hill warned against accepting a partial solution to the North Korean nuclear threat and said the United States "will not reward North Korea for coming into compliance with its past obligations." Although there have been a number of bilateral discussions since the last round of Six-Party Talks in June 2004, North Korea has not returned to the negotiating table.  This "casts increasing doubt on how serious the DPRK really is about ending its nuclear ambitions," Hill said. The assistant secretary said China has the closest relationship with North Korea of any of the six parties, and he urged Beijing to do "whatever is necessary to get its neighbor back to the table." Following is the text of Hill's remarks, as prepared for delivery [U.S. Department of State] Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Statement of Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill "Dealing With North Korea's Nuclear Programs" June 14, 2005 Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this opportunity to discuss with the Committee the efforts of the United States and like-minded countries to deal with the threat of North Korea's nuclear programs. The Special Envoy for Six-Party Talks, Ambassador Joseph DeTrani, is with me for this important discussion. Ambassador DeTrani does not have a separate statement, but would welcome the opportunity to respond to your questions. I want to emphasize two points today. First, the President's policy is to achieve the full denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula by peaceful multilateral diplomacy, through the Six-Party Talks. The substantive and comprehensive proposal we made at the last round of Six-Party Talks, almost one year ago, remains on the table, and we are prepared to discuss it when the DPRK returns to the Talks. Second, the DPRK has an historic opportunity now to improve its relations with the international community and to reap the full rewards of trade, aid and investment. But to change its place in the world, it must address the concerns of its neighbors and the international community. To date, the DPRK has not demonstrated any readiness to do so. Six-Party Talks The United States has adhered to three basic principles to resolve the North's nuclear threat. First, we seek the dismantlement, verifiably and irreversibly, of all DPRK nuclear programs - nothing less. We cannot accept a partial solution that does not deal with the entirety of the problem, allowing North Korea to threaten others continually with a revival of its nuclear program. Second, because the North's nuclear programs threaten its neighbors and the integrity of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, the threat can best be dealt with through multilateral diplomacy. Third, we will not reward North Korea for coming into compliance with its past obligations. While the DPRK's nuclear ambition is a decades-old problem, our effort to deal with it in a comprehensive manner through multilateral means began only a few years ago. We worked closely with all of North Korea's neighbors to lay the groundwork for the Six-Party Talks, and the first round was held in Beijing August 27-29, 2003. All six parties at that first meeting agreed on the objective of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. The second round of Six-Party Talks was in February 2004. The parties agreed to regularize the talks, and to establish a working group to set issues up for resolution at the plenary meetings. At the second round of talks, the ROK offered fuel aid to the DPRK, if there were a comprehensive and verifiable halt of its nuclear programs as a first step toward complete nuclear dismantlement. Other non-U.S. parties subsequently expressed a willingness to do so as well. The third working group and plenary sessions at the third round of talks, held nearly a year ago in Beijing, were useful and constructive. The U.S. tabled a comprehensive and substantive proposal, which the DPRK at the time called "serious," which it certainly was. All parties agreed to meet again by end-September 2004. During each of the working group and plenary meetings, the U.S. met separately and directly with all of the parties, including the DPRK delegation. Despite its commitment to rejoin the Talks by end-September, and its vague statements that it remains committed to the Six-Party process, the DPRK has not yet agreed to return to the table. While the DPRK has made public statements about our June proposal, it has not responded formally to us. We have had meetings with all the parties since June 2004, including the North Koreans. These meetings are important to ensure communication, but they are not negotiations. They cannot take the place of the negotiations in the Six-Party Talks to achieve the dismantlement of the North's nuclear programs or end the North's international isolation. Ambassador DeTrani has met with the DPRK Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Pak Gil-yon, five times in the so-called New York Channel, in August, November and December of last year, and in May and June 2005. We engaged in those meetings because we wanted the North Koreans to hear the U.S. position directly from us. The North Koreans indicated they are committed to the Six-Party process, but did not agree to return to the table by a date-certain. I'll quote what the President said last month on the North Korea nuclear issue to make that position crystal clear: "We want diplomacy to be given the chance to work." As Secretary Rice said recently, we have no intention to invade or attack. We deal with North Korea as a sovereign nation, in the Six-Party Talks and at the United Nations. While of course there is a range of options to deal with the North's nuclear threat, simply ignoring it is not one of them. Our policy is to pursue a peaceful diplomatic solution, but we need to see results from the diplomacy. Since becoming Assistant Secretary in March, I have traveled to East Asia three times, meeting with my counterparts in Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China, to consult on how to move the Six-Party process forward. I also met with the Russian senior official in Brussels in May. My colleagues from those governments have made frequent visits to Washington. All five parties have called on the North to return to the Talks and negotiate seriously to end its nuclear programs and its international isolation. The North has cited a variety of pretexts for refusing to rejoin the talks, even as it restates its commitment to the Six-Party process and the goal of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. That casts increasing doubt on how serious the DPRK really is about ending its nuclear ambitions. Frankly, we don't at this point know the answers. Certainly, the developments we have seen on the part of the North Koreans have not been encouraging. Since the last round of Six-Party Talks just a year ago, the DPRK has failed to abide by its commitment to another round of talks by September 2004; announced that it had manufactured nuclear weapons and was indefinitely suspending participation in the Six-Party Talks; declared itself to be a nuclear weapons state; announced that its self-declared missile test moratorium was no longer binding; conducted a short-range ballistic missile test; reportedly threatened to transfer nuclear material; and announced that it was reprocessing another load of plutonium from spent fuel rods from the Yongbyon reactor. The other parties are unwavering in their opposition to North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons. China has the closest relationship with North Korea of any of the Six Parties and it is for this reason that we continue to engage the Chinese leadership on the North's lack of willingness to make a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula a reality. The Chinese leadership at the most senior levels has - in recognition of the destabilizing effect a nuclear Korea could have on its own security interests - delivered pointed messages to the North on denuclearization and returning to the Talks. We believe China can and should do more. China should do whatever is necessary to get its neighbor back to the table. We have excellent coordination with Japan and the Republic of Korea. President Bush and President Roh at their June 10 Summit in Washington agreed to continue to work closely together for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We are also in regular touch at the highest levels with the Government of Japan, a valued partner in the Six-Party process. Russia too has expressed opposition to the possession of nuclear weapons by the DPRK. North Korea's Opportunity To succeed in achieving the peaceful resolution of the North Korea nuclear issue, the North has got to return to the Six-Party Talks and stay there for serious negotiations. Against the backdrop of the Six-Party Talks, the DPRK appears to be trying to undertake some measures in response to its disastrous economic situation. The door is open for the DPRK, by addressing the concerns of the international community, to vastly improve the lives of its people, enhance its own security, move toward normalizing its relations with the United States and others, and raise its stature in the world. The United States, working with our allies and others, remains committed to resolving the nuclear issue through peaceful diplomatic means. While we are not prepared to reward the DPRK for coming back into compliance with its international obligations, we have laid out the path to a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue. Of course, to achieve a wholly transformed relationship with the United States, North Korea must address other issues of concern to us and the international community as well. It must change its behavior on human rights, address the issues underlying its appearance on the U.S. list of state-sponsored terrorism, eliminate all its weapons of mass destruction programs and missile technology proliferation, and adopt a less provocative conventional force disposition. It must put an end to such illegal activities as counterfeiting, narcotics smuggling and money laundering. The starting point is the strategic decision now by Pyongyang to recognize that its nuclear programs make it less, not more, secure, and to decide to eliminate them permanently, thoroughly, and transparently, subject to effective verification. We are working together with the other parties to bring the DPRK to understand that it is in its own self-interest to make that decision. We will continue to work closely with the Congress and this Committee as we proceed. That concludes my statement, Mr. Chairman, and Mr. DeTrani and I look forward to responding to your questions. ***************************************************************** 11 AFP: US cannot accept "partial solution" to Korean nuclear crisis - negotiator Wednesday June 15, 05:28 AM WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States said it would not settle for any piecemeal resolution to the nuclear crisis gripping the Korean peninsula, calling for the dismantlement of "all" North Korean atomic programs. "We cannot accept a partial solution that does not deal with the entirety of the problem, allowing North Korea to threaten others continually with a revival of its nuclear program," said Christopher Hill, US President George W. Bush's chief negotiator to six-party talks aimed at ending the crisis. The United States sought "the dismantlement, verifiably and irreversibly, of all DPRK nuclear programs -- nothing less," Hill told a Senate hearing on "Dealing with North Korea's nuclear program." DPRK is the acronym of North Korea's official name -- the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Hill is the US leader to the negotiations among the two Koreas, US, Japan, Russia and host China designed to woo North Korea to give up its nuclear arms in return for aid and security guarantees. North Korea has refused to participate in the talks after attending three rounds hosted by China, citing US "hostility." It also rejected a US-led aid-for-disarmament plan. Under the plan, North Korea would be given, among other rewards, multilateral security guarantees and energy aid by its neighbors if it agrees to end its nuclear weapons program. Hill, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, stressed that Washington would not reward North Korea for coming into compliance with any "past obligations." "It has obligations. It was rewarded for those obligations. It can't then get out of compliance and then come back and expect to be paid twice for the same obligations," he said. The US-North Korea nuclear standoff dates back to the last decade when Pyongyang agreed in 1994 to freeze its nuclear program in return for the construction of safe nuclear reactors for the impoverished country. The pact fell through in October 2002 when Washington said North Korea, while freezing its plutonium-based program, had admitted secretly using a different route to nuclear weapons, helped by Pakistan. The United States charged that North Korea began seeking nuclear weapons fuel through uranium enrichment while the ink was still wet on the 1994 accord. Hill questioned North Korea's seriousness in wanting to end its nuclear weapons program. "The North has cited a variety of pretexts for refusing to rejoin the talks, even as it restates its commitment to the six-party process and the goal of a denuclearized Korean peninsula," he said. "That casts increasing doubts on how serious the DPRK really is about ending its nuclear ambitions," he said. "Frankly, we don't at this point know the answers," he said but added that "certainly, the developments we have seen on the part of the North Koreans have not been encouraging." Hill cited Pyongyang's failure to abide by its commitment to another round of the six-party talks as well as its persistent boasts of its nuclear weapons capability. Just last week, Pyongyang announced it had enough nuclear weapons to defend itself against an attack by the United States and was building more. Copyright © 2005 AFP. All rights reserved. All information ***************************************************************** 12 AFP: UN nuclear chief says solution to NKorean threat is urgent Wednesday June 15, 05:32 AM VIENNA (AFP) - UN atomic agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said it was urgent to resolve the standoff with North Korea, which kicked IAEA inspectors out in 2002 and now claims to have made nuclear bombs. Stressing "the importance and urgency to finding a solution" to the North Korean threat, ElBaradei said his International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remained "ready to work" with Pyongyang. The IAEA would work "to ensure that all nuclear activities (there) are exclusively for peaceful purposes as well as addressing the security needs of" Pyongyang, he said. But ElBaradei said that since 2002 "the nuclear activities of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) have been outside IAEA verification. "The agency has therefore been unable to draw any conclusions regarding the DPRK's nuclear activities since that time," ElBaradei said. ElBaradei told CNN last month that the IAEA estimated North Korea to have close to six nuclear weapons, as it knew prior to being expelled that "they had the plutonium that could be converted into five or six North Korea weapons." According to US intelligence reports, Pyongyang is believed to have one or two crude nuclear bombs, and North Korea declared on February 10 that it had developed nuclear weapons to defend itself from the United States. North Korea's testing of an atomic bomb would be "nuclear blackmail" and world leaders should move to dissuade Pyongyang from any such test, ElBaradei had said in an interview with AFP last month. ElBaradei said then that North Korea must "understand that the international community has zero tolerance for any new country to go for a nuclear weapon." Copyright © 2005 AFP. All rights reserved. All information ***************************************************************** 13 Nuclear Warrior Replaces John Bolton as Arms Control Chief Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:22:45 -0500 (CDT) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New from the IRC Forging local-global links for policy alternatives, strategic dialogue, and citizen action since 1979. http://www.irc-online.org June 14, 2005 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For Media Interviews: Kyle Johnson, IRC Communications Director Phone: 505-388-0208 Email: Nuclear Warrrior Replaces John Bolton as Arms Control Chief By Tom Barry The top U.S.government official in charge of arms control advocates the offensive use of nuclear weapons and has deep roots in the militarist political camp. Moving into the old job of John Bolton, the administration's hard-core unilateralist nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Robert G. Joseph is the right-wing's advance man for counter-proliferation as the conceptual core of a new U.S.military policy. Tom Barry is policy director of the International Relations Center (IRC), online at: http://www.irc-online.org. and a regular contributor to Inter Press Service, which first published this news analysis. See online at: http://rightweb.irc-online.org/analysis/2005/0506joseph1.php With printer-friendly PDF version at: http://rightweb.irc-online.org/pdf/0506joseph1.pdf For longer version of this piece, see Right Web profile of Robert Joseph: http://rightweb.irc-online.org/ind/joseph/joseph.php "In the field of world policy I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor - the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the right of others." President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Produced and distributed by International Relations Center (IRC). For more information, visit http://www.irc-online.org. If you would like to receive specific topic or regional material from either FPIF (http://www.fpif.org) or the Americas Program (http://www.americaspolicy.org), please email: communications@irc-online.org. with subscribe and giving your area of interest. You can join the IRC and make a secure donation by visiting https://secure.iexposure.com/irc/donate.cfm. Thank you. Please reply with if you wish to be removed from IRC News mailings. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Siri D. Khalsa Outreach Coordinator International Relations Center (IRC) http://www.irc-online.org/ siri@irc-online.org| 505.388-0208 vox | 505-388.0619 fax | P.O. Box 2178, Silver City, NM88062 Home of IRC Americas Program | Foreign Policy In Focus | Right Web Siri D. Khalsa Communications Coordinator International Relations Center (IRC) siri@irc-online.org IRC Projects Online: IRC (www.irc-online.org) FPIF (www.fpif.org) Americas Program (www.americaspolicy.org) Self-Determination In Focus (www.selfdetermine.org) Project Against the Present Danger (www.presentdanger.org) ***************************************************************** 14 [CMEP] Public interest groups join labor union to oppose Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 11:16:04 -0500 (CDT) *** P R E S S R E L E A S E *** June 13, 2005 Growing Coalition Opposing Exelon-PSEG Merger Launching Grassroots Lobbying Campaign To Call For Public Hearings Nation's Largest Union, SEIU, and PSE&G Workers Join Forces with Consumer Groups to "Fight the Power Grab" TRENTON, NJ (June 13, 2005) - The nation's largest labor union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) announced today that it will join forces with a growing consumer coalition opposing the proposed buy-out of PSEG by Exelon Corporation of Chicago. The groups announced the launch today of "Fight the Power Grab," a grassroots lobbying campaign to call for open and accountable public hearings by state and federal regulators on the proposed merger. SEIU, with 28,000 members in the state, and Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 601, which represents 1,350 PSE&G workers, are teaming up with a consumer coalition led by Public Citizen, NJ PIRG Law and Policy Center, and NJ Citizen Action to oppose the proposed merger and call for open hearings. "We want to pull the plug on the Exelon-PSEG merger to protect our member consumers from higher energy costs," said Kevin Brown, President of SEIU NJ State Council. "SEIU is prepared to aggressively pursue our goal of open and accountable hearings and reliable and affordable energy for New Jersey residents." "With energy prices seeming to rise almost every day, New Jersey can ill-afford to subsidize the kind of sweetheart deals that corporate executives reap from giant mergers and acquisitions especially when, like this one, there is still no evidence of actual, substantive benefits for ratepayers," said Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, New Jersey Citizen Action's Executive Director. "This PSE&G buy-out is a bad deal for any consumer who has to pay an electric bill, from the person who wants to turn their lights on at home to our small business owners and our largest industries --and should be rejected at FERC and by the BPU." The coalition is launching a grassroots advocacy campaign that will include: * lobbying of elected officials at the state and federal level, including the gubernatorial candidates; * outreach and education to community members and state organizations; * display and online advertising -- display ads ran today in the Newark Star-Ledger and the Trenton Times sponsored by SEIU; * direct mail; * statewide phone-banking operations; * a new website -- www.FightthePowerGrab.org; * statewide e-mail campaigns calling on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to hold open and accountable hearings and reliable and affordable energy for New Jersey residents; and * legal intervention in NJ Board of Public Utility proceedings. The groups released letters today to the New Jersey congressional delegation and Senators outlining their opposition to the merger and urging the elected officials to weigh in with the regulatory agencies and call for hearings. "New Jersey's consumers shouldn't buy Exelon's deal to create the largest, most powerful energy company in the nation. If Exelon is allowed to swallow up PSEG, they will have a stranglehold over electricity prices in the region, leading to higher rates for New Jersey consumers. As the voice of New Jersey's electricity consumers, the state Board of Public Utilities should reject Exelon's proposal," said Dena Mottola, Executive Director of NJPIRG Law and Policy Center. FERC will announce by the end of June whether or not it will hold hearings on the merger. Exelon has pressured regulators to waive a full hearing to expedite closing the $12 billion deal. NJBPU has put out a schedule for hearings later this summer. There is a hearing June 22 by the NJBPU to decide whether or not the companies will be forced to demonstrate a positive benefit to state consumers from the deal. The groups are urging the NJBPU to reject the merger if the companies do not demonstrate a positive benefit for state consumers. Exelon and PSEG executives met privately with all four Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioners in January of this year, just after the companies publically announced their intent to merge in December 2004. These secret meetings call into question the ability of FERC's unelected government officials to provide sufficient independent oversight and protect the public interest. "The public is forced to speculate about the content and impact of these secret meetings because the conversations are not part of the public record," said Tyson Slocum, Research Director of Public Citizen's Energy Program. "While the CEOs enjoy private access to government decisionmakers, the public isn't yet assured that FERC will even hold a public hearing. We are here to remind FERC that their first obligation is to serve the public-and not to simply rubber stamp requests by well-connected corporations." BACKGROUND FOR REPORTERS New Jersey Citizen Action is the state's largest independent citizen watchdog coalition representing 60,000 family members and more than 100 affiliated labor, tenant, senior citizen, faith-based, environmental and community organizations. NJCA works to protect and expand the rights of individuals and families, and to ensure that government officials respond to the needs of people rather than the interests of those with money and power. (www.njcitizenaction.org) Public Citizen is a nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer rights organization based in Washington, DC with over 17,000 dues-paying individual members in Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Our Energy Program does extensive work at the federal and state levels to promote energy policies that best protect consumers. (www.citizen.org) New Jersey PIRG is a non-profit public interest advocacy organization representing with over 26,000 New Jersey residents. NJPIRG's mission is to deliver persistent, result-oriented public interest activism that protects our environment, encourages a fair, sustainable economy, and fosters responsive, democratic government. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight to end them, using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposis, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation. (www.njpirg.org) The 1.8 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is the nation's largest and fastest growing union. Its 28,000 members in New Jersey are city and municipal workers, interns and residents at hospitals, janitors, homecare workers, nursing home workers, and the workers at Parsons who conduct the annual inspections of cars for the state of NJ. (www.seiunj.org) Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 601 represents 1,350 PSE&G workers, as well as employees of NJ Transit. (www.Local601.org) ********** To SUBSCRIBE to the CMEP ListServ, visit https://www.citizen.org/email/enteremail.cfm If you would like to be removed from the CMEP ListServ, send an email to listserv@listserver.citizen.org with the words "unsubscribe CMEP" in the message. Questions about the CMEP ListServ can be directed to CMEP-request@LISTSERVER.CITIZEN.ORG. To learn more about this and other Public Citizen Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program campaigns, visit our website at http://www.citizen.org/cmep/ -Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program ***************************************************************** 15 Stop the Nuclear Hustle: NIRS/FoE animation at nukeretro.com Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 15:46:15 -0700 Nuclear Information and Resource Service Friends of the Earth For Immediate Release: June 14, 2005 Contact: Erich Pica, 202-222-0739, Friends of the Earth Michael Mariotte, 202-328-0002, Nuclear Information and Resource Service Stop the Nuclear Power Hustle Visit nukeretro.com And Oppose the Senate Energy Bill Washington D.C. - As the Senate prepares to begin debate on the Bush Energy Plan, Friends of the Earth and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) launched a web campaign (www.nukeretro.com) focusing on opposing nuclear power and the broader energy bill before the Congress. The campaign features a comic animation by political cartoonist Mark Fiore set to a retro music score from the 1970s, when nuclear power was in its heyday. Americans deserve an energy plan that reduces our dependency on fossil fuels, promotes energy conservation, and improves the environment,stated Erich Pica, Campaign Director at Friends of the Earth. The Senate bill fails to address our nations energy needs, and instead promotes dirty and dangerous energy sources such as nuclear power. Michael Mariotte, executive director of NIRS said, Nukeretro.com is funny. Pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into support for the wealthy nuclear power industry would not be funny. It would increase risks of nuclear meltdown and terror attack, and would waste money that could be used to promote sustainable energy technologies that can make a real difference in our future. Nuclear power is truly retro power: an obsolete technology of the past. As currently drafted, the Senate Energy bill contains more than $4.3 billion for the nuclear power industry. Historically, the nuclear industry has received over $142 billion in federal subsidies while providing only about 20% of our electricity and 6% of our total energy. In addition to these huge subsidies, nuclear power plants pose a terrorist security threat, create toxic waste, and increase the risk of the spread of nuclear weapons. To see the web campaign, go to http://www.nukeretro.com --30-- ***************************************************************** 16 Bellona: US Bipartisan forces set sights on changing Bush Administration climate change policies WASHINGTON—A US Senate hosted symposium of national scientific academies, Group of Eight representatives, and corporations called on the Bush administration to acknowledge that climate change is a fact. Delaware's Democratic Senator Thomas Carper. Bellona USA Svend Sřyland, 2005-06-14 14:21 This new pressure from the Senate-hosted symposium is bound to put more pressure on the Bush administration’s dismissive policy on greenhouse gases as the cry was coming not only from the scientific community—whose findings the republican administration has routinely brushed off—but from the very corporate sector that the administration has said it wished to protect with its laissez-faire climate politics. The debate has also expanded beyond partisan politics, as Senators and Congressmen from both sides of the aisle put their combined muscle into pressuring the White House to take a hard look at the fact of climate change. The June 9th symposium demonstrated to interested senators, congressmen and Capitol Hill staff that there is mounting evidence for climate change. Bellona Web attended the Symposium where scientists from Canada, Norway and the United States were in unanimous agreement that the climate was undergoing changes humanity has never had to grapple with. The symposium was organised by the Environment and Energy Studies Institute (EESI) and the Norwegian Embassy. Arizona Republican Senator John McCain. Arild Strřmmen Beyond partisan politics Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, who is co-sponsoring the Environmental Stewardship Act (ESA) bill with Connecticut Democrat Joseph Liebermann, called for action against climate change from the United States. They were joined by Delaware Democrat Thomas Carper, and Maryland’s Republican Congressman, Wayne Gilcrest, who are co-sponsors of the ESA bill. ”The Arctic is like a canary in the coal mine for climate change,” McCain told the symposium, referring to the fragile and deteriorating Arctic climate as an indicator of how far the climate has shifted due to greenhouse gasses. All presenters at the Senate symposium mentioned that corporate America—represented by companies such as DuPont, Cinergy, and Baxter International—recently made statement indicating they will incorporate climate emission reductions in their future business strategies. Carper spoke of his recent talks with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Carper said he had briefed Blair how to persuade US President George Bush to take action on climate change. Carper said he called on Blair to remind the US President that even Blair’s own scientific advisors acknowledge the dramatic impact of human industry and transportation on the climate. Carper said that Bush owed Blair for putting the UK’s head on the international political chopping block by unflaggingly supporting the US led invasion of Iraq. But Blair’s apparent request for a political quid pro quo had no visible effect. During their joint Press conference in Washington, DC on June 8th, Bush made no mention of fighting climate change. This is not surprising if, as the New York Times reported on June 8th, the White House Council for Environmental Quality has distributed memos among its staff to purposely pad commissioned studies on global climate change and water down conclusions to paint a less dire picture. “The Council for Environmental Quality was meant to be a watchdog and assure that the President got timely and precise access to environmental information has become a censor downplaying important information with serious policy implications,” said a repesentative of Greenpeace USA, which, as an organisation, obtained copies of the White House memos and passed them on to the Times. When asked to comment on the allegations, McCain said wryly. “I am shocked.” The White House offered no comment on the New York Times article. Blair is widely expected to revisit the topic at the coming G-8 conference in July. The up-coming US Energy bill debate on the Hill At the Senate symposium, McCain said the debate over the US energy bill later this month will include issues like oil drilling in the Arctic, climate change, research funding, tax breaks for companies pursuing renewable energy sources, and the expansion of nuclear energy. By including nuclear energy, McCain was apparently trying to avoid torpedoing his ESA bill, which many analysts think will sink if it does not include a concession to the nuclear industry. A nuclear industry lobbyist that spoke with Bellona Web at the symposium said: “The environmental groups will have to make up their minds. Do they want to follow a purist approach, or acknowledge that nuclear energy is a necessary part of the energy mix?” It is Bellona’s opinion, however, that until a failsafe method of storing highly toxic spent nuclear fuel is found, money poured into supporting the international nuclear industry is best spent on researching and putting into practice renewable sources of energy. Taking action on climate change—A leap of faith? Maryland Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, co-chair of the House Climate Change Caucus, provided the symposium the following analogy about how much certainty it would take to act on the science that has already been done on climate change: ”Would you step into an air plane if it had a 10 percent chance of falling down? Humans make a lot of decisions on less than 100 percent certainty. Politicians on Capitol Hill make sweeping policies on the future economy with a very low degree of certainty.” Dr James E. Hansen, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York has earlier provided the administration with some somewhat soothing solutions to global warming. Hansen told the symposium that the earth itself is out of balance. It accumulates heat from the sun equivalent to 1 watt pr square acre. The Goddard Institute had made calculations that reduced emissions of other climate gases such as soot, nitrogenmonoxide, methane and other gasses could reduce global warming as well as improve the air quality and health for millions of people. This finding will carry policy implications for these short lived climate gases. But the rest of what Hansen had to tell the symposium was not comforting. “The earth will, on average, become a 1/2 degree Celsius warmer with the emissions already in the pipeline. If the temperature rises one degree, we will enter into a phase that is new to mankind. This kind of climate has not been on the planet in 100,000 years,” he said. Questioned by Carper on when it might be too late to bring climate change under control, Hansen responded dryly: ”By one degree increase we are in trouble.” Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 17 Norwich Bulletin: Don't cut subs, top admiral warns www.norwichbulletin.com Tuesday, June 14, 2005 By GREG SMITH Norwich Bulletin John Shishmanian/Norwich Bulletin U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons asks a panel member a question during a House Armed Services Committee hearing Monday at the submarine base in Groton. At left is Virginia Congresswoman Thelma Drake. PROJECTION FORCE SUBCOMMITTEE The House Armed Services Committee Projection Forces Subcommitteeis responsible for Navy and Marine Corps programs (except strategic weapons and space programs, special operations and information technology accounts), deep strike bombers and related systems, strategic lift programs and naval reserve equipment. + Chairman: U.S. Rep Roscoe G. Bartlett, R- Maryland, is serving his seventh term in the House of Representatives. He was first elected in 1992 to represent Maryland's 6th District. One of three scientists in the Congress, he is also a senior member of the Science Committee. He also serves as vice chairman of the Small Business Committee. + U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, is in his third term in the House of Representatives. Simmons served 10 years in the General Assembly, representing the 43rd District. He serves on the Armed Services, Transportation and Homeland Security Committees and is chairman of the Homeland Security Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment subcommittee. A Vietnam veteran, Simmons worked for 10 years as an operations officer in the CIA. + U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., ran as a state delegate to Rhode Island's Constitutional Convention in 1986 and served as its secretary. Two years later, he was elected to his first term in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. In 1994, he became the nation's youngest secretary of state. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2000 and is a member of the House Armed Services Committee. He also serves on the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. + U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., served in the Coast Guard Reserve from 1971-1984 as the skipper of a search and rescue boat. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1989, Taylor serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He is the ranking member of the Projections Forces Subcommittee. He also sits on the Readiness Subcommittee. + U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake, R-Va., was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives Jan. 4. She serves on the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Resources and the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Drake previously served in the Virginia House of Delegates, being first elected in 1995 to represent the 87th District. DEVELOPMENTS MONDAY + A three-member teamof state officials has returned from Kings Bay, Ga., and is sorting through information to see if the federal government's decision to relocate the Groton Submarine base to Georgia makes sense. + Among the thingsthey wanted to learn was how much it would cost to duplicate the Groton base's infrastructure in Georgia. + Speaking Monday at the submarine base in Groton, Navy Vice Admiral Charles L. Munns said he believes the submarine force will continue to be an important part of the nation's defenses in the future and reducing the size of the submarine fleet will put the United States at a disadvantage. WHAT'S NEXT + Membersof the Subase Realignment Coalition plan to meet at 8:30 a.m. today in New London. + Save the Base Rallyat 6 p.m. today at Dodd Stadium in Norwich. + July 6 regional hearingon base closings will be held at the Boston Convention Center GROTON-- A future drop in the number of the country's submarines is cause for concern, the commander of submarine forces said Monday. Navy Vice Admiral Charles L. Munns said he has seen no indication the nation's submarine force will be less important to the future of the nation's defenses. But with the current production rate of just one sub a year, the 55 fast attack subs will eventually decrease to a low of 33. "I think no one's comfortable with that," Munns said. "My sense is where we are now is what we need in the future." Munns made his comments Monday before a House Armed Services subcommittee at the Navy submarine base in Groton. The Pentagon has targeted the base for closure as part of the latest round of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment. Though the hearing was not about base closings, members of the House committee included U.S. Rep Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, and U.S. Rep Gene Taylor, D-Miss., who are fighting base closings in their states. "I share in (Simmons') frustrations," said Taylor, who said costs to clean the base sites after closure will likely outweigh any cost savings. Simmons is pushing for the Navy to build two submarines a year, which could bolster the base's standing in the eyes of the BRAC Commission. Leading the local effort to save the base, John Markowicz, chairman of the Subase Realignment Coalition, said it was "refreshing" to hear talk about the importance of synergy between the sub base and places such as Electric Boat. "The uniqueness of the base -- that synergy is at the core of our argument," Markowicz said. Simmons said economics play too large a role in determining the strength of the military at a time when the intelligence gathered by submarine missions is critical to the nation's security. The rationale, he said, seems to be "here's what we've got, what can we buy with this." China has 18 new submarines under construction and in five years the Chinese submarine fleet would outnumber the United States two to one, Simmons said. "I think this is a dangerous game," Simmons said. U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., chairman of the subcommittee on Projection Forces, said America built one submarine last year, while China has built 11 and with one-10th the military budget. Steps must be taken in order to optimize the cost of nuclear industry in order to realize savings in building the $200 million Virginia class subs, Adm. Kirkland H. Donald, director of Naval Reactors, said. "Our current nuclear-powered shipbuilding posture leaves us with an industrial base that is fragile, both in terms of viability and affordability," Donald said. Munns also said he understood and appreciated the synergy between the base and support facilities such as Electric Boat. State Sen. Cathy Cook, R-Mystic, said if the Pentagon makes the mistake of closing the base, it can't be reopened. She said of top naval leaders, "what they didn't say and the way they said some things, it was clear they didn't think this (closing the base) is a good idea." Taylor called the proposals to close the bases "equally stupid decisions," by the same people who said they knew there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He also warned of the backlash against the military by community members, many of whom have retired in the region to be close to the base. "I think it's change for the sake of change," Taylor said. Before boarding a plane, Drake stood with Simmons, vowing to work together, but also indicating Kings Bay, Ga., was ready to take on more submarines that would be transferred should Groton's base close. gasmith@norwichbulletin.com Originally published June 14, 2005 Copyright ©2005 Norwich Bulletin. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 18 The Advocate: AG says 1994 agreement requires feds to pay for base cleanup Associated Press Published June 14 2005 HARTFORD, Conn. -- Nine years ago, Connecticut hammered out an agreement with the federal government requiring the Department of Defense to clean up all the contamination on the U.S. Navy Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut's attorney general said Tuesday. That "federal facilities agreement," which is unique to the sub base, means DOD "can't leave it, or sell it or contain it; they have to clean it," Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told The Associated Press. Blumenthal is questioning whether the Pentagon accounted for the agreement last month when it recommended closing the base. "The Navy has plainly and blatantly based its closing projections on bogus assumptions," Blumenthal said. "There's no basis in fact or reality for its current cost projections for its cleanup, which it is obligated to do." The Navy has pledged $23.9 million toward making the base clean enough for industrial uses once it is closed. But Blumenthal said the 1994 agreement reached between the state, the Navy and Environmental Protection Agency requires the cleanup meet more strict residential standards. And Blumenthal believes Connecticut has the ability to go to court and enforce that agreement. The U.S. Navy said it was reviewing the 1994 agreement and could not comment on Blumenthal's assertions. Since it was opened in in 1868, the 575-acre submarine base in Groton has been a dumping ground for all sorts of chemicals, such as torpedo fuel, sulfuric acid, waste oil and incinerator ash. The Navy has already spent $57.6 million cleaning the base, which is also a Superfund site. But few sites on the complex have been sanitized enough for residential use. Blumenthal said the Navy also failed to take into account the cost of cleaning up any radioactive waste that might have been produced at the base, which houses nuclear submarines. State officials hope they can persuade the independent Base Closure and Realignment Commission that it makes more sense to keep the military base open than to foot the bill for the true cleanup costs, which they say could easily climb by tens of millions of dollars. Environmental restoration is one eight selection criteria used by the Pentagon when it chose which bases to close. John Markowicz, the head of a regional coalition to save base, said the BRAC commissioners must determine whether the Pentagon "substantially deviated" from that criteria when it recommended closing the Groton base. If the federal government has ignored the 1994 federal facilities agreement with Connecticut, Markowicz said he believes that could constitute a "substantial deviation" from the criteria. An under-calculation of clean up costs could bode well for Groton's fate, he said. "Let's put a real number out there," Markowitz said of the estimated cleanup costs. Blumenthal has written to U.S. Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., and Susan M. Collins, R-Me., asking them to subpoena certain documents that prove the U.S. Navy knew it underestimated the cost of closing the Groton base. Copyright © 2005, The Associated Press © 2005, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. ***************************************************************** 19 CNN: Some compromise possible in Senate energy measure - Jun. 14, 2005 Democrats generally favorable to measure, but may propose changes opposed by GOP. WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) - The Senate, fresh from a compromise on judicial nominees, is set to test whether that same bipartisan spirit will extend to a broad energy bill, slated to go to the Senate Tuesday for debate. Democratic lawmakers on Monday described the 768-page energy bill, hammered out in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, as a "very good bill," but added that they will try to add several provisions likely be opposed by a some Republicans. Democrats hope to add caps on pollution to the final legislation and also to address global warming, increase the amount of electricity produced from renewable energy sources and reduce U.S. oil imports. In contrast to efforts to pass an energy bill during the last Congress, Senate Republicans decided to slowly walk a bill through the committee process over the past four months and add provisions crucial to engender Democratic backing -- a strategy that seems to have worked so far. "The bipartisan bill coming to the Senate is much better" than previous versions, said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., at a press briefing. But Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said: "I hope the U.S. Senate will go even further." Dorgan is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Democrats are expected to press for a greater reliance on renewable fuels, requiring electric utilities to generate 10% of their power from resources like the wind and sun. A second amendment to be offered by Senators Jim Jeffords, I- Vt., and John Kerry , D-Mass., would force utilities to produce 20% of their electricity from renewable resources. Yet another amendment will call for a 40% reduction in U.S. oil imports by 2025. The nation currently imports more than half of its oil. President Bush has been calling on Congress to pass energy legislation since 2001, but lawmakers have clashed on issues such as liability protection for manufacturers of the fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl ether, and whether the Arctic National Wildlife National Refuge should be opened for oil drilling. Republican senators chose not to address either of these issues in the current version of the bill to avoid contentious debate. Karen Wayland, legislative director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental lobbying group, said the energy committee "punted" on all of the hard issues, leaving them to be debated on the Senate floor. Environmental groups say the current draft bill is only marginally better than an earlier version, which they argue relied too heavily on fossil fuels like oil and coal to meet the nation's energy needs at the expense of developing more renewable resources. The bill drafted by the energy committee would encourage expanded oil and natural-gas exploration on federal lands; boost investments in clean coal technology; provide incentives to develop new nuclear power plants; and increase output of renewable fuels like ethanol. The House passed its own version of the energy bill in April. Negotiations to iron out differences between the two versions will begin as soon as the Senate is finished with its version, which lawmakers hope to accomplish before the July 4 recess. Dow Jones Newswires 06-13-05 2051ET Copyright (C) 2005 Dow Jones &Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. [Top of page] © 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company ALL ***************************************************************** 20 TheDay.com: U.S. Should Add To Sub Base, Not Close It , New London, CT Wednesday, Jun 15, 2005 Cliora Rosa of Groton holds a sign near the entrance to the Naval Submarine Base in Groton last month, after the decision to close it was announced. By SEN. CHRISTOPHER J. DODD Published on 6/14/2005 Ever since the shocking recommendation by the Defense Department to close Submarine Base New London, residents of Connecticut  from public officials, to business leaders, to concerned citizens  have come together in common cause to keep alive this unique military asset. No one in our state needs to be convinced that the effects of closing the base would be devastating. Life in Southeastern Connecticut is inextricably linked to the Sub Base  from the base itself, to Electric Boat and its subcontractors where these extraordinary vessels are built, to the local businesses that serve our military and their families. It is estimated that the closure would ultimately cost Connecticut's economy 31,500 jobs and $3.3 billion. The adverse impact of closing the base  while enormous  will not be enough to convince the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission to reverse the Defense Department's recommendation. This is why we intend to show that the Pentagon's recommendation is directly contrary to two essential criteria  military value and cost. Our Nation is at war, and submarines  which can intercept intelligence signals, participate in special operations, and launch precision-guided weapons  play a critical role in our global fight against terrorism. They will also be indispensable in meeting a growing threat from China, which is seeking to expand its sphere of influence in the Pacific Ocean. Submarines are as important as they have ever been. And Southeastern Connecticut stands alone as the community with the experience, resources, and infrastructure needed to ensure that the American fleet remains the best in the world. Put simply, there is no place in the world like Groton. Along with its 18 fast attack submarines, the Sub Base is also home to the Navy Submarine Support Facility, where the ships are maintained, the Navy Submarine School, where our nuclear submariners receive education and training, as well as Submarine Development Squadron 12, where the most cutting-edge submarine technologies are developed and tested. Finally, Groton is home to Electric Boat, the world's premier submarine builder and designer. While their ships are in port, many of the sailors who man the ships literally work side by side with the highly skilled engineers who build and maintain them. With these many institutions all located in one tightly-knit community in Southeastern Connecticut, mutually beneficial relationships have developed which are unparalleled anywhere in the submarine industry  perhaps in our entire military. These relationships have produced the best submarines in the world, and the best trained submariners in the world. The Defense Department has suggested that the unique and extraordinary facilities at Sub Base New London could simply be rebuilt  some in Norfolk, Va, and others in Kings Bay, Ga. But it is unrealistic to suggest that institutions and practices that have evolved together over the past 100 years could be rebuilt from scratch, in two different places. If anything, the Navy should be moving submarines and sailors from Kings Bay or Norfolk to Groton  not the other way around. On a cost basis, as well, it is difficult to understand why the Defense Department believes closing the base in New London would be a good idea. The Department estimates that it would cost $690 million to close the base, but there is good reason to believe that this estimate is significantly lower than the actual cost. In fact, this number does not include a single dollar for closing and rebuilding the sub school  a task that some believe could cost $700 million alone. The information that has been made public thus far raises more questions than it answers. Why was New London given zero points in the pier space category when, in fact, the base has ample pier space? Why did New London score lower than both Norfolk and Kings Bay on specialized skills training, when more training is done at New London than at both of these bases combined? Why, just one month prior to the release of the base closure list, were the savings associated with closing the New London base adjusted up, while the costs were adjusted down? To put it simply, the numbers do not add up  and that is the message that we will be sending the BRAC Commissioners between now and September, when they make their final recommendations to the President and Congress. I intend to fight, together with the governor, Connecticut's Congressional delegation, and concerned citizens across our state, to ensure that this message is heard loud and clear. In order to meet changing and evolving military threats in the 21st century, our nation will have to make difficult choices. But these choices need to be smart ones. And cutting the heart out of America's submarine force is a mistake we cannot afford to make. The writer is Connecticut's senior U.S. senator. [The Day Publishing Co.] ***************************************************************** 21 Guardian Unlimited: ElBaradei gets third term as US caves in Jonathan Steele Tuesday June 14, 2005 The US formally dropped its objections yesterday to the appointment of Mohamed ElBaradei to a third term as head of the UN's nuclear watchdog. The 35-member board of the International Atomic Energy Agency unanimously endorsed another four-year term for the 62-year-old Egyptian, who angered Washington in 2003 by contradicting US intelligence before the Iraq war and saying that Saddam Hussein's regime did not have nuclear weapons or a nuclear programme. Although UN agency heads normally serve a maximum of two terms, there was no serious alternative candidate. European diplomats have been impressed with Mr ElBaradei's record since he took over in 1997 and the US would have been in a minority of one had it tried to veto his candidacy. "The US probably decided it wasn't worth the candle to put up a robust resistance," a European diplomat said last night. Washington had already angered many non-nuclear states with its refusal to discuss disarmament options for the nuclear powers during last month's conference to review the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. "The non-aligned states signalled they would react very strongly if the US wouldn't support ElBaradei," said another European diplomat. The IAEA chief is heavily engaged in leading the inspections of Iran's controversial nuclear energy programme. With the Iranian case still unresolved, diplomats argued that this was not the right time to appoint a different head. Mr ElBaradei also seems to have been helped by the job-switching of John Bolton, who used to manage the nuclear file at the state department. He is still struggling to win Senate approval as President George Bush's nominee to represent the US at the UN. He was Mr ElBaradei's severest US critic, accusing him among other things of being weak on Iran. "It became like Bolton's crusade, and it alienated countries," David Albright, president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, and a former nuclear weapons inspector in Iraq, said last night. "With Bolton moving, people realised that opposing ElBaradei was a losing venture and it was better not to go down in flames." In spite of US charges of softness, the IAEA head has repeatedly criticised Iran for its lack of openness with the agency's inspectors. But his team has found no firm proof of Washington's suspicions that Tehran is preparing the ground to make nuclear weapons. The IAEA is due to deliver a new report on Iran's cooperation with the agency this week. Mr ElBaradei said yesterday the two-year inquiry would not be ended prematurely, in spite of Tehran's insistence that it has already come clean. "The Iran file will be closed when we close all the issues that are still open. We are inching forward but I'd like to have more speedy cooperation on the part of Iran," he said after being reconfirmed in his post. Iran conducted secret nuclear activities for many years. It froze the programme last year after talks with France, Britain and Germany. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 22 UK The Times: West backs old rival to end nuclear stand-off June 15, 2005 From Anthony Loyd in Tehran A MACHIAVELLIAN figure with little concept of human rights, civil liberties or demo-cracy is the default darling among Western diplomats to win the Iranian presidential election on Friday. They see Hojatoleslam Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 70, a former President and the front-runner this time, as the only chance to halt Iran’s nuclear programme. The hope is that Rafsanjani would change the dynamic of the programme,” a senior Western diplomat in Tehran said. “There is a slim chance that if the package of incentives offered by Europe was good enough, he may put aside the enrichment programme for a few years.” Diplomats say that hardliners leading the regime have resigned themselves to a showdown with Europe and America over Iran’s nuclear programme and are prepared to accept sanctions as a price for continuing to enrich uranium. With oil at $50 (Ł28) a barrel, the regime is confident that the UN Security Council would be reluctant to implement sanctions that could cause a further rise in oil prices. “Khamenei (the Supreme Leader) and the hardliners think that the West will never allow Iran to enrich,” the diplomat said. “They see it as better to have the spat now and get on with the enrichment programme.” Neither of the two other leading candidates, Mostafa Moin, a reformist, and Mohammed Qalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guard officer, offer much hope for the future of negotiations between Iran and Britain, Germany and France, the EU3, to halt enrichment. Mr Moin is seen as likely to be railroaded by the regime, and a win for Mr Qalibaf would lead to the consolidation of Ayatollah Khamenei ’s conservative power base. Iran insists that it has a right to enrich uranium. It says that it needs enriched uranium for electri-city. Britain and America say that Iran is seeking to make a nuclear weapon and is close to success. “They are close to weapons capability,” the diplomat said. The purported extent of Iran’s nuclear programme was leaked to the West in 2002 by an Iranian dissident group. Under pressure, Iran halted its enrichment programme last November. Last month it admitted having processed 37 tonnes of uranium ore at the Isfahan conversion facility. Experts say that this could yield more than 91kg (200lb) of weapons-grade uranium, enough for five nuclear weapons. The EU3 have favoured negotiations to resolve the crisis. Last month Iran agreed to pause its enrichment for two months so long as Europe produced a package of econo-mic and security benefits as an alternative. Insiders say that even this two-month pause is under threat. America is threatening to put the issue before the UN Security Council and will push to penalise Iran if the negotiations break down. The stakes were raised this month when Iran announced that it had successfully tested a motor for its Shahab-3 missile, a medium-range device potentially capable of carrying a nuclear warhead 1,200 miles. During his election campaign, Hojatoleslam Rafsanjani has said frequently that Iran’s nuclear programme will be used for peaceful ends and be overseen by Western verification officials. Many, however, see him as an unlikely conciliator. It was under an earlier presidency of Hojatoleslam Rafsanjani that the Bushehr nuclear power plant was built by Russians in the 1990s. In 2001, during a notorious Friday sermon, the cleric stated that just one nuclear weapon for Iran would end Israel’s threat to the region. In fact, few Iranians display the enthusiasm for nuclear weapons that is felt in Pakistan or India. They fear that the possession of a nuclear bomb would entrench the hardline regime. IRAN VOTE MAY GO TO SECOND ROUND + Election will choose a successor to Mohammad Khatami, who has served two terms but is barred from running for a third + If no candidate achieves at least 50 per cent of the vote, elections go to a second round + Hojatoleslam Rafsanjani is predicted to win 35 to 40 per cent of vote, meaning a run-off between him and the second most popular candidate is likely + Iranian elections have never yet gone to a second round + Turnout is expected to be 50 per cent — the lowest since the Iranian revolution in 1979 in Tehran Copyright The Times - timesonline.co.uk ***************************************************************** 23 Xinhua: Riyadh denies having banned nuclear facilities www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2005-06-15 08:52:41 RIYADH, June 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Saudi Arabia has denied reports on having banned nuclear facilities, the Saudi Okaz newspaper reported on Tuesday. The kingdom remained loyal to all international agreements on nuclear weapons and all Saudi nuclear facilities are complied with the international system of safeguards, Saleh al-Adl, Saudi representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Council of Governors was quoted as saying. In a statement to the newspaper, the Saudi official said that a Saudi plant for producing medical isotopes was used only for therapeutic and medical purposes at King Faysal Hospital in the capital. Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil country located in the tense Middle East, is not believed to pose a nuclear threat, but there have been reports that in a crisis the kingdom could use its financial influence to get nuclear technology, or even weapons, which were also denied by Riyadh. Rejecting an European Union request for full nuclear inspections over the weekend, Saudi Arabia insisted on its right to sign a Small Quantities Protocol (SQP), which has been used since 1971 to make inspections less burdensome in nations with small nuclear programs. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who just won a third term Monday, said Tuesday that this protocol has severely limited investigations by the UN nuclear watchdog and has been identified "as a weakness of the safeguards system" of inspections. Enditem Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 24 IAEA: IAEA Board Reappoints Director General Mohamed ElBaradei + [IAEA.ORG :: Atoms for Peace] Staff Report 13 June 2005 [M. ElBaradei] Mohamed ElBaradei at the press briefing in Vienna. View video transcript. Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei has accepted appointment to a third term as IAEA Director General, following his reappointment by the Agency´s Board of Governors meeting in Vienna this week. Dr. ElBaradei was appointed by acclamation to head the Agency for another four years until November 2009. At a press briefing in Vienna today, Dr. ElBaradei said he would continue to hold high impartiality and independence -- core principals and values of international civil service. "In the next four years we have tremendous challenges. We have major issues facing global security; we have major issues facing development. These two issues cut across all our activities. My colleagues and I are committed to do our very best to protect ourselves against the dissemination of nuclear weapons; and against poverty. We will continue to work with the members of the international community to see a world free from nuclear weapons." Dr. ElBaradei said he was humbled by the unanimous support and confidence he had received by all members of the Agency. The appointment will be submitted for approval at the IAEA General Conference, which opens 26 September 2005 in Vienna. Dr. ElBaradei is the IAEA´s fourth Director General since 1957. He was first appointed to the office effective December 1997, and reappointed to a second term in 2001. He follows Hans Blix, IAEA Director General from 1981 to 1997; Sigvard Eklund, IAEA Director General from 1961 to 1981; and Sterling Cole, IAEA Director General from 1957 to 1961. Copyright 2003-2004, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: Official.Mail@iaea.org Disclaimer ***************************************************************** 25 IAEA: Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors + [IAEA.ORG :: Atoms for Peace] 14 June 2005 | Vienna, Austria by IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei Our agenda for this meeting covers a broad range of issues, including the Agency´s Annual Report, the Technical Cooperation Report, the Safeguards Implementation Report, and the report of the Programme and Budget Committee. I will briefly address these and other issues of interest to the Board. Annual Report The Annual Report serves as both the Board´s report to the General Conference, and the Agency´s report to the United Nations and the general public. The draft report before you summarizes the scope and the results of the Agency´s programme of work in 2004. It highlights some of the achievements across a wide-ranging programme aimed at helping Member States harness nuclear energy for peaceful uses, with a focus on meeting both development and security objectives. The activities described range from helping countries assess their groundwater resources and improve their agricultural productivity, to re-evaluating the seismic safety of nuclear facilities and assisting in the upgrading of their physical protection; and from supporting the development of national energy strategies, to continuing efforts to ensure a more effective and efficient safeguards system. The Agency´s Technical Cooperation (TC) Programme You have before you the Technical Cooperation Report for 2004. TC Management Change Initiative In recent years, the TC programme has grown substantially in size, complexity and the number of participating Member States. Last year, the Agency´s TC programme supported national and regional projects in 114 countries and territories, and disbursements totalled over $73 million. New approaches to technical cooperation and technology transfer are emerging globally, and the Agency must adapt to the challenges and opportunities these changes present. Last June, I informed the Board about a review of TC workload and processes, carried out by the Agency´s Office of Internal Oversight Services. Since that time, we have used the recommendations from that review — as well as from a number of other evaluations and studies — to undertake a comprehensive TC change initiative to improve programme effectiveness. The TC change initiative has a number of aspects. We are restructuring the TC Department to conform to the four new geographical regions of the TC programme: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Latin America. We are streamlining processes and working arrangements for greater efficiency, using a "Programme Cycle Management Framework" to ensure a harmonized approach across the TC regions, and using information technology to make the programme more accessible and more transparent to Member States. TC Programme Funding Let me turn briefly to a number of issues related to TC programme funding. The target for voluntary contributions to the Technical Cooperation Fund (TCF) for 2004 was $74.75 million. Total payments towards that target reached approximately $66.5 million, resulting in a rate of attainment of 89%. While this rate of attainment fell just short of the 90% goal set by the Board, it is satisfying to note that this is the highest rate achieved since the establishment of this mechanism in 2001. As you know, last year the Board decided to replace the 8% Assessed Programme Costs on TC project disbursements with 5% National Participation Costs (NPCs). 2005 is the first year for NPCs, and Member States were asked to pay by January to ensure a timely start of project implementation. Out of 88 countries that received NPC payment requests, 78 have paid a sufficient amount for implementation to begin. For the remaining 10 countries, as mandated by the Board, we have not yet begun project implementation — although some preparatory work has been completed. I would exhort all Member States to pay in full and on time their applicable TC contributions so that funding for the TC programme can be assured, sufficient and predictable, and so that we can implement TC programmes as planned for all recipient countries. Nuclear Applications The Agency continues to expand its partnerships with other United Nations system organizations, international financial institutions, regional organizations and other relevant bodies, to expand the scope and achieve synergy with respect to our activities in the area of nuclear applications and technical cooperation. In the area of human health, for example, the Agency has taken a step forward in its partnership with the World Health Organization. Just last month, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution on "cancer prevention and control" that acknowledged the Agency´s support in combating cancer, and recognized our recently established Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT). The resolution asked WHO "to explore the feasibility of initiating the development of a joint programme between WHO and IAEA for cancer prevention, control, treatment and research." This is a welcome development, and will augment our existing cooperation with WHO in the areas of medical physics and nutrition. Nuclear Power Results of the Paris Conference on the Future of Nuclear Power In March, the Agency held an International Ministerial Conference in Paris on Nuclear Power for the 21st Century, in cooperation with the OECD and the NEA. The level of participation and the nature of the discussions and conference findings made clear that, while challenges remain related to safety and waste disposal, many countries are seriously considering an expansion in the use of nuclear power — due to factors such as the rapid growth in energy demand, the desire to ensure the security of energy supply and the growing awareness of the risk of climate change. Nuclear Safety and Security Convention on Nuclear Safety International legal instruments such as the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) are a key component of the global nuclear safety regime. I am pleased to report to you that, with India´s ratification of the CNS earlier this year, every country in the world with operating nuclear power plants is now a signatory to the Convention. At the 3rd CNS Review Meeting in April, the Contracting Parties agreed to further improve the transparency with which the Convention is implemented. I was encouraged by the Review Meeting resolution agreeing to use Agency safety standards as a reference in the CNS review process. I was also pleased by the number of requests for Agency safety missions — particularly the requests by countries with larger nuclear programmes for International Regulatory Review Teams (IRRTs) and Operational Safety Review Teams (OSARTs). Transport Safety Regulations You have before you a proposed policy on making periodic revisions to the Agency´s Transport Regulations, which are part of the corpus of Agency safety standards. The policy is aimed at maintaining consistency with the transport regulations of other United Nations organizations, while reducing the burden on Member States that could result from frequent updates on issues of minor significance. London Conference on Nuclear Security In March, the Agency organized an international conference in London on nuclear security, in cooperation with the European Union, the OSCE, Interpol, Europol and the World Customs Organization. The conference highlighted the range of efforts under way to combat nuclear terrorism and to improve the physical security of nuclear material and facilities, and discussed how the Agency´s Nuclear Security Plan of Activities should evolve to meet remaining challenges. I should mention that next week an open-ended meeting of Member States here in Vienna will focus on the Agency’s proposed new four-year plan of activity for nuclear security. Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material As I mentioned in March, in response to the request by a majority of the States Parties to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM), I have convened a diplomatic conference to be held here in Vienna, from 4 to 8 July, to consider and adopt proposed amendments to the Convention. These amendments would provide essential and long awaited extensions to the scope of the Convention. Following the recent adoption of the International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of International Terrorism, the CPPNM amendments will be yet another milestone in international efforts to improve the physical protection of nuclear materials and facilities. Recent Emergency Response Exercise In ensuring its preparedness to respond to nuclear emergencies, the international community benefits greatly from conducting international nuclear emergency exercises. Last month, Agency staff — together with representatives of 62 Member States and 8 international organizations — participated in "ConvEx-3", a complex exercise that lasted for nearly 40 hours, based on a simulated accident at Romania´s Cernavoda nuclear power plant. The recommendations of the exercise evaluation report will be used to strengthen the Agency´s system for responding to nuclear and radiological emergencies. Nuclear Verification The Safeguards Implementation Report and Safeguards Statement for 2004 The Safeguards Implementation Report (SIR) for 2004 is before you. For 21 States with both a comprehensive safeguards agreement and an additional protocol in force or being otherwise applied, the Agency was able to conclude — having found no indication of the existence of undeclared nuclear material or activities — that all nuclear material had been placed under safeguards and remained in peaceful nuclear activities or was otherwise adequately accounted for. For 129 other States, the Agency was able to reach a more limited conclusion — namely that the nuclear material or other items that had been placed under safeguards remained in peaceful use or were otherwise adequately accounted for. Four States were found to have been engaged in nuclear activities of varying significance that they had failed to report. Corrective actions are being taken by these States, and verification of the correctness and completeness of their respective declarations is ongoing. Status of Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols Our goal continues to be the ability to provide credible and comprehensive assurances to the international community that States are honouring their non-proliferation obligations. As of the end of 2004, 40 non-nuclear-weapon States party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) had not yet fulfilled their obligation to bring comprehensive safeguards agreements with the Agency into force. For these States, we could not draw any safeguards conclusions. Additional protocols are central to the Agency´s ability to derive safeguards conclusions regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities. While more than half of the States with safeguards agreements have now signed additional protocols, I reiterate my call on all States that have not yet done so to bring additional protocols into force without delay. The Board will have before it comprehensive safeguards agreements with Cape Verde, Comoros and Saudi Arabia and additional protocols with Cape Verde, Comoros, Fiji, Honduras, Liechtenstein and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Implementation of Safeguards in the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea Since 31 December 2002, when on-site verification activities were terminated at the request of the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the nuclear activities of the DPRK have been outside IAEA verification. The Agency has therefore been unable to draw any conclusions regarding the DPRK’s nuclear activities since that time. I continue to believe in the importance and urgency of finding a solution to the current situation. The Agency stands ready to work with the DPRK — and with all others — towards a solution that addresses the needs of the international community to ensure that all nuclear activities in the DPRK are exclusively for peaceful purposes, as well as addressing the security needs of the DPRK. Implementation of Safeguards in the Islamic Republic of Iran Regarding the implementation of safeguards in the Islamic Republic of Iran, I would like to update you on the Agency´s activities since the March meeting of the Board. As at that Board, Deputy Director General for Safeguards, Pierre Goldschmidt, will provide more details later during this meeting. The Agency has continued its efforts to verify Iran´s compliance with its NPT safeguards obligations. Iran has facilitated Agency access under its safeguards agreement and additional protocol to nuclear material and facilities. In keeping with the Board´s requests, the Agency has also continued to monitor all aspects of Iran’s voluntary suspension of enrichment related and reprocessing activities. The Agency is making progress on one of the two key remaining issues: namely, the origin of the low and high enriched uranium contamination on equipment at various locations in Iran. Last month, the Agency received from another Member State a number of centrifuge components, on which we have been conducting environmental sampling. I am grateful for the cooperation of this Member State in assisting our efforts to resolve these matters. With regard to the second issue — namely our efforts to verify information provided by Iran regarding its centrifuge enrichment programmes — we have continued to press for additional documentation regarding offers of equipment made to Iran, as well as for information on associated technical discussions between Iran and intermediaries in the procurement network. Iran has provided some additional documentation and information, which are not yet sufficient to answer several remaining questions. The Agency will continue to pursue these and other verification issues. I continue to ask Iran to provide detailed information that could shed light on the outstanding issues. I would also ask Iran to support the Agency’s efforts to pursue further its investigation of the Lavisan-Shian and Parchin sites, by working to reach agreement on modalities, currently under discussion, that would provide the Agency with access to dual-use equipment and other information related to the Lavisan-Shian site, and would allow additional Agency visits to areas of interest at the Parchin site. I intend to report progress in September, and hopefully, with the cooperation of all parties, reach conclusion on some of these outstanding issues. Small Quantities Protocols As I mentioned to you at our last session, the Secretariat has identified the "Small Quantities Protocols" (SQPs) to comprehensive safeguards agreements as a weakness of the safeguards system. For States with SQPs, some of the safeguards measures central to effective nuclear verification are held in abeyance — including initial reports on nuclear material and the right to conduct inspections. Since February, the Secretariat has been consulting with Member States on this issue, with a view to identifying possible remedies. The report before you identifies two options on how we might proceed. As described, both options would redress the important limitations currently placed on safeguards implementation. I would ask the Board to give its attention to this important matter so as to reach a conclusion at the earliest possible opportunity. Committee on Safeguards and Verification On the Board´s Agenda is a proposal by the United States of America that has been under consideration for some time. As currently formulated, the proposal aims to establish a committee to consider ways and means to strengthen the safeguards system. You may recall that, in the aftermath of the failure of the safeguards system in the early 1990s to detect Iraq’s clandestine nuclear weapon programme, the Board established a committee in 1996 to consider how to redress the weaknesses in the safeguards authority. The strengthening of the Agency´s safeguards system to deal effectively with evolving proliferation challenges should be an ongoing process. Recent revelations, such as the discovery of additional undeclared nuclear programmes, aided by covert nuclear supply networks, and the risks associated with nuclear terrorism, have confronted the Agency´s verification system and the non-proliferation regime in general with unprecedented challenges. A new committee would usefully explore how the safeguards system could be further strengthened. Areas that could be addressed should, in my view, include more information sharing, the use of new emerging technologies, enhancing the Agency’s independent analytical capabilities, and ensuring that the Agency has an adequate and uniform legal authority to conduct credible verification. I hope the Board will be in a position to act on this proposal at this session. Results of the 2005 NPT Review Conference It is with regret that I note the inability of the States Party to the NPT, at their recently concluded Review Conference in New York, to agree on how to strengthen the implementation of the Treaty. The lack of substantive agreement is particularly disheartening, given the urgent challenges we face, and the opportunity afforded by this Review Conference. Despite the outcome of the Conference, these challenges are still here and must be addressed. We still need to universalize IAEA authority under the additional protocol; tighten control over, and dissemination of, proliferation sensitive aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle (while ensuring assurances of supply); enhance mechanisms for dealing with non-compliance; and naturally accelerate progress towards nuclear disarmament. If there is a positive note to be taken from the conference, it is that the challenges we face have been clearly identified. I would urge all States to pursue in earnest solutions to reforming our faltering global security system — of which the non-proliferation regime is an essential part. The United Nations summit in September is a timely opportunity to launch this urgently needed reform. Report of the Programme and Budget Committee The Board has before it the Report of the Programme and Budget Committee (PBC). I am pleased to note the PBC’s recommendation that the Board adopt the Agency’s draft programme for 2006–2007, and recommend the draft budget for 2006 to the General Conference for approval. In formulating its proposals, for each of the major programmes the Secretariat adhered strictly to the envelopes established in the "Package Proposal" agreed upon by Member States in 2003. Having this budgetary framework fixed in advance has facilitated the work of both the Secretariat and the PBC. Report of the External Auditor I welcome the report of the new External Auditor, the Vice-President of the German Federal Court of Audit. The report reflects the value of a fresh perspective in reviewing the Agency´s fiscal matters. I would like to underline, in this respect, the External Auditor´s remarks on the burden placed on the Secretariat when Member States attach restrictive conditions to their extrabudgetary contributions. While the contributions are welcome, these restrictions make it difficult to carry out a balanced and well planned programme, in accordance with agreed priorities. A case in point is the Nuclear Security Fund (NSF). When the NSF was created, three years ago, the expectation was that, over time, we would review its appropriateness as the funding mechanism for nuclear security. In the intervening period, security has become a core Agency activity, but the implementation of the security programme has been impeded by restrictive contributions and by a lack of funding reliability. As requested, the Secretariat is preparing a paper on NSF funding arrangements for the Board’s consideration. Conclusion The Secretariat remains committed to the implementation of a programme that aims to address the increasing challenges we are facing in both areas of our activities: human security and human development. The Secretariat will do its best with your guidance and support to ensure efficient and effective implementation of the programme. But our success will naturally continue to depend on your acknowledging that only through a spirit of mutual accommodation can we move forward, and that only with the required financial resources available can the Secretariat respond to your needs and priorities. More DG Statements » Copyright 2003-2004, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: Official.Mail@iaea.org Disclaimer ***************************************************************** 26 IAEA: Transcript: Director General´s Press Statement - 13 June 2005 + [IAEA.ORG :: Atoms for Peace] IAEA Headquarters Vienna Delivered 13 June 2005 This is a rush transcript. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. MOHAMED ELBARADEI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: Well, let me start by saying that I´m humbled and awed by the unanimous support I received today by all members of the Agency. I´m grateful for each and every one of them in the confidence and trust they have in me. As in the past, I will continue to hold high the principals and values of international civil service which is impartiality and independence. I will continue to speak truth to power and continue to hold high the rule of law and I will do my very best to fulfil the trust that has been put in me by our member states. In the next four years we have tremendous challenge. I think this is the most challenging time, the most challenging job I have been asked to continue to serve, today. We have major issues facing global security; we have major issues facing developmental issues. These are the two issues which cut across all our activities. And my colleagues and I are committed to do our very best to protect all of us against the dissemination of nuclear weapons; against poverty and we will continue to work with the members of international community to see a world free from nuclear weapons. I´d be happy to answer to answer any of your questions. AFP: Dr. ElBaradei, first of all, congratulations. ELBARADEI: Thank you very much. AFP: If I may, there were many months of problems with the United States and you made a very dramatic trip to the United States. In what, some people think there might be some kind of deal and if there is some kind of deal, what better ways do you think that you and America find to work together on these crucial issues? ELBARADEI: Well, I think the US made it clear that they have a policy of two terms of heads of international organizations. They have also made it clear that they are ready to listen to the views of the Board of Governors. They have said that they will join the consensus because the overwhelming majority of the Board subscribe to my continuation in the office. I am grateful for the US, as I said I´m grateful for all other member states who have supported me. I had a very constructive and positive meeting in Washington with Dr. Rice, with the National Security Advisor, with the Secretary of Energy and many other people and we looked to the future. We discussed issues that we need to address, particularly, how to shore up the non-proliferation regime in the aftermath of the NPT failure, to move forward and in preparation for our work here this week during the Board. We did not, I can tell you, we did not discuss the past. We did not discuss my election. We looked together, forward. We agreed that we have a lot of common objectives. We might, once in a while disagree on tactics but on many objectives we share the same common views that we need to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We need to ensure the authority of the Agency in terms of verification. We need to have better control over the sensitive fuel cycle and we need to have a more efficient compliance mechanism. So I look forward to work with the US, as I look forward to work with every member of the Agency to achieve our common objectives. Multilateralism is primarily based on mutual accommodation and I think we have seen lately that not a single issue can we move forward, whether it´s fighting AIDS, fighting poverty, arms control, without all of us working together, without all of us understanding each other´s priorities and I hope, what they call the "Spirit of Vienna" will continue to prevail as we move forward to the future. IRNA: Mr. ElBaradei, what are your plans for your third term as Director General? ELBARADEI: Well, my plans are many. I would like to see the Agency being a central player in moving the development agenda for developing countries. Nuclear Energy has a lot to offer in terms of energy, in terms of health, in terms of agricultural productivity, water resource management. So I´d like to make sure that the Agency is fully fulfilling its responsibilities in the area of development. I´d like again to make sure that we fulfil the other aspect of our activities which is Security; make sure that the non-proliferation regime is strengthened, make sure that we have in place an affective verification regime, make sure that are fighting as much as we can, the possibility of nuclear terrorism, make sure that we are working together, as I said, to achieve nuclear disarmament. REUTERS: In your discussions with Dr. Rice, did the subject of Iran come up, what did she say and what did you tell her about how the inspections, how the investigation is going and what you hope to achieve in the coming year? ELBARADEI: Well, I think as I told you, I had a good wide ranging discussion with Dr. Rice and that´s all I would like to tell you at this stage. I obviously discussed with her and with many other people, all the issues on our agenda and they provided their point of view. I provided my point of view and that´s what I do with every Member State. I get their input; they hear my views and at the end of the day, I do what I believe to be the objective, impartial, factual way to proceed forward. AP: Dr. ElBaradei there were some reports, some comments by diplomats close to the Agency about the lack of co-operation with the Americans as far as intelligence (unintelligible). Do you expect that to improve, were you given any promises (unintelligible)? ELBARADEI: Well again, I don´t address intelligence issues. As I said, I had a very positive, constructive discussion with Dr. Rice, with Steven Hadley, with the National Security Advisor, with the Secretary of Energy and I can assure you that we covered all grounds during our discussion. JAPANESE PRESS: Today the Japanese Ambassador... (unintelligible) agenda item. Do you have a comment on the Japan behaviour today? ELBARADEI: Well, I think you can ask that question to the Ambassador to Japan. I think the question, there was no question at any time, that there was a consensus at the Board on my re-appointment. It was a question of when to declare that agreement. It took a day for the Board to decide that. I personally think it was not the most efficient way of proceeding. But at the end of the day we have come with a decision and I am grateful to the members of the Board. IRNA: When will the Iran file be closed? ELBARADEI: Well, I think the Iran file will be closed when we close all the issues that are still open. We are, I think, we are making progress, as I´ve been reporting to the Board. We still have some outstanding issues which I´ll report on tomorrow to the Board. I hope Iran will continue to be transparent to provide us the information we need. I look forward to closing that file as early as we can. So the ball, again, is very much in Iran´s court. The sooner they provide us the information we need, the sooner we will be able to clarify the outstanding issues. AFP: Iran. In your third term, you have more moral weight now. It´s a two part question. There have been problems with access to certain people, like Mr. Fakrivadeh and Shahmoradi, people who are crucial to their programme. Do you think you have more weight in getting access to people, and just the second part of the question in the same vein is, do you think that you will have more of a role to play in the EU-Iran talks as someone (unintelligible)? ELBARADEI: Well, again, without getting into details, I would hope that I will get all the cooperation I need from Iran, including information, including access to people and it is in Iran´s interest to provide the full cooperation. I look forward to the continuing cooperation on the part of Iran. I am going to report that Iran has facilitated access to nuclear materials, nuclear sites. I am going to report that Iran has respected its commitment with regard to the suspension of the fuel cycle activity. These are all positive. I am also going to report we are making progress with regards to the contamination issue and we are getting good cooperation from Pakistan in that regard. But, I´m also going to say that we still, on the issue of extent and nature of the centrifuge programme, we still need additional information from Iran. So we are inching forward but I'd like to have a more speedy cooperation on the part of Iran. Thank you. Copyright 2003-2004, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone (+431) 2600-0; Facsimilie (+431) 2600-7; E-mail: Official.Mail@iaea.org Disclaimer ***************************************************************** 27 Why Nuclear power is NOT the answer to Global Warming Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 11:18:16 -0500 (CDT) Countries that rely heavily on nuclear power - such as France and the US - still struggle to meet their carbon dioxide emission targets, Mr Leipold said. "It's not the case that those countries who have developed nuclear power have low CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions," he said. "Our research shows that every $1 spent on energy efficiency is seven times more effective in cutting carbon than nuclear power." **************************************** Full story: Nuclear power not the way, says Greenpeace Why Nuclear power is NOT the answer to Global Warming Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 11:18:16 -0500 (CDT) Countries that rely heavily on nuclear power - such as France and the US - still struggle to meet their carbon dioxide emission targets, Mr Leipold said. "It's not the case that those countries who have developed nuclear power have low CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions," he said. "Our research shows that every $1 spent on energy efficiency is seven times more effective in cutting carbon than nuclear power." **************************************** Full story: Nuclear power not the way, says Greenpeace Drew Warne-Smith June 14, 2005 IF nuclear energy supplied 75 per cent of the world's electricity, it would result in only a 25 per cent reduction in harmful carbon emissions, the global head of Greenpeace has warned. In Sydney to address the Lowy Institute think tank tonight, Greenpeace International executive director Gerd Leipold told The Australian that he was surprised at the timidity of debate in Australia about energy supply, which has seen Liberal and Labor leaders support a renewed focus on nuclear power as a green-friendly alternative to coal. Mr Leipold will tell the Lowy Institute that nuclear energy is an expensive, dangerous and finite option that has slowed the development of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. "It's good that people are taking climate change seriously and understand that we need to take drastic measures," Mr Leipold, 54, said. "But it's simply not the answer that we need at this moment." Mr Leipold said nuclear power produced by 450 reactors currently supplied about 17 per cent of the world's power. It would take up to 10,000 reactors worldwide to increase supply to 50 to 75 per cent by 2100, he said. But for all the accompanying problems of sourcing uranium, disposing of waste safely and finding new sites for reactors, it would result in only a 25 per cent reduction of carbon emissions. Countries that rely heavily on nuclear power - such as France and the US - still struggle to meet their carbon dioxide emission targets, Mr Leipold said. "It's not the case that those countries who have developed nuclear power have low CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions," he said. Mr Leipold warned that if nuclear technology and know-how were spread, it would also increase the danger of terrorists and rogue states acquiring nuclear weapons. He will also spell out the economic arguments in favour of renewable energy sources, which he said have enjoyed "serious" development work for only the past 10 years. The global nuclear industry receives $US300billion ($392.8billion) a year in government subsidies and provides few jobs compared to decentralised energy sources such as wind farms. China has also committed to 10per cent of its electricity being supplied by renewable energy by 2020, he said. But while Mr Leipold remains optimistic that growing public awareness will help steer governments towards renewable energy sources, he said that finding ways to use our available energy more efficiency would alleviate the need to develop new energy sources in the short term. "If Australia had the energy efficiency that Japan has, we wouldn't even be talking about nuclear energy," he said. "Our research shows that every $1 spent on energy efficiency is seven times more effective in cutting carbon than nuclear power." http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15606421%5E30417,00.html = = = = STILL FEELING LIKE THE MAINSTREAM U.S. CORPORATE MEDIA IS GIVING A FULL HONEST PICTURE OF WHAT'S GOING ON? = = = = Daily online radio show, news reporting: www.DemocracyNow.org More news: UseNet's misc.activism.progressive (moderated) = = = = Sorry, we cannot read/reply to most usenet posts but welcome email FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://EconomicDemocracy.org/wtc/ (peace) http://economicdemocracy.org/eco/climate-summary.html (Climate) And http://EconomicDemocracy.org/ (general) ** ANTI-SPAM NOTE: For EMAIL "info" and "map" DON'T work. Email to ** m-a-i-l-m-a-i-l (without the dashes)at economicdemocracy.org instead ***************************************************************** 28 NEWS.com.au: No future in N-power - Garrett (14-06-2005) NUCLEAR power was not a viable energy replacement source for coal-fired power stations, Labor backbencher Peter Garrett said today. But the former prominent environmentalist said this did not mean a national debate should not take place on the controversial issue. "I think that the current state of nuclear power means that it's not a viable energy replacement source for coal-fired power stations," Mr Garrett said. "There are too many costs to the environment and political obstacles that are in the way of nuclear power. "Sure, we should have a debate about it but we should be clear what the problems are." Mr Garrett said he did not think there was a chance that nuclear power would become a viable option in the future, even if perceived problems with cost and safety were addressed and appropriate safeguards introduced. "I think that if you look seriously from the point of view of public cost, long-term radioactive waste disposal problems, and the contribution to nuclear weapons proliferation ... it will not stack up over time," he said. "And finally, and most importantly, nuclear power stations don't employ a lot of Aussies. "Renewable energy and looking at the mix and suite of energy sources that we have in the country can employ a lot more Australians and we'd have much cleaner energy." 2005 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT + 10). ***************************************************************** 29 Guardian Unlimited: Atomic spin-off's finances in meltdown Terry Macalister Wednesday June 15, 2005 The Guardian AEA Technology, one of the later privatisations under the last Conservative government, reported an Ł18.4m annual pre-tax loss yesterday and announced a Ł33m share placing to prop up its finances. The troubled consultancy and technical services group saw its shares fall 4% to 68.5p. It was spun out of the Atomic Energy Agency in 1996 at 280p and shares had reached Ł10. More than 200 jobs have been axed, including those of the managing directors of its railway and environmental units, around which it will build its future. The group managing director, Andrew McCree, said talks were under way about the sale of the company or parts of other subsidiaries, including its QSA radioactive science venture. Mr McCree, who has only been in the job for nine weeks after the axing of his predecessor, said action was being taken on all fronts to turn the firm around. "The divestment programme is being accelerated and the intention is to restore profitability and cash generation without delay." Mr McCree put a brave face on the heavy deficit, compared with break-even last time, saying the company had been badly hit by Network Rail's slow expenditure rate. Group costs will be cut by Ł8m a year as a result of staffing cuts. Two layers of management had also been removed across the company, which employs around 2,500. But Mr McCree admitted that a "significant improvement in [overall company] performance" was still needed. AEA is raising money via an underwritten placing and open offer of 50.7m new shares at 65p. The move secures Ł83m of borrowing for AEA, which had debts at the turn of the year of Ł57m. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 30 Ottawa Sun Online: China rejects AECL in $5B reactor upgrade [FYIOttawa.com] COMMENTS Tue, June 14, 2005 By CP TORONTO -- Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. has lost out on a multibillion-dollar nuclear reactor sale in China, a major loss for the Crown corporation in the fast-growing energy market and a setback that comes after the collapse of a Candu deal with a utility in the U.S., sources reported yesterday. AECL had hoped to sell two Candu reactors to the Qinshan nuclear plant in China's Zhejiang province, where the federally owned atomic technology company sold a pair of reactors in 1997. AECL also hoped that the previous sale and frequent lobbying from former prime minister Jean Chretien would provide an advantage now that the plant is boosting capacity. The sale is believed to be worth about $5 billion, one of the industry's biggest deals in years. Copyright© 2005, Canoe Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 31 Tri-City Herald: Nuclear plant online, on time This story was published Tuesday, June 14th, 2005 By Chris Mulick, Herald staff writer The Columbia Generating Station was back in service with the rest of the working world Monday after crews ended their 35-day nuclear refueling outage on time over the weekend. Energy Northwest's 1,150-megawatt reactor was expected to be running at full power by day's end. It was shut down May 7 so it could be loaded up with enough nuclear fuel to run for the next two years. "We had a broad scope of work so we think it was a very challenging outage and a very successful one," said spokesman Brad Peck. "It's gratifying for a lot of people who have seen previous outages and know how difficult it can be. It's a complex machine." Meeting the outage schedule is never a slam dunk as crews use the opportunity to perform maintenance on the plant that can't be done while it is operating. Unwanted surprises often arise as the plant is opened up, delaying a restart. The plant was three weeks late coming out of its last refueling outage and didn't reach full power for two weeks more. But there were no such delays this year, much to the delight of the Bonneville Power Administration, which buys all of the plant's power. "I heard comments this morning that were laced with superlatives," said Portland-based BPA spokesman Ed Mosey. In a prepared statement the agency called the outage "well organized, well executed and conducted within budget." The successful outage comes at a time when the public power consortium has been starved for good news. Budget cuts have forced several rounds of layoffs and performance lapses have dropped its score from an independent nuclear industry evaluator. During the outage, crews replaced about one-third of the plant's 764 fuel assemblies while shuffling the others in the reactor core to maximize output. Major maintenance projects included work on the plant's high-pressure turbine rotor, three giant valves that regulate steam flow and drives used to insert control rods into the reactor. About 1,200 temporary workers helped with the effort, most of whom have gone home. While the plant wasn't desperately missed -- mild weather and bargain wholesale power prices made it a good time for an outage -- any delays would have further damaged Bonneville's drought-ravaged bottom line. Though it's largely a function of market price on any given day, the plant's power is generally thought to be worth on the order of $1 million per day on average. "Any place we can pick up a few million, we consider that golden," Mosey said. © 2005 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 32 APP.COM: Toxic nuclear byproducts still accumulate at plants Published in the Asbury Park Press 06/14/05 The federal government is encouraging the construction of a new round of nuclear plants throughout the country and will subsidize them with federal funding. In anticipation of new reactors, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has adopted licensing procedures that will help reduce construction costs and the time it takes to approve a plant. Meanwhile, existing plants are still accumulating and producing the highly toxic waste byproduct. The proposed Nevada Yucca Mountain disposal site, tied up in a federal lawsuit, has been rife with concerns that it might not be an adequate solution for the safe disposal of this waste. The National Academy of Sciences estimates that the peak radiation doses from some of the isotopes would be most dangerous for up to 300,000 years. With this in mind, is it responsible to breed a new generation of these plants? And to encourage them with the gift of taxpayer money and expedited procedures? Why isn't safe disposal the first priority of our leaders? Why weren't the questions of location permits and construction approved before spending billions of taxpayers' dollars? Sadly, it appears that the political influence of the boiler industry, an industry that has blanketed the world with nuclear plants and polluting garbage burners, is guiding the rational thought process of this issue. Thomas J. Cervasio ENVIROWATCH BERKELEY Copyright © 2005 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 33 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: FR Doc E5-3064 [Federal Register: June 14, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 113)] [Notices] [Page 34505-34506] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr14jn05-87] Comment Request AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice of pending NRC action to submit an information collection request to OMB and solicitation of public comment. SUMMARY: The NRC is preparing a submittal to OMB for review of continued approval of information collections under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). Information pertaining to the requirement to be submitted: 1. The title of the information collection: NRC Form 483, ``Registration Certificate--in vitro Testing with Byproduct Material Under General License''. 2. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0038. 3. How often the collection is required: There is a one-time submittal of information to receive a validated copy of NRC Form 483 with an assigned registration number. In addition, any changes in the information reported on NRC Form 483 must be reported in writing to the Commission within 30 [[Page 34506]] days after the effective date of such change. 4. Who is required or asked to report: Any physician, veterinarian in the practice of veterinary medicine, clinical laboratory or hospital which desires a general license to receive, acquire, possess, transfer, or use specified units of byproduct material in certain in vitro clinical or laboratory tests. 5. The estimated number of annual respondents: 364 (104 NRC licensees and 260 Agreement State licensees). 6. The number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 42 hours (12 hours NRC licensees and 30 hours Agreement State licensees). 7. Abstract: Section 31.11 of 10 CFR establishes a general license authorizing any physician, clinical laboratory, veterinarian in the practice of veterinary medicine, or hospital to possess certain small quantities of byproduct material for in vitro clinical or laboratory tests not involving the internal or external administration of the byproduct material or the radiation therefrom to human beings or animals. Possession of byproduct material under 10 CFR 31.11 is not authorized until the physician, clinical laboratory, veterinarian in the practice of veterinary medicine, or hospital has filed NRC Form 483 and received from the Commission a validated copy of NRC Form 483 with a registration number. Submit, by August 15, 2005, comments that address the following questions: 1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical utility? 2. Is the burden estimate accurate? 3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected? 4. How can the burden of the information collection be minimized, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology? A copy of the draft supporting statement may be viewed free of charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide Web site: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html. The document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days after the signature date of this notice. Comments and questions about the information collection requirements may be directed to the NRC Clearance Officer, Brenda Jo. Shelton, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, T-5 F53, Washington, DC 20555-0001, by telephone at 301-415-7233, or by Internet electronic mail to INFOCOLLECTS@NRC.GOV. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of June 2005. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information Services. [FR Doc. E5-3064 Filed 6-13-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 34 NRC: Southern California Edison Company; Notice of Consideration of FR Doc E5-3065 [Federal Register: June 14, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 113)] [Notices] [Page 34506-34508] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr14jn05-88] Issuance of Amendment to Facility Operating License, Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for a Hearing The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-10 and NPF-15, issued to Southern California Edison Company (SCE or the licensee), for operation of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), Units 2 and 3 located in San Diego County, California. The proposed amendment would lower the allowable values for dropout and pickup of the degraded voltage function. The amendment request was submitted on May 27, 2005, on an exigent basis because the need for a license amendment to change the degraded voltage function was not recognized by the licensee or the NRC staff until recently, and the licensee requests approval of the proposed amendment by July 1, 2005, to allow implementation of the amendment before the expected high summer load period. Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Commission will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act) and the Commission's regulations. Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6) for amendments to be granted under exigent circumstances, the NRC staff must determine that the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration. Under the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1) involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; or (2) create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. As required by 10 CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of the issue of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented below: 1. Does the proposed change involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated? Response: No. This proposed change revises the Technical Specification (TS) Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.3.7.a allowable values of the Degraded Voltage Function. This proposed change will allow Southern California Edison (SCE) to re-establish 218 kV as the minimum voltage on the offsite transmission grid necessary to support operability of the immediate access offsite power source (also referred to as the normal preferred power source[)]. This will be accomplished by lowering the dropout and pickup settings, including allowable values for dropout and pickup of the degraded voltage protection relays. Following approval of this proposed change, the 4.16 kV Class 1E buses would be capable of remaining on the normal preferred power source at or above a grid voltage of 218 kV while protecting all Class 1E equipment from degraded grid conditions. The degraded voltage protection circuits are designed to protect electrical equipment against the effects of degraded voltage on the offsite transmission networks. Therefore, these circuits are generally not considered to be accident initiators. However, spurious actuation of the degraded voltage protection relays could result in the loss of the preferred power source (offsite source of alternating current (AC) power). The proposed change lowers the allowable values for both dropout and pickup for the degraded voltage protection relays. This results in an increase in operating margin and a lower probability of spurious actuation of these degraded voltage signals. Therefore, there is no increase in the probability of a Loss of Offsite Power (preferred power source) as a result of this proposed change. The safety function of the degraded voltage protection circuits is to ensure the operability of Class 1E equipment. SCE has performed calculations that demonstrate that operation in accordance with this proposed change will not result in operation of plant equipment at degraded voltages. [[Page 34507]] Therefore, there is no increase in the consequences of any accident previously evaluated. Therefore, the proposed change does not involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of any accident previously evaluated. 2. Does the proposed change create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated? Response: No. The proposed allowable values of the degraded voltage relays will provide an acceptable level of protection for plant equipment. This proposed change affects only the voltage settings of the degraded voltage protection relays. There is no other change to the degraded voltage function. There are no physical modifications necessary to the degraded voltage protection relays. There are no changes to the actions performed by the relays following actuation. Therefore, there are no new failure modes or effects introduced by this proposed change. Therefore, this proposed change does not create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated. 3. Does the proposed change involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety? Response: No. The proposed degraded voltage protection schemes are designed to ensure that plant equipment will not operate at a degraded voltage. The proposed degraded voltage allowable values will not affect the existing protection criterion for plant equipment. This maintains the existing margin of safety for plant equipment. Therefore, there is no significant reduction in the margin of safety as a result of the proposed amendment. The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 50.92(c) are satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to determine that the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration. The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed determination. Any comments received within 14 days after the date of publication of this notice will be considered in making any final determination. Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the expiration of the 14-day notice period. However, should circumstances change during the notice period, such that failure to act in a timely way would result, for example, in derating or shutdown of the facility, the Commission may issue the license amendment before the expiration of the 14-day notice period, provided that its final determination is that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. The final determination will consider all public and State comments received. Should the Commission take this action, it will publish in the Federal Register a notice of issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this action will occur very infrequently. Written comments may be submitted by mail to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. Written comments may also be delivered to Room 6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to intervene is discussed below. Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, the licensee may file a request for a hearing with respect to issuance of the amendment to the subject facility operating license and any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding must file a written request for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene. Requests for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with the Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings and Issuance of Orders'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, which is available at the Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area 01F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, . If a request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed by the above date, the Commission or a presiding officer designated by the Commission or by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the request and/or petition; and the Secretary or the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of a hearing or an appropriate order. As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner in the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the results of the proceeding. The petition should specifically explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with particular reference to the following general requirements: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the requestor or petitioner; (2) the nature of the requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party to the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the requestor's/petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in the proceeding on the requestor's/petitioner's interest. The petition must also identify the specific contentions which the petitioner/requestor seeks to have litigated at the proceeding. Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the petitioner/requestor shall provide a brief explanation of the bases for the contention and a concise statement of the alleged facts or expert opinion which support the contention and on which the petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the hearing. The petitioner/requestor must also provide references to those specific sources and documents of which the petitioner/requestor is aware and on which the petitioner/requestor intends to rely to establish those facts or expert opinion. The petitioner/requestor must provide sufficient information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the applicant on a material issue of law or fact. Contentions shall be limited to matters within the scope of the amendment under consideration. The contention must be one which, if proven, would entitle the petitioner/ requestor to relief. A petitioner/requestor who fails to satisfy these requirements with respect to at least one contention will not be permitted to participate as a party. Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to intervene, and have the opportunity to participate fully in the conduct of the hearing. [[Page 34508]] If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final determination on the issue of no significant hazards consideration. The final determination will serve to decide when the hearing is held. If the final determination is that the amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration, the Commission may issue the amendment and make it immediately effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing held would take place after issuance of the amendment. If the final determination is that the amendment request involves a significant hazards consideration, any hearing held would take place before the issuance of any amendment. Nontimely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be entertained absent a determination by the Commission or the presiding officer of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that the petition, request and/or the contentions should be granted based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). A request for a hearing or a petition for leave to intervene must be filed by: (1) First class mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; (2) courier, express mail, and expedited delivery services: Office of the Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; (3) E-mail addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ; or (4) facsimile transmission addressed to the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff at (301) 415-1101, verification number is (301) 415-1966. A copy of the request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene should also be sent to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and it is requested that copies be transmitted either by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to . A copy of the request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene should also be sent to Nicolas S. Reynolds, Esquire, Winston and Strawn, 1400 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 2005- 3502, attorney for the licensee. For further details with respect to this action, see the application for amendment dated May 27, 2005, which is available for public inspection at the Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site . Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e- mail to . Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of June 2005. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Mel B. Fields, Senior Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate IV, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E5-3065 Filed 6-13-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 35 The Standard: US$4.3b for Zhejiang nuclear push - China Section China National Nuclear Corp plans to spend US$4.33 billion (HK$33.77 billion) to more than double capacity at its Qinshan generator to meet energy demand. Capacity at the Zhejiang province plant will rise to 6,300 megawatts from 3,000 megawatts, said Hu Haiyun, Communist Party secretary at the Qinshan Nuclear Power Base. Work starts in March, with approval needed for parts of the six-year project. China National Nuclear, the nation's largest nuclear plant builder, will use Chinese technology and equipment may be supplied by partners such as France's Areva and Germany's Siemens, said officials. China, which relies on coal and oil for 90 percent of its energy, needs to add two reactors a year to meet a target of generating 4 percent of power from nuclear plants by 2020, compared with about 2.3 percent now. ``China is always looking at all sources to meet its energy needs,'' said Hu. Construction to double the capacity at Nuclear Power Qinshan Joint Venture, a China National Nuclear unit, will begin in March, said general manager Yang Lanhe. Nuclear Power Qinshan has two reactors, each of 650 megawatts, and is building another two similar-sized generating units, he said. Yang indicated total spending would be US$1.73 billion. The company will use its own technology, known as CNP 650, he said. Qinshan Nuclear Power, also a unit of China National Nuclear, which operates a 300-megawatt plant, plans to boost capacity to 2,300 megawatts, said Ma Mingze, its deputy general manager, Friday. Qinshan Nuclear Power submitted plans to the government to build two 1,000-megawatt units at the site, he said, adding that he is not sure when approvals would come. Qinshan Nuclear Power plans to use a new form of reactor technology that China Nuclear is developing, known as CNP 1,000, for the planned expansion, said Ma. A design of a prototype for the reactor may be ready by the end of the year, Kang Rixin, president of China National Nuclear, said June 6. The new reactor type is expected to be cheaper to construct, costing about US$1,300 per kilowatt, compared with US$1,330 per kilowatt at existing plants. Plants using CNP 1,000 technology may cut the cost of power sold to electricity distributors by five cents per kilowatt, said Kang. The total cost of expanding Qinshan Nuclear Power may be US$2.6 billion, based on China National Nuclear's estimates. It used more than 50 percent of local content in constructing Nuclear PowerQinshan and Qinshan Nuclear Power, said Ma. The rest of the equipment used for the reactors are supplied by manufactures such as Areva and Siemens, he said. Third Qinshan Nuclear Power, which operates two 700-megawatt reactors at Qinshan base, is a joint venture with partners including China Nuclear and China Electric Power Group, using technology provided by Atomic Energy of Canada. BLOOMBERG Copyright 2005, The Standard, Sing Tao Newspaper Group and Global China Group. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 36 Hudson Valley News: Study of Indian Point alteratives released Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Westchester County will aggressively pursue a two-pronged policy, including voluntary retirement, to see that the Indian Point plants are not relicensed, County Executive Andrew Spano said today as he released a year-long study of the options for closing the plants and replacing their energy. At a meeting where Levitan & Associates presented its report, Spano said that the potential costs to taxpayers and ratepayers of condemning the plants made that option unrealistic and unwise. Instead, he said, the county would expand its effort to see that the two nuclear reactors are not relicensed -- a carrot and stick approach where Entergy, the plants owner, would be offered incentives to build replacement power on-site instead of applying for license extensions, and where simultaneously the county would press the federal government to deny Entergys relicensing application. If we plan now, ratepayers, taxpayers and our economy will not be impacted," Spano said. "This is a pragmatic approach to our effort to protect the people of Westchester, but at the same time make sure that we have the energy that the region needs, Spano said. The current licenses for Indian Point 2 and 3 expire in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Although Entergy has not yet applied for license extension, the county expects it to do so and has been pressing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to adopt more stringent relicensing requirements  requirements that might preclude relicensing Indian Point. Levitan & Associates, a Boston-based management consulting firm with experience in the power and fuel industries, was hired last year by the county and its public utility agency. The study, paid for with funds from the utility agency with no impact on the tax levy, cost $385,000. Entergy spokesman James Steets, meanwhile, said the Spano report affirms what Entergy has been saying all along about Indian Point, that it is a viable, clean and cost-effective energy producer. Any thoughts of Entergy accepting Spano's offer not to renew its licenses is not likely, Steets said. The full report will be posted on the web at: www.westchestergov.com ***************************************************************** 37 Scotsman.com: US pressures G8 to support nuclear power Tue 14 Jun 2005 The White House wants backing for nuclear power; the UK considers rejecting the US position a 'red line' issue on which no concessions can be made. Picture: David McNew/ Getty Images JAMES KIRKUP POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT THE White House is pressing for next month's G8 summit in Gleneagles to make a clear statement of support for nuclear power, opening up a new rift with the UK over climate change. The US pressure over nuclear power is revealed in a confidential paper prepared by UK government officials as part of the preparatory talks before the Gleneagles meeting. The leaked document, entitled Powering a cleaner future, discloses that the UK considers rejecting the US position to be a "red line" issue, on which no concessions can be made. However, the UK is willing to see the summit endorse a US project for a new worldwide generation of nuclear reactors. Tony Blair hopes the summit will produce a new "action plan" on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but disputes over the role of nuclear power in that strategy could yet undermine his plans. George Bush, the US president, has suggested nuclear power could be a "clean" power source for the future, angering environmentalists. US officials have been arguing that the Gleneagles action plan should contain a section dedicated to advocating atomic power. That, the paper makes clear, is unacceptable to Margaret Beckett, the Environment Secretary and a known sceptic about nuclear power. "UK red line: Avoid US suggestion for a separate 'nuclear' heading," the document says. Instead of committing the G8 countries to greater use of nuclear power, Britain wants a final summit declaration that "leaves it up to individuals to decide whether nuclear is a suitable part of their energy mix". Still, the paper reveals that the UK is ready to accept a G8 statement giving apparent support to the US-backed "Generation IV" plan. Generation IV is a long-term study which the US department of energy describes as an international attempt to "broaden the opportunities for the use of nuclear energy". According to the Generation IV analysis, nuclear reactors are "generating electricity in a reliable, environmentally safe and affordable manner without emitting noxious gases into the atmosphere". Britain's current generation of nuclear reactors is nearing the end of its useful life, meaning the government will shortly have to take a decision about whether to build another. The Prime Minister's scientific advisers are known to see new reactors as the only way for Britain to meet targets for cutting greenhouse emissions. By contrast, ministers led by Mrs Beckett have grave doubts. Speaking in Russia, Mr Blair yesterday said there was "a real prospect of progress" on climate change in Gleneagles, but he added: "There's obviously still a lot of hard negotiating to do." Mr Blair has so far won cautious support from green groups over his drive for a climate change accord, but any move by the G8 to back nuclear power could cost the Prime Minister that backing. Meanwhile, Robin Cook, the former foreign secretary, yesterday increased the pressure on Mr Blair to broker a meaningful climate deal at Gleneagles. That, Mr Cook said, was at least as important as an agreement on African poverty. ***************************************************************** 38 NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting FR Doc 05-11789 [Federal Register: June 14, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 113)] [Notices] [Page 34508-34509] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr14jn05-90] AGENCY: Agency Holding the Meetings: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. DATE: Weeks of June 13, 20, 27, July 4, 11, 18, 2005. PLACE: Commissioners' Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. Status: Public and Closed. Matters too be Considered: Week of June 13, 2005 There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of June 13, 2005. [[Page 34509]] Week of June 20, 2005--Tentative Monday, June 20, 2005 3 p.m. Affirmation Session (Public Meeting) a. Yankee Atomic Electric Co.(Yankee Nuclear Power Station), Licensee's and NRC Staff's appeal of LBP-04-27 (Tentative) b. Private Fuel Storage (Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation) Docket No. 72-22-ISFSI (Tentative) c. U.S. Army (Jefferson Proving Ground Site)(Possession-only license for Depleted Uranium munitions) d. Duke Energy Corp. (Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2), Commission sua sponte review of the Licensing Board's March 10, 2005 final decision on security contention (Tentative) Week of June 27, 2005--Tentative Tuesday, June 28, 2005 9:30 a.m. Briefing on Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program (Public Meeting) (Contact: Corenthis Kelley, 301-415-7380) This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address--http://www.nrc.gov . Wednesday, June 29, 2005 9:30 a.m. Discussion of Security Issues (Closed--Ex. 1) Week of July 4, 2005--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of July 4, 2005. Week of July 11, 2005--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of July 11, 2005. Week of July 18, 2005--Tentative There are no meeting scheduled for the Week of July 18, 2005. *The schedule for Commission meetings is subject to change on short notice. To verify the status of meetings call (recording)--(301) 415- 1292. Contact person for more information: Michelle Schroll, (301) 415- 1662. * * * * * The NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can be found on the Internet at: http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/policy-making/schedule.html* * * * * The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in these public meetings, or need this meeting notice or the transcript or other information from the public meetings in another format (e.g. braille, large print), please notify the NRC's Disability Program Coordinator, August Spector, at (301) 415-7080, TDD: (301) 415- 2100, or by e-mail at aks@nrc.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. * * * * * This notice is distributed by mail to several hundred subscribers; if you no longer wish to receive it, or would like to be added to the distribution, please contact the Office of the Secretary, Washington, DC 20555 (301-415-1969). In addition, distribution of this meeting notice over the Internet system is available. If you are interested in receiving this Commission meeting schedule electronically, please send an electronic message to dkw@nrc.gov. Dated: June 9, 2005. R. Michelle Schroll, Office of the Secretary. [FR Doc. 05-11789 Filed 6-10-05; 10:55 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-M ***************************************************************** 39 NRC to restore docs following security review NRC restores Web docs [FCW.com, Nov. 8, 2004] National security concerns at issue [Federal Computer Week, Nov. 8, 2004] NRC library goes off-line [FCW.com, Oct. 26, 2004] U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission BY Dibya Sarkar Published on Jun. 13, 2005 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced last week it will restore more than 70,000 documents to its online library for public view in a continuing effort to scrub its site of sensitive documents. About 5,000 documents per day will be restored to the site to limit the impact on the NRCs electronic records system, which is expected to be completed by June 20. Restored documents to the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) include administrative, contractual, research and others, which are unrelated to any specific licensee, that were determined to be non-sensitive following the commissions security review. The NRC has slowly been restoring documents to ADAMS library and some parts of its Web site after it shut down public access Oct. 25, 2004, when the agency learned that potentially sensitive documents containing floor plans and locations of nuclear materials were available online. The agencys policy is to remove any documents that could possibly be used by terrorists. The agency started to restore documents about a week after public access was shut off, but it did not restore Web-based access to ADAMS until February, the agency said. However, users who installed Citrix software could access the library during that time. Over the last seven and a half months, the agency has restored access to about 163,000 non-sensitive documents in several categories, including those pertaining to reactors, Yucca Mountain and selected hearings, according to an agency press release. Most documents dealing with nuclear materials (i.e., non-reactor) licensee documents have not been restored, and the commission continues to evaluate them, a press release stated. Time-sensitive documents that have not been restored, such as those related to opportunities for hearings or for public reviews and comments on regulatory matters, may be available by contacting the NRC Public Document Room at 800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or pdr@nrc.gov. FCW.COM is a product of FCW Media Group. ***************************************************************** 40 TheDay.com:Flagging Submarine Design System Called Dangerous Problem For U.S. , New London, CT Wednesday, Jun 15, 2005 Presently, our force of submarine designers engaged in design work is about 2,200, and is headed toward less than 1,000 by the end of 2007. The expertise resulting from our long-term investment is, today, atrophying. Adm. Kirkland H. Donald, director of the office of Naval Reactors By ROBERT A. HAMILTON Day Staff Writer, Navy/Defense/Electric Boat Published on 6/14/2005 Groton  The country is on the precipice of a national disaster if it continues to allow the weakening of submarine design capability at Electric Boat, the Navy officer in charge of submarine construction programs testified Monday. Rear Adm. John D. Butler, program executive officer for submarines at Naval Sea Systems Command, said that for the first time since before World War II, the Navy does not have a submarine design project on the boards. These are skills that do atrophy and don't come back just because you hire skilled engineers, Butler said. I have this national asset of submarine designers, and no work for them. The design force at Electric Boat has dwindled to near-dangerous levels, Butler and Adm. Kirkland H. Donald, director of the office of Naval Reactors, told the congressional Projection Forces Subcommittee, which conducted a field hearing at the Naval Submarine Base. Donald said it takes about 4,000 engineers and designers to develop a modern submarine, and in the past that peak workforce was achieved by maintaining a core of about 2,000 personnel and using each of them to mentor a new designer. Presently, our force of submarine designers engaged in design work is about 2,200, Donald said in written testimony, and is headed toward less than 1,000 by the end of 2007. The expertise resulting from our long-term investment is, today, atrophying. Their comments echoed a similar concern raised last week by retired Adm. Bruce DeMars, a former head of Naval Reactors, who told the Naval Submarine League annual symposium that the submarine design force is in extremis. The submarine design base is a national asset and must be preserved, he said. At the same forum, EB President John P. Casey noted there are some prospects the shipyard is pursuing, including $600 million in funds for an undersea superiority system that the president has proposed in his defense budget. There are opportunities to apply and leverage the talent that we have, Casey said. But he also acknowledged that keeping the submarine design force intact is one of the biggest national security issues today, and within a year or so we're going to be at a decision point on it. Subcommittee members questioned whether Tango Bravo, a joint project between the Navy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, might keep some of the expertise alive. Tango Bravo will invest $97 million over the next four years investigating technologies that would drive down the size and cost of submarines, such as external weapons, new propulsion systems and automated systems. But Butler said at this point Tango Bravo is only a technology demonstration  designers won't get involved until the project determines the concepts are feasible. The bottom line is, it's not a design ... and we won't be moving forward with it as a design until 2009, he said. Donald noted that Tango Bravo might not result in any new design, so much as modifications to the existing design for the Virginia class of submarines under construction at Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. If the Tango Bravo technologies pay off, if there are some that are truly viable, there's no reason we can't use them in Virginia, Donald said. He noted that would help amortize the development costs of Virginia over a larger number of hulls. Despite the grim outlook for the EB design force, the president of the Marine Draftsmen's Association at the shipyard, John A. Worobey Jr., said he was encouraged by the attention that seems to be focused on the problem. We know the Navy has been aware of it, after seeing the help that Great Britain needed, Worobey said. It just a matter of coming up with the cash, with the projects. I really hope this hearing today has opened some eyes. The Astute-class nuclear submarine program in the United Kingdom started after a several-year hiatus in construction and design, and was soon in such trouble that at the request of the U.S. Navy, an EB team was brought in to help fix it. Today an EB executive runs the program. Butler said there are options that Congress could exercise to maintain the design-force industrial base. Among them are a design project aimed at modifying the Virginia design to drive out some of the cost and make it easier to produce, and preliminary design work on a new class of ballistic missile submarine to replace the Ohio class, which will go out of service starting in the mid-2020s. That would give us the work we need to keep our designers busy, Butler said. r.hamilton@theday.com [The Day Publishing Co.] ***************************************************************** 41 asahi.com: Nuclear emergency drill to test readiness for terrorist attack - ENGLISH 06/15/2005 The Asahi Shimbun The government, in an effort to prepare people for a military emergency, will hold an evacuation drill in late November under the premise that a nuclear power plant is under attack by terrorists. The exercise, the first on-site drill under legislation to protect people in the event of a military attack on Japan, will take place in Fukui Prefecture, officials said Tuesday. The scenario envisages terrorists attacking Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Mihama nuclear power plant, raising fears of a radiation leak. Officials expect about 1,500 people to take part. The drill will involve central and local government officials, police and Self-Defense Forces personnel, as well as members of public service organizations such as media entities, hospitals and transportation firms, along with local residents. Public service organizations are required to cooperate with evacuation activities under the people protection law, which was enacted in June 2004 as part of a military emergency legislation package. The central and Fukui prefectural governments will set up their respective headquarters which, in cooperation with SDF personnel and other services, will lead residents to safety. Medical institutions will offer treatment for those affected by radioactivity and police will control traffic to ensure smooth evacuation. In late October, the government will also test communications networks for the nation's 47 prefectures. Under the law, prefectures are required to draw up people protection programs by next March that detail plans to evacuate residents. Cities, towns and villages are expected to have their own programs in place by March 2007. Fukui Prefecture has 15 nuclear power reactors. It compiled its program in December 2004, more than a year earlier than the deadline, so that it could take specific steps in the event of an attack on nuclear facilities. Yoshitaka Murata, state minister in charge of disaster prevention and military emergency legislation, informed Tuesday's Cabinet meeting of the planned drill.(IHT/Asahi: June 15,2005) Vox Populi, Vox Dei Asahi Shimbun's well-known daily column, which deals with a wide range of subjects from history, culture to current events. ASAHI WEEKLY Asahi Weekly is the foremost teacher of English in Japan through news, features and columns. [The Asahi Shimbun Asia Network] Up-to-date columns and reports on pressing issues indispensable for mutual understanding in Asia. [More Information] Asahi Haikuist Network Why don't you take pen in hand and send us a haiku or two. Haiku expert David McMurray will evaluate your submission. [Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 42 [NukeNet] News/US: Radioactive Waste Incinerator Planned for Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:10:42 -0700 NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) A new incinerator is planned for Memphis, Tennessee which would burn "mixed waste" -- waste that is both hazardous AND radioactive. The other side of the state (in Oak Ridge and Kingston) is already home to two of the nation's three commercial radioactive/mixed waste incinerators. Visit http://www.memphistruth.org and if there is any way you can help them stop this crazy idea, please get in touch with them. Radioactivity can NOT be destroyed through incineration. http://www.tnimc.org/feature/display/5484/index.php Memphis Community Activists Come Together Over Radioactive Waste Incineration by Jason and Hannah Kennedy 09 Jun 2005 Several community activist groups packed the Memphis City Council Chambers today in opposition of RACE LLC's proposed incinerators for low level radioactive waste. The Land Use Board of the Memphis City Council decided to delay decision making until it gathered more information from both sides, from James Spike, Chairman of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), the City Attorney and the Health Department about the proposed plants. In a city that is known for racial tension and division, several groups of community activists from different racial and class backgrounds joined in solidarity today to combat RACE, LLC, (Radiological Assistance, Consulting and Engineering) a local company that wants to burn radioactive waste on the banks of one of the largest rivers in the world, the Mississippi. The Riverview Collaborative Neighborhood Association, the Sierra Club's Environmental Justice Department, Memphis Truth and the Downtown Neighborhood Association joined forces today at the Land Use Control Board of the Memphis City Council to show that the people of Memphis do not want radioactive waste burning on the banks of their precious river. Ernestine Carpenter of the Riverview Collaborative, a school teacher and elder in her predominantly African-American neighborhood is concerned with more pollution-ridden companies making her neighborhood their home. She is concerned with the fact that her Southwest Memphis neighborhood has the lowest population of elderly people in the city of Memphis due to cancers and other illnesses borne out of high pollution industries. She says that her Southwest Memphis neighborhood does not need more high pollution industries like the Mapco plant which is already situated there. Several RACE employees also attended the City Council meeting, demonstrating that their jobs are at stake if RACE is not allowed to burn radioactive materials. RACE has been operating as a storage and processing facility for radioactive waste in Memphis since 2001, and now wants to expand its operation to burn radioactive waste. Bob Applebaum, President of RACE, LLC claims that the proposed plants will burn low level radiactive waste, mainly from Duke University's medical research lab. Another RACE employee stated that "there is a 50-50% chance that low level waste from nuclear power plants will be incinerated at the plants." When asked what kind of nuclear power plant waste would be burned at the plants, several employees said "trash." When asked to elaborate on what type of "trash", the Operation Supervisor for RACE affirmed that contaminated materials such as plastics, metals, animal carcasses, wood and paper would be burned there, and that it is necessary to burn this "trash" to drastically reduce the volume of nuclear waste that would be buried. Richard Fields, spokeperson for Memphis Truth and Pastor Ralph White, of a neighborhood Baptist Church, complained to the Land Use Board of the Memphis City Council for lack of information on this issue. The community activists are also concerned that Memphis will become a place where more and more radioactive waste will be incinerated if RACE is granted a permit for its incinerators. The Land Use Board of the Memphis City Council unanimously agreed to postpone any decision making for thirty (30) days, to buy time "to cover all the bases," because they want to make sure "to do what is right." For more information see: http://www.memphistruth.org http://www.sierraclub.org/environmental_justice/projects_tn.asp http://www.tennessee.sierraclub.org/chickasaw/ _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 43 deseret news: Hundreds in study to get news of thyroid ills [deseretnews.com] Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Copyright 2005 Deseret Morning News By Joe Bauman Deseret Morning News A University of Utah study examining a possible connection between fallout and thyroid disorders is ending early — and most of the 20 scientists and administrators will be laid off by the end of June. But before the work is done, adds its director, hundreds of people must be informed their exams showed signs of thyroid disease. There are a lot of thyroid abnormalities, said the director, Dr. Joseph Lyon of the University of Utah. Researchers had examined about 1,700 of a planned 4,500 people, mostly from southwestern Utah, "We identified several hundred cases of disease," Lyon said. Disease can cover a range of problems, from benign thyroid nodules to cancer. Lyon did not offer details of the findings. But he said the people will need to find physicians concerning their problems. Informing them is an ethical requirement, he believes. "In medicine it's called abandonment" if patients aren't told. "So we have to notify several hundred individuals they have problems and will need follow-up," he said.. In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, said it would no longer fund Lyon's latest study, which had cost $8 million and continued for 3 1/2 years. In an April 5 letter to Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding, director of the CDC, wrote, "The scientific quality of the study was questioned by external scientific reviews . . . Both reviews focused on the lack of scientifically defensible dosimetry, power and treatment of uncertainty. Those issues form the foundation upon which the study is based." Lyon and his associates have challenged those points in detail. He has sent two letters to the CDC official, one outlining the researchers' position in detail. The study was a sequel to research by Lyon, starting in 1977, that demonstrated fallout from open-air atomic tests in Nevada during the 1950s and early '60s caused cancer downwind. His 1979 report in the New England Journal of Medicine and a later review on leukemia prompted Congress to pass a fallout compensation bill. In a 1993 study, Lyon and colleagues found that radioactivity from the blasts at the Nevada Test Site had increased the incidence of thyroid tumors at 3.4 times the expected rate among schoolchildren exposed to the highest levels of fallout. The 1993 study examined the children when they were adults. Between 1965 and 1970, they had been checked by federal researchers who found no connection between health effects and fallout, but the 1993 study did find thyroid nodules. Radioactive Iodine 131, spread by fallout, can have a lifelong potential to cause disease, according to Lyon. The latest study attempted to track and check the same former schoolchildren and a control group from Arizona. The latest CDC-funded study was to check for signs of thyroid abnormalities. Total potential number of subjects was 4,500. About 1,700 were examined, Lyon said in a telephone interview on Monday. The researchers will still publish some results, he added. "It won't be a complete loss. But it would be nice if we could ever do one the way it should have been done in the first place." Asked if the number of thyroid abnormalities was higher than average among people not exposed to as much fallout, he refused to comment because the study results are not ready for publication. The study will be over by Aug. 31, but most of the employees will be laid off by June 30. Among the employees are people who helped trace the whereabouts of subjects of the original examinations, who attended Washington County schools in 1965, as well as the control group from Stafford, Ariz. "We've had no contact with them since 1985, 1986," he said. Another group of employees set up appointments for exams and collected data on family medical history and any problems that may have surfaced in the past nearly 20 years. Others carried out interviews and examinations and collected additional medical data. Some members did ultrasound examinations, and others recorded information or helped with analysis. Study officials are now looking for jobs, Lyon said. "We did our last round of examinations in May," he said. Shortly before that, on April 29, Lyon wrote a letter to Gerberding with rebuttals of what she had told Hatch. These included: • "The dosimetry model we have developed and are using in this study has been rigorously reviewed and is widely accepted by radiation researchers as the most advanced work in this area. There is no basis upon which to criticize this model as being scientifically unsound," he wrote. • The researchers carried out "multiple power calculations, which have included taking into account associated uncertainties, for your agency and the National Academy of Science. We have always demonstrated that we have sufficient statistical power to conduct this study." • Lyon's team did a great deal of work on the uncertainties associated with the dosimetry model. They "demonstrated that explicitly accounting for uncertainties actually increased, rather than decreased, the measured risk of thyroid disease due to radiation exposure." • stacked to deliver a negative review on scientific questions that we had been told by CDC and previous reviewers were settled." The word stacked was in italics. • "The public has not been involved in an advisory capacity on this study, despite being the largest single environmental carcinogenic exposure in Utah" as well as in the United States, he wrote. Lyon told the Deseret Morning News on Monday, "Gerberding didn't even respond to the letter." Morale among his team is not good, he said. "The assumption was, this is an important study. But we're all finding there's little interest from the politicians. And from the standpoint of the CDC, they did not want to see this study continued." Lyon said the CDC paid close to $50 million to study possible health effects from radiation at the nuclear weapons laboratory at Hanford, Wash. That study came up with no association between the radiation and health effects, he said. "We're at $8 million," he added. "We're saying we have found an association (between fallout and health effects) and these people do have problems, and they need further follow-up. And the answer from the government is, 'Yeah, we're not interested.' " J Truman (he prefers using the initial without a period), one of the study participants and director of the group Downwinders, said for 40 years there has been no definitive answer to "the question most important to all the thousands of residents of Washington County, school kids when we started . . . (which is) what the fallout did to us. "What risks of cancer and other thyroid disorders did it leave us with? What medical nightmares may the future hold?" Answers are not available, Truman said in an e-mail, "simply because CDC doesn't feel like signing a check to finish the study!" E-mail: bau@desnews.com © 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 44 BBC: Radioactive leak at navy Last Updated: Tuesday, 14 June, 2005 [Devonport] An investigation into the leaks is under way at the dockyard An enforcement notice has been issued on Devonport Dockyard after a radioactive water leak. About 20 litres of water containing Cobalt 60 was spilled last Friday during the refit of the Trident nuclear submarine HMS Victorious. It was the second incident within a week, but the Environment Agency said there was no hazard to the public. Dockyard owner DML said the spillages were contained within the dock and an investigation was currently under way. The enforcement notice means all arrangements for handling radioactive waste in the dock must be reviewed. Cobalt 60 is a radioactive isotope. It is used in radiotherapy in hospitals; and also for industrial radiography, a process similar to taking X-rays which are used to detect structural flaws in metal parts. ***************************************************************** 45 The Dispatch: New urine test will check for perchlorate Tuesday, June 14, 2005 By Matt King Gilroy - County health officials hope a new test to check for perchlorate exposure will be used in South County. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, the new urine test would replace the more complex blood test now used to determine a person’s exposure to the sodium-based contaminant. Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, health officer for Santa Clara County, said urine testing is effective because humans pass perchlorate hours after ingesting it. He said the test needs to be refined, but will eventually be a way to measure various sources of perchlorate. For instance, if a person drinking bottled water tests positive for perchlorate, it can be assumed he is ingesting it through diet or perhaps some other way. “We still have to figure out what the numbers mean,” Fenstersheib said, but as they learn more about the test and how individuals excrete perchlorate, but I think the numbers will have more value.” Dr. Ben Blount, a CDC research chemist, said Monday that the urine tests are part of a broader effort by the CDC to pursue research called for in the National Academy of Sciences perchlorate report released in January. Blount said CDC scientists are also currently finalizing a test for measuring perchlorate in breast milk. County health education specialist Janie Burkhart said it will be some time before either the state department of Health Services or the CDC uses the test in San Martin, but that residents should eventually have access to it. “The wheels turn slowly, but they are turning,” Burkhart said. “It’s probable that an exposure assessment will be done in Santa Clara County.” The perchlorate contamination in San Martin and Morgan Hill has been linked to a former road-flare factory in Morgan Hill owned by Olin Corp. A sodium compound, perchlorate inhibits the thyroid gland’s ability to produce hormones by interfering with iodide uptake and has been shown to hamper brain development in baby rats. Matt King covers Santa Clara County for The Dispatch. He can be reached at 847-7240 or mking@gilroydispatch.com. ***************************************************************** 46 NRC: Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes: Meeting FR Doc E5-3062 [Federal Register: June 14, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 113)] [Notices] [Page 34508] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr14jn05-89] Notice AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will convene a teleconference meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) on June 28, 2005. The topic of discussion will be ``Update to Medical Event Criteria Definition.'' During this discussion, an ACMUI subcommittee will forward to the full ACMUI its recommendation(s) regarding revision of the medical event criteria definition in 10 CFR part 35, ``Medical Use of Byproduct Material,'' as this definition applies to medical events involving permanent implant brachytherapy. NRC staff is seeking the ACMUI's recommendations on this issue, as well as any recommendations on communicating associated risks to the public. DATES: The teleconference meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 28, 2005, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m, eastern daylight time. Public Participation: Any member of the public who wishes to participate in the teleconference discussion may contact Angela R. McIntosh using the contact information below. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angela R. McIntosh, telephone (301) 415-5030; e-mail arm@nrc.gov of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Conduct of the Meeting Leon S. Malmud, M.D., will chair the meeting. Dr. Malmud will conduct the meeting in a manner that will facilitate the orderly conduct of business. The following procedures apply to public participation in the meeting: 1. Persons who wish to provide a written statement should submit a reproducible copy to Angela McIntosh, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Two White Flint North, Mail Stop T8F5, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Hard copy submittals must be postmarked by June 20. Electronic submittals must be submitted by June 24, 2005. Any submittal must pertain to the topic on the agenda for the meeting. 2. Questions from members of the public will be permitted during the meeting, at the discretion of the Chairman. 3. The transcript and written comments will be available for inspection on NRC's web site (http://www.nrc.gov) and at the NRC Public Document Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738, telephone (800) 397-4209, on or about March 18, 2005. Minutes of the meeting will be available on or about July 12, 2005. This meeting will be held in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (primarily Section 161a); the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App); and the Commission's regulations in Title 10, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, part 7. Dated: June 8, 2005. Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E5-3062 Filed 6-13-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 47 Scotsman.com News: Radioactive Spills Probed at Nuclear Sub Dock Tue 14 Jun 2005 By Chris Court, PA Investigations are being carried into two spills of radioactive liquid in a dock where a Royal Navy nuclear submarine is being refitted, it emerged today. The move follows the service of an Environment Agency enforcement order on Devonport Royal Dockyard Limited in Plymouth. Work is being carried out there on the nuclear powered Vanguard class submarine HMS Victorious. DRDL reported to the EA last Friday that there had been a spillage of between 16 and 20 litres of low activity water containing Cobalt-60 during commissioning of new plant in the submarine dock. The radioactive liquid was contained within the dock floor and monitoring showed no radioactivity was discharged to the environment. The EA’s Nuclear Regulator for DRDL, Anil Koshti, said:” “This spill did not result in a hazard to the public or the environment. “Nevertheless, it demonstrated that DRDL must improve certain aspects of its operations.” A litre of the same liquid dripped from pipework three days earlier. Devonport Management Limited, carrying out the refit, said today that technical and procedural investigations were being carried out. A limited quantity of water containing trace levels of contamination was released from process equipment pipe work in a dry dock during the commissioning phase of some new plant, said DML. The spillages were detected during routine inspections as the testing procedures were taking place. There was no environmental impact beyond the confines of small areas of concrete in the dock bottom and there was no effect on staff in the immediate area of the plant. They were “minor leaks of contaminated water onto the dock bottom,” said DML. 2005 Scotsman.com ***************************************************************** 48 [NukeNet] House Panel to Subpoena Yucca Mtn. Worker Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 15:46:13 -0700 NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) http://www.mothersalert.org/moreinfo.html http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Yucca-Mountain.html? House Panel to Subpoena Yucca Mtn. Worker a.. E-Mail This b.. Printer-Friendly By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: June 13, 2005 Filed at 9:19 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- A congressional committee will subpoena a former worker on the Yucca Mountain project who is at the center of a controversy over document falsification at the proposed nuclear waste dump. The House Government Reform Committee will issue a subpoena Tuesday demanding a committee appearance and documents from Joseph Hevesi, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist in Sacramento, Calif., according to an announcement late Monday from Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev. ''Mr. Hevesi has, to date, refused to cooperate with the subcommittee in its congressional investigation,'' said a statement from the House Government Reform subcommittee on the federal work force, which Porter chairs. Hevesi, a hydrologist, was a principal author of e-mails written between 1998 and 2000 by scientists studying how water moved through the proposed waste dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. In the e-mails to colleagues, Hevesi discussed making up facts, deleting inconvenient data and keeping two sets of files -- ''the ones that will keep (quality assurance) happy and the ones that were actually used.'' The e-mails were made public by the Energy Department in March, and the inspectors general of the Energy and Interior departments have been investigating. No conclusions have been announced. Hevesi did not immediately respond Monday to phone messages left at his office and home. Hevesi is still a USGS hydrologist, but he no longer workers on Energy Department or Yucca Mountain projects. The subpoena will require Hevesi's appearance at a subcommittee hearing June 29, along with all documents in his possession related to Yucca Mountain. The e-mail controversy has contributed to delays on the project, which is planned as a national repository for 77,000 tons of high-level commercial and defense nuclear waste, to be buried for 10,000 years and beyond in the Nevada desert. _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 49 [NukeNet] Radioactive Waste Incinerator Planned for Memphis, TN Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:10:40 -0700 NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) A new incinerator is planned for Memphis, Tennessee which would burn "mixed waste" -- waste that is both hazardous AND radioactive. The other side of the state (in Oak Ridge and Kingston) is already home to two of the nation's three commercial radioactive/mixed waste incinerators. Visit http://www.memphistruth.org and if there is any way you can help them stop this crazy idea, please get in touch with them. Radioactivity can NOT be destroyed through incineration. http://www.tnimc.org/feature/display/5484/index.php Memphis Community Activists Come Together Over Radioactive Waste Incineration by Jason and Hannah Kennedy 09 Jun 2005 Several community activist groups packed the Memphis City Council Chambers today in opposition of RACE LLC's proposed incinerators for low level radioactive waste. The Land Use Board of the Memphis City Council decided to delay decision making until it gathered more information from both sides, from James Spike, Chairman of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), the City Attorney and the Health Department about the proposed plants. In a city that is known for racial tension and division, several groups of community activists from different racial and class backgrounds joined in solidarity today to combat RACE, LLC, (Radiological Assistance, Consulting and Engineering) a local company that wants to burn radioactive waste on the banks of one of the largest rivers in the world, the Mississippi. The Riverview Collaborative Neighborhood Association, the Sierra Club's Environmental Justice Department, Memphis Truth and the Downtown Neighborhood Association joined forces today at the Land Use Control Board of the Memphis City Council to show that the people of Memphis do not want radioactive waste burning on the banks of their precious river. Ernestine Carpenter of the Riverview Collaborative, a school teacher and elder in her predominantly African-American neighborhood is concerned with more pollution-ridden companies making her neighborhood their home. She is concerned with the fact that her Southwest Memphis neighborhood has the lowest population of elderly people in the city of Memphis due to cancers and other illnesses borne out of high pollution industries. She says that her Southwest Memphis neighborhood does not need more high pollution industries like the Mapco plant which is already situated there. Several RACE employees also attended the City Council meeting, demonstrating that their jobs are at stake if RACE is not allowed to burn radioactive materials. RACE has been operating as a storage and processing facility for radioactive waste in Memphis since 2001, and now wants to expand its operation to burn radioactive waste. Bob Applebaum, President of RACE, LLC claims that the proposed plants will burn low level radiactive waste, mainly from Duke University's medical research lab. Another RACE employee stated that "there is a 50-50% chance that low level waste from nuclear power plants will be incinerated at the plants." When asked what kind of nuclear power plant waste would be burned at the plants, several employees said "trash." When asked to elaborate on what type of "trash", the Operation Supervisor for RACE affirmed that contaminated materials such as plastics, metals, animal carcasses, wood and paper would be burned there, and that it is necessary to burn this "trash" to drastically reduce the volume of nuclear waste that would be buried. Richard Fields, spokeperson for Memphis Truth and Pastor Ralph White, of a neighborhood Baptist Church, complained to the Land Use Board of the Memphis City Council for lack of information on this issue. The community activists are also concerned that Memphis will become a place where more and more radioactive waste will be incinerated if RACE is granted a permit for its incinerators. The Land Use Board of the Memphis City Council unanimously agreed to postpone any decision making for thirty (30) days, to buy time "to cover all the bases," because they want to make sure "to do what is right." For more information see: http://www.memphistruth.org http://www.sierraclub.org/environmental_justice/projects_tn.asp http://www.tennessee.sierraclub.org/chickasaw/ _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 50 Las Vegas SUN: Senate panel rebuffs House call for interim nuclear waste storage By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate spending panel on Tuesday rebuffed a House call to establish temporary storage sites for nuclear waste as a back-up to the delayed Yucca Mountain dump in Nevada. A leading Yucca Mountain supporter, Republican Pete Domenici of New Mexico, joined with a leading critic, Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada, to criticize the House plan. Domenici called it "totally inadequate" and Reid said it was "half-baked." The House measure, passed last month as part of a spending bill, called on the Energy Department to produce a plan for aboveground storage for spent reactor fuel from commercial nuclear power plants within four months at one or more federal sites, and to begin accepting waste by October 2006. It provided $10 million for the program. The Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds energy and water projects passed a $31 billion spending bill on a voice vote Tuesday with no money for interim storage. Domenici chairs the panel and Reid is the top-ranking Democrat. The bill funds the Yucca Mountain project at $577 million for 2006, which is the same as the 2005 level but less than President Bush's budget request of $651 million, which the House met. "We have kept it going," Domenici said of the project. He told reporters later that while he supports looking for new solutions for nuclear waste disposal, he doesn't like the plan championed by Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Appropriations energy subcommittee. "It's totally inadequate. You can't start a program of that importance with $10 million and a paragraph," Domenici said. "I'm willing to look at a whole new policy which could involve interim storage, but not this way," he said. Reid, who supports leaving commercial nuclear waste at the reactor sites where it now sits in more than 30 states, voiced similar criticism. "All the House has done has been to stir up members in an unproductive way," he said. Some lawmakers worry that temporary storage could become permanent, and opposition in the House came from lawmakers representing sites mentioned in a report accompanying the House bill. Those included the Hanford complex in Washington state and the Idaho National Laboratory. Also Tuesday, House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., issued a subpoena for testimony from one of the U.S. Geological Survey employees who wrote e-mails from 1998 to 2000 suggesting he and other Yucca workers falsified documents. The subpoena was issued at the request of Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., who chairs a Government Reform subcommittee. Porter said at a press conference that the scientist, Joseph Hevesi, has not cooperated with his subcommittee's investigation despite at least 23 requests for an interview. "I believe that we have taken every step to be fair and reasonable in our request to meet with him voluntarily," Porter said. The subpoena, for Hevesi to testify at a committee hearing June 29 and bring documents related to his work on Yucca, was being delivered to Hevesi by U.S. marshals in Sacramento, Calif., where he lives and continues to work for USGS. Porter also suggested more subpoenas for testimony or documents could be coming, saying the Energy Department has not cooperated with his subcommittee's document requests and has been given one final chance to do so before the hearing. A message left late Tuesday for Hevesi's attorney, Scott Treadway, was not immediately returned. The e-mail controversy was just the latest setback for Yucca Mountain, planned as a national repository for 77,000 tons of defense and commercial nuclear waste, to be buried for 10,000 years and beyond in the desert 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Among other problems, a federal appeals court rejected the proposed radiation protection plans for the Yucca facility. The completion date has been pushed to 2012 at earliest. ***************************************************************** 51 Viewpoint: Goshute Indians face atomic age alone Issue Date: June 17, 2005 Over protests, a Utah reservation is slated to become a nuclear dumpling ground By KEVIN KAMPS Standing between the Stansbury and Cedar Mountains in the middle of Skull Valley, Utah, outsiders might see only a desolate wasteland. If so, then they don’t know how to be still and listen, Margene Bullcreek would say. She is a woman who has spent all her life appreciating the peace, tranquility and sacredness of her Native Goshute land. The reservation is where Ms. Bullcreek has cut willow branches to cradle her babies as her mother and grandmother did before her. It is a place where her ancestors’ bones are buried. And it is the only land she and her tribe have left after the U.S. government appropriated the country from its first people. Now, the Skull Valley Goshutes, some of whom still speak their traditional language, face the final insult to what little they can still hold dear. The two-dozen reservation inhabitants have been offered the atomic age equivalent of the smallpox blanket. A private consortium of seven electric utilities known as Private Fuel Storage wants to dump what amounts to 80 percent of the current high-level radioactive waste inventory from the country’s 103 commercial nuclear reactors onto Ms. Bullcreek’s reservation. To get the deal done, Private Fuel Storage dangled an enticing price tag, rumored to be as much as tens of millions of dollars, in front of the tribe. Without his members’ consent, disputed tribal chairman Leon Bear accepted the deal. He is currently under federal indictment for allegedly pocketing most of the money and refusing to share it with tribal members who oppose the dump. Indeed, several opponents have alleged being harassed, intimidated, even shot at. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has already rejected scores of contentions including appeals from tribal members and the state of Utah. Any day now, the commissioners will decide whether to award the final license to Private Fuel Storage. The agency has dismissed claims of environmental racism, citing the huge payoff the tribe is supposed to reap. Tribal opponents are arguing this contention since, apart from the reality that few will likely see the money at all, it sets an alarming precedent. The message the regulatory commission is sending is that federal agencies would henceforth be justified in licensing toxic dumps in impoverished communities provided the polluting corporation “compensates” the victims financially. As much as 44,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste is targeted at Skull Valley, a plan that would launch an unprecedented 4,000 shipments by train -- 200 shipments per year for 20 years rolling past millions of homes across America. The casks holding the waste have never undergone full-scale testing and could be shipped on the same trains as flammables and explosives, a potentially catastrophic risk should the train meet with a severe accident or attack. Each cask contains more than 200 times the long-lasting radioactivity released by the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Upon arrival, the casks would sit side by side in plain view on the reservation, just 45 miles upwind from Salt Lake City. Even more alarmingly, the country’s most active bombing range -- the Utah Test and Training Range, where crashes and misfires have occurred as recently as last September -- is located right next door. Just last month, however, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Nils Diaz casually downplayed such dangers, stating that even if a jet fighter crashed into the facility, radiation leakage would not extend beyond two miles. But of course, that is exactly where Margene Bullcreek and other Skull Valley Goshutes live. Private Fuel Storage is earmarked for “interim” storage while the designated permanent site at Yucca Mountain, Nev., continues to face scrutiny for scientific flaws and data falsification as well as lawsuits from the state of Nevada, which vehemently opposes it. Neither dump, or the unimaginable risks associated with transporting the waste, would solve anything: Irradiated fuel will continue to be stored on site where it is generated for many decades to come, so long as reactors keep operating. Instead, in authorizing the Utah dump, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and federal government would be plunging the country back into its ugly pattern of victimization of indigenous peoples, pitting family against family as the tempting panacea of instant riches is dangled before one of the most destitute communities in the country. In the 1950s, the U.S. government decided to open its nuclear weapons testing site upwind of Utah because it regarded the Mormons and Native Americans there as a “low-use segment of the population.” Nuclear utilities apparently view Margene Bullcreek’s reservation the same way. It would be hard to find a community more economically and politically vulnerable than the Skull Valley Goshutes. That of course is precisely why they have been targeted. And it is precisely why this shameful practice should be rejected. Kevin Kamps is a nuclear waste specialist at Nuclear Information and Resource Service in Washington. National Catholic Reporter, June 17, 2005 Copyright © The National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, 115 E. Armour Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64111 All rights reserved. TEL: 816-531-0538 FAX: 1-816-968-2280 Send comments about this Web site to: webkeeper@natcath.org ***************************************************************** 52 Guardian Unlimited: House Panel to Subpoena Yucca Mtn. Worker From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday June 14, 2005 1:31 AM By ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - A congressional committee will subpoena a former worker on the Yucca Mountain project who is at the center of a controversy over document falsification at the proposed nuclear waste dump. The House Government Reform Committee will issue a subpoena Tuesday demanding a committee appearance and documents from Joseph Hevesi, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist in Sacramento, Calif., according to an announcement late Monday from Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev. ``Mr. Hevesi has, to date, refused to cooperate with the subcommittee in its congressional investigation,'' said a statement from the House Government Reform subcommittee on the federal work force, which Porter chairs. Hevesi, a hydrologist, was a principal author of e-mails written between 1998 and 2000 by scientists studying how water moved through the proposed waste dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. In the e-mails to colleagues, Hevesi discussed making up facts, deleting inconvenient data and keeping two sets of files - ``the ones that will keep (quality assurance) happy and the ones that were actually used.'' The e-mails were made public by the Energy Department in March, and the inspectors general of the Energy and Interior departments have been investigating. No conclusions have been announced. Hevesi did not immediately respond Monday to phone messages left at his office and home. Hevesi is still a USGS hydrologist, but he no longer workers on Energy Department or Yucca Mountain projects. The subpoena will require Hevesi's appearance at a subcommittee hearing June 29, along with all documents in his possession related to Yucca Mountain. The e-mail controversy has contributed to delays on the project, which is planned as a national repository for 77,000 tons of high-level commercial and defense nuclear waste, to be buried for 10,000 years and beyond in the Nevada desert. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 53 UK The Times: Race against waste June 15, 2005 Holes can swallow up a multitude of sins Ever wished the ground would swallow you up? The news that the Government plans to tackle climate change partly by capturing and storing carbon dioxide sounds too simple to be true. But it’s really just a rehash of the old hole-in-the-ground technique that has served mankind so well since he first sought uses for the Earth beneath his feet. We have been busily filling up holes everywhere with soleless shoes, worn carpets, embarrassing heirlooms and insane, indefensible quantities of plastic packaging. It’s so much easier to put the stuff out of sight and out of mind than wonder if we needed it in the first place. Holes are magical things. When Alice went down the rabbit hole she found Wonderland. The Grand Canyon and the Diablo meteor crater are wonderlands too. Let’s hope we have a few left over which don’t have to accommodate all those old shoes. Obliterating them all would be the pits. Why keep nuclear waste sitting in leaky tanks if it can be buried snugly away in deep rock? Why not return carbon dioxide to depleted North Sea oilfields? Sounds like a smart way to recycle, as long as it does not leak. The most foolproof hole for sucking up rubbish would be a black hole, a kind of intergalactic Hoover with an infinite guarantee from whose gravitational pull nothing on Earth could escape. But black holes are hard to pin down. Alternatively, one could post waste to another space-time continuum through a wormhole, but the present cost would seriously outweigh the benefit. So let’s content ourselves with the earthly versions. Bring on the junk. And when in a hole, keep digging. Copyright The Times - timesonline.co.uk ***************************************************************** 54 Las Vegas RJ: Ex-Yucca scientist to face subpoena Tuesday, June 14, 2005 House committee investigating e-mails wants his testimony By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- A House committee today plans to subpoena a former Yucca Mountain scientist to testify later this month about e-mail messages that discuss document falsification on the nuclear waste project. The Government Reform Committee will seek to compel Joseph A. Hevesi to appear and bring relevant documents to a June 29 hearing before a federal work force subcommittee headed by Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev. Porter, who announced the impending subpoena, said the scientist has not responded to requests to be interviewed about the e-mails. "This is the first subpoena being issued," Porter said. "We had hoped it would not be necessary." The subpoena and scheduled hearing could breathe new public life into a matter that has been taking place mostly behind the scenes as Porter, a Yucca opponent, seeks to ferret out flaws that might throw sand into the project. Energy Department official John Arthur said last week that DOE is nearing the end of an internal probe and has tentatively concluded the e-mails have not compromised the project, although the work in question will be redone. Hevesi, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, did not immediately respond to a message left on his home phone Monday evening. Hevesi has been identified as a principal author of e-mails written between 1998 and 2000 that discuss making up names and dates, keeping two sets of books and using "fudge factors" in documenting quality assurance on their research. Disclosure of the provocative messages threw a new wrench into the government program that is seeking to develop Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, into a repository for 77,000 tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel. Porter, a critic of the Yucca project along with most other Nevada elected leaders, initiated an investigation through the House federal work force and agency organization subcommittee he took over this year. Two other USGS hydrologists who have been identified as e-mail authors, Alan L. Flint and Lorraine E. Flint, have been interviewed in person by subcommittee investigators, according to agency spokeswoman A.B. Wade. Porter said he does not plan to summon the Flints to the June 29 public hearing. He declined to say whether the couple has been interviewed or to discuss other aspects of the investigation. Inspectors general for the Energy Department and the Interior Department also are conducting ongoing investigations with help from the FBI. DOE managers are attempting to identify whether any of their decisions based on repository science may have been affected by shortcomings raised in the e-mails. Other potential witnesses for the hearing have not yet been set, Porter said. He said the Energy Department and the USGS have yet to provide all documents the subcommittee requested for its probe. Porter and the Energy Department have been unable to agree on a timetable for documents to be produced. Wade said Monday that USGS on May 16 turned over 766 documents accounting for 2,878 pages on a compact disc. Asked for hard copies, Wade said the agency complied on May 23. The subcommittee had requested all documents and records, including e-mails, "relating to, identifying, or discussing the falsification and-or fabrication of documents or records" by anyone associated with the repository. "We have attempted to be responsive," Wade said. "USGS would be willing to provide whatever documents is being requested if we become aware of the specific document or group of documents." Alan and Lorraine Flint and Hevesi are assigned to the USGS office in Sacramento, Calif. All worked at Yucca Mountain for periods of the 1990s, contributing research and data for computer models that predict how water might infiltrate mountain cracks and pores under varying climate conditions. Although USGS officials have declined to describe their current projects, Wade said they are not taking part in any work related to Yucca Mountain or any other USGS activities in Nevada. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal ***************************************************************** 55 Las Vegas SUN: Reid praises nuke industry, but pushes Yucca alternative By Benjamin Grove <> SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, offered rare -- if lukewarm -- words of praise for the nuclear industry Monday. Reid said there is likely to be a continued "movement" toward constructing more U.S. nuclear power plants, which the nuclear industry has been advocating in recent years. Even environmentalists have acknowledged that "if it's done right" nuclear power can help protect the environment, Reid said at a Capitol press conference on energy issues. Reid said that for years he has opposed nuclear power for one reason -- because the nation's plan for dealing with high-level nuclear waste was to permanently bury it at Yucca Mountain, which Nevada officials oppose. Reid has said Yucca will never become a reality, however. The program has long suffered budgetary, regulatory and legal setbacks. "Yucca Mountain certainly isn't dead, but it's on a breathing machine," Reid said. Reid said he will continue to push for an alternative to Yucca: leaving waste stored where it is on-site at nuclear plants, although nuclear industry officials say that plan is unacceptable. "Yucca Mountain has been set back for decades, so I think we'll have to start looking for a different direction as far as nuclear waste goes," Reid said. Reid has not changed his longtime stance on nuclear power, aides said. Reid has not been an advocate for nuclear power, but he has not opposed nuclear power in general -- just Yucca Mountain, Reid spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said. Reid made his remarks as the Senate was preparing to begin two weeks of debate today on an $11 billion energy bill. It lays out a comprehensive national plan aimed at raising domestic oil production, improving the electric grid and constructing a new generation of nuclear power plants. Reid said Democrats intend to pursue legislation aimed at the goal of reducing dependence on foreign oil by 40 percent in 20 years. The goal can be met "without question," Reid said, although some Republicans have been skeptical. House Energy Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, has questioned which segment of the U.S. economy was going to give up that much oil. Reid said Democrats were planning to push for an amendment that offers permanent tax credits for renewable energy resources. The legislation would offer a 1.8 cent tax credit for every kilowatt hour of energy produced by solar and geothermal energy sources, which can be developed in Nevada, Reid noted. The credit is already available to wind energy development. Critics of Democratic energy plans have said the nation needs a strong focus on oil, coal and gas production and cannot rely on conservation efforts, hybrid fuel cars and renewable energy sources alone to meet soaring energy needs. The House approved an energy plan bill in April. Skirmishes are expected between the chambers on a number of issues, including offshore oil drilling, drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and over lawsuit protections for companies that make the MTBE gasoline additive. ***************************************************************** 56 Las Vegas SUN: First subpoena to be issued in Yucca e-mail investigation By Suzanne Struglinski SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- U.S. Geological Survey scientist Joe Hevesi is to be subpoenaed today to appear at a June 29 congressional subcommittee hearing to discuss his involvement with possibly falsified scientific research used to support the Yucca Mountain nuclear dump. This marks the first subpoena issued in the House Federal Workforce and Agency Organization Subcommittee's investigation into e-mails written or seen by at least 10 different people that imply -- or sometimes plainly say -- how they worked around the project's quality assurance program, which is designed to show the site's science is sound. The subpoena was necessary because "Mr. Hevesi has, to date, refused to cooperate with the subcommittee in its congressional investigation," according to the subcommittee announcement. Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., chairman of the House subcommittee, said he has asked Hevesi to appear before the committee 23 times, including 17 requests to Hevesi's lawyer. He will ask the Energy Department one more time to comply with a document request, this time by June 29, he added. The congressman said he will take whatever steps are necessary for the department to comply. "Today's action shows I am serious," Porter said. Porter said he wants to make sure "the science the White House used to make its decision was not science fiction." Lawyer Joe Egan, who represents Nevada on Yucca issues, said a subpoena is a "powerful device" to order someone to appear before Congress. Anyone who violates such a subpoena can be fined or even jailed. An individual still can refuse to talk under the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Egan said. Hevesi, reached at his office late Monday, referred questions to USGS spokeswoman A.B. Wade. He said only that he had unofficially heard about the subpoena, but would answer no other questions. Wade said Hevesi has retained his own lawyer and the government will not be representing him. The latest Yucca controversy erupted in March when the Energy Department announced it had discovered e-mails written between May 1998 and March 2000 while reviewing documents in the project's database. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced that the messages indicate scientists falsified their data on the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Porter had first identified Hevesi as one of the scientists involved in the e-mail scandal in an April 10 letter asking him and fellow USGS employees Alan L. Flint and Lorraine E. Flint to meet with subcommittee staff and appear before the House Federal Workforce and Agency Organization Subcommittee. The hearing was eventually canceled at the last minute when the three employees refused to attend. Wade said the subcommittee has now met with the Flints. It was also discovered that Hevesi completed 40 hours of work worth $4,900 on the Yucca Mountain project while he was under investigation for possibly falsifying documents. The Energy Department rehired him briefly in March to help find computer files he helped create. Wade said USGS handed over 3,000 pages of documents to the subcommittee on May 23, including a stack specifically on Hevesi that was about four inches high. The agency had given the documents on a CD earlier in May, but the subcommittee wanted printed copies. The Interior and Energy Department inspectors general have ongoing investigations into the falsifications along with the FBI and U.S. attorney's office in Las Vegas. The Energy Department is conducting an additional investigation to see if the science was actually compromised. Wade said the investigations are still ongoing and she was not sure when they would be done. Porter, who was named chairman of the subcommittee in February, held a hearing in April with Energy and Interior Department officials, Gov. Kenny Guinn, Attorney General Brian Sandoval and other witnesses. The subcommittee staff has its own ongoing investigation and is releasing information to the public as it can. It released 93 pages of redacted e-mails and additional department documents in April. In one message, the author said he keeps two sets of files "the ones that will keep QA (quality assurance) happy and the ones that were actually used" while others talk about making stuff up and urge readers to delete the messages. The names had been redacted from the pages so it is not clear which messages Hevesi wrote. Porter previously had referred to issuing a subpoena as a "last resort" early in his subcommittee's investigation, saying once one was on the table, it would change the nature of the whole investigation. House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., will issue the subpoena. ***************************************************************** 57 Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Progress in Tallevast Persistence pays off in more help for beryllium workers The people of Tallevast hardly needed any more reminders of the value of persistence in their long struggle with government agencies over a pollution crisis in their community. But they've just received another one. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., announced last week that officials of the U.S. Department of Energy say they will cover medical expenses for more former employees of the now-defunct American Beryllium plant near the Manatee-Sarasota county line. The department had already agreed to pay medical bills and up to $150,000 to people who've fallen ill as a result of working on federal contracts at the plant in 1967, 1968 and the 1980s. The work included production of weapons using beryllium, a toxic metal that's been linked to chronic lung disease and other illnesses. But plant employees said the department's help didn't go far enough; they recalled working on government projects in other years, too. Nelson and Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Longboat Key, asked the department to check its records more thoroughly. A subsequent review by the department turned up evidence that the plant did contract work for the federal government for 25 years -- not 12, as previously maintained. The department will now offer free testing and coverage to people who worked at the plant from 1967 through 1992. Nelson and Harris deserve praise for their efforts on behalf of the Tallevast community. But it's important to remember that it is the vigilance of residents and workers that has made the difference. Throughout this crisis, they've pressed for more information and more help -- and they've repeatedly been proved correct in their assertions that the true extent of the damage caused by the plant is worse than portrayed by government agencies. Nelson, Harris and others should continue monitoring the situation in Tallevast. Among other things, they should press for coverage for anyone else in the neighborhood who tests positive for susceptibility to the lung ailment berylliosis. At a recent Manatee County Commission meeting, Gladys Branic of the local health department said that two family members of former plant employees have tested positive, but that the federal program doesn't cover their medical bills. Nelson's announcement is a welcome development. But --it bears repeating -- the government's obligations in Tallevast are far, far from fulfilled. Last modified: June 14. 2005 2:03PM heraldtribune.com | Advertise With Us | Jobs With Us | Join Serving the Herald-Tribune newspaper and SNN Channel 6 © Sarasota Herald-Tribune. All rights reserved. Initializing : 32ms ***************************************************************** 58 Shoreline Beacon:Waste storage proposal will have minimal environmental impact, public told at open house , Port Elgin, ON June 15, 2005 Phone: (519) 832-9001 Fax: (519) 389-4793 By Jane Cunningham Wednesday June 15, 2005 Shoreline Beacon — If Bruce Power gets the go-ahead to refurbish Units 1 and 2, it’s going to need somewhere to put the decommissioned 110-ton steam generators and miscellaneous tubing that can’t be recycled. The Western Waste Management Facility of OPG is prepared to store them at its site, but has to complete a lengthy environmental assessment before it can build the necessary containers and storage buildings. Last Wednesday evening, OPG held the second round of the required open houses at Lakeshore Recreation in Saugeen Shores. John Peters, section manager in environmental assessment at OPG’s head office in Toronto, and Dr. Don Gorber, president of SENES Consultants Ltd., specialists in energy, nuclear and environmental science based in Richmond Hill, shared the presentation duties. For the rest of the story, purchase a copy of the Shoreline Beacon. © 2005 Shoreline Beacon ***************************************************************** 59 courier-Post: Landfill water to go in sewers South Jersey News www.courierpostonline.com Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Process starts next month By LAWRENCE HAJNA Courier-Post Staff GLOUCESTER TWP. After more than three years of legal and legislative battles, the controversial discharge of groundwater from the GEMS Landfill Superfund site to Camden County sewer mains is set to begin July 11. This is the effective date outlined in a permit the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, under a federal court order, issued last week to the GEMS Phase II Trust. The trust represents industries that once used the Erial Road landfill, at one time ranked one of the state's worst environmental hazards. The groundwater contains low levels of radionuclides that the trust and CCMUA say will be treated to federal drinking water standards by an on-site treatment plant before entering local and county sewer mains. "In my professional opinion, the discharge is completely safe as long as they discharge at the limits we've set," CCMUA deputy director Andrew Kricun said Monday. Kricun said the CCMUA has developed a rigorous set of testing protocols to ensure the water meets standards for uranium and radium when it leaves the pretreatment plant, initially built to deal with more conventional landfill contaminants. The federal Environmental Protection Agency, overseeing the cleanup, believes the radionuclides are the result of naturally occurring minerals under the landfill. The discharge will allow the GEMS trust to begin removing organic and chemical contamination that for decades has been trickling from the landfill into Holly Run, a tributary of Big Timber Creek. "The trust is obligated to perform the remedy. We have a permit and we're ready to do it," said Gary Lesneski, the trust's attorney. County officials on Monday said they are resigned to adhering to the order issued May 11 by U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle in Camden. "Although our preference is still for on-site treatment of the groundwater, we are forced to deal with the court's opinion the best way we can by imposing strict monitoring," Freeholder Jeffrey L. Nash said in a prepared statement. State Commissioner of Environmental Protection Bradley M. Campbell said the state will not pursue an appeal. He said the best course to follow now would be to closely monitor the cleanup to ensure the types of risks identified in the lawsuit do not occur. The fight over the discharge ultimately reached the state Legislature and the governor's office, but both were unsuccessful in stopping it. The controversy broke in March 2002, when the CCMUA published a legal notice indicating that it planned to accept wastewater containing radionuclides. Residents and environmentalists feared the water would spread radioactive contamination into the Delaware River or expose residents if mains broke. Although the CCMUA does not have facilities to specifically treat radionuclides, the plan counted on diluting GEMS wastewater with other wastewater in the CCMUA system before discharge into the river. In the end, a consent decree reached in 1997 between the trust and EPA prior to the discovery of radionuclides won out. Simandle called the decree a "suitable, safe and environmentally responsible remedy for a long-standing environmental problem" that no state action could override. Environmentalists are now resigned to forming a committee to review the testing results. The GEMS Citizens Task Force will be made up of representatives from Citizens Against a Radioactive Environment, New Jersey Environmental Federation, Green Action Alliance, and Washington Township Citizens for a Better Community. Cindy Rau-Hatton is a township resident who will serve on the task force. "The residents, environmental groups, and government officials were all concerned that this is not the best approach, but we couldn't convince the judge," she said. The groups plan to meet with Kricun next week to discuss the logistics of reviewing testing data. Reach Lawrence Hajna at (856) 486-2466 or lhajna@courierpostonline.com ***************************************************************** 60 Independent: BNFL leak leaves Tony Blair's nuclear ambitions in disarray www.independent.co.uk By Katherine Griffiths in New York and Marie Woolf 15 June 2005 For the world's nuclear industry, next month's G8 meeting at Gleneagles in Scotland will be crucial. On the agenda for world leaders attending the three-day summit will be how to tackle the global warming crisis facing the environment. Before last month's election, prospects for Britain's nuclear power sector looked good. Downing Street had been gearing up for a highly politically sensitive initiative guaranteeing that extra government money would be poured into it for many years to come. The plan was to build a new generation of nuclear power stations, to replace Britain's ageing reactors which will reach the end of their lives in the next 10 to 15 years, and to provide an alternative to greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels such as coal. Since then, the entire picture has changed. Just a few days after Mr Blair returned to No 10 for a third term, a story broke that made alarm bells ring in Westminster. BNFL's main plant in Sellafield had discovered one of the most serious nuclear accidents ever. Probably since August last year, highly radioactive nuclear fuel dissolved in nitric acid had leaked, creating an Olympic-size swimming pool of toxic liquid and containing enough plutonium to make 20 nuclear weapons. The leak has been contained entirely within Sellafield's thermal oxide reprocessing plant, known as Thorp. But the disaster has highlighted the controversial nature of the nuclear industry, and has provided a powerful opportunity for opponents to raise alarm about its potential danger. MPs said yesterday it would be "foolhardy" to press ahead with the establishment of new nuclear power stations after the revelation that the Sellafield leak had been undetected for months. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, said: "The history of nuclear energy in Britain has been one of accident, leak and cover-up. It would be absolutely irresponsible to generate more waste when we don't know what to do with the mountain we have already got." Mr Baker's scepticism is backed up by some well-placed members of the Government, including Margaret Beckett, the Environment Secretary, and Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary. Even Alan Johnson, the new Energy Secretary, has expressed caution about nuclear power. There are now signs that Mr Blair himself is backing away from announcing a far-reaching nuclear project. Those close to the industry noted there was no mention of nuclear energy in the Queen's Speech in May. The Independent revealed on Monday that ahead of the G8 meeting, civil servants have been preparing a document, Powering a Cleaner Future, which shows Britain does not want to devote an entire section of the G8's high-profile action plan on the environment to nuclear power. The change of heart over what will be included in the G8 talks could not have come at a worse time for BNFL, which is trying to patch up a protracted period of bad relations with its masters in Whitehall. Its charm offensive appears not to have been successful. The Department of Trade and Industry is poised to halve the bonuses of Mike Parker, BNFL's chief executive, and two other senior employees this year as a punishment for the leak at Thorp, which a safety report by the company itself said was in part due to "complacency" among employees for missing warning signs. For the Government, the disaster has too many unpleasant similarities to the revelation in 1999 that BNFL's safety documents for shipments of mixed oxide to Japan were found to have been falsified. The scandal cost BNFL's chief executive at the time, John Taylor, his job, with Chris Loughlin, who ran Sellafield, being ousted two years later. There has also been a chill in relations between BNFL and the DTI over the fact that BNFL, a loss-making government-owned company which controls most of the nuclear work carried out in the UK, has been unable to get back $500m (Ł277m) from the US government in costs on clean-up work it was commissioned to do in Idaho in the Nineties. Senior officials at the DTI and Downing Street have been forced to intervene, and the money has still not be handed over. Sources close to Sellafield say the Thorp disaster could be the final straw for BNFL bosses. Mr Parker survived a boardroom coup last year but may not be able to facedown the public outcry caused by the plutonium leak. Reflecting the seriousness of Mr Parker's predicament, one possibility the Government is understood to be considering is flouting the Higgs code on corporate governance and replacing him with Gordon Campbell, the chairman of BNFL. Mr Campbell could do both jobs until a replacement chief executive is found. Lawrie Haynes, the chief executive of BNFL's clean-up subsidiary, British Nuclear Group, also looks vulnerable. Mr Haynes, who is directly responsible for the Sellafield site, is among the executives whose bonuses will be slashed. BNFL is well aware that the Government's plans do not end there. Downing Street wants to sell off the only major generator of profits for the group, its US arm Westinghouse, this year, in a move expected to net more than $1bn. The prospectus is expected to be available to interested parties in the next few weeks, and has already attracted interest from private equity firms, including Cerberus Global Investments, chaired by the former US Vice-President, Dan Quayle. The little-noticed but crucial uranium business, Urenco, could also be on the block for a sale. Urenco, which processes uranium, is one-third owned by BNFL. The remainder is owned by the German and Dutch governments. The UK Government said in a strategic review of Westinghouse and Urenco in 2003 that both would be managed for "value", and analysts think now could be a good time to sell the uranium arm. With those two businesses sold to shareholders, the Government would be left with its problematic domestic business, which no private investors are likely to want. BNFL may be able to draw comfort from the situation in that however much the Government might now like to wash its hands of nuclear problems, it still has to clean up spent reactors dating back to the Fifties. Yet whether that continues to be done by a British company in the years to come is uncertain. One source said: "The Government is making decisions at the highest level about the future of BNFL, and is likely to look entirely different in the next few years." ©2005 Independent News &Media (UK) Ltd. ***************************************************************** 61 News & Star: Nuke waste clean-up hailed as world first Published on 14/06/2005 By Andrea Thompson SELLAFIELD workers have achieved a world-first in nuclear clean-up. The long-term storage of radioactive sludge has been hailed as a major achievement for the plant. Fifty-year-old sludge from the B241 tank complex has been sealed in cement and placed into long-term storage. Production director John Clarke said all those concerned can feel justifiably proud of their efforts. Bosses at British Nuclear group, which operates the Sellafield, say a trio of “outstanding feats” led to the overall success of the project. The first involved the transfer of 1,500 cubic metres of radioactive sludge from the tank complex, which was built in the late 1940s and early 1950s, into a modern, high-integrity buffer storage. This is a world-first for radioactive sludge retrieval on such a large scale. Half of the total radiological content of B241 was moved into safe containment. The transfer followed years of planning and a huge containment building had to be moved over the whole of the tank complex. After being placed in the buffer storage, the radioactive waste underwent analysis before the first batch was processed to concentrate it. The concentrated waste then went to the Waste Packaging and Encapsulation Plant (WPEP) where it was immobilised in cement inside stainless steel containers. Sellafield said putting the first drums into the WPEP store is a major milestone. Mr Clarke, said: “This is a great example of the capabilities of the people here at Sellafield and another demonstration of our progress in dealing with the legacy of the early years of site operation. “Innovative thinking, attention to detail and a commitment to safety and environmental responsibility have been the hallmark of the project throughout. “All those concerned can feel justifiably proud of their efforts”. ***************************************************************** 62 Gallup Independent: New Mexico will no long subsidize uranium mining June 13, 2005: By Kathy Helms Diné Bureau WINDOW ROCK — This year's bipartisan Energy Policy Act crafted by U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. and U.S. Rep. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., does not contain provisions found in last year's bill which would have subsidized uranium mining in Church Rock and Crownpoint. Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. praised the two legislators last week for protecting the Navajo people from further harm caused by uranium mining and processing through their work on the Indian Energy Title portion of the act. Earlier provisions contained in the Nuclear Title would have encouraged uranium mining near the Navajo Nation. Shirley said, "I want to express my great appreciation to Sens. Domenici and Bingaman and their staffs for listening to concerns of the Navajo people. This helps to protect Navajos from the harmful impacts of uranium mining, and is what Navajo people have sought for themselves through the recently enacted Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005." The Navajo Nation Washington Office said more vigilance is needed to prevent uranium provisions from being added as amendments to the act as it continues to work its way through Congress. Within the Indian Energy Title portion of the bill language was included to provide opportunity for increased independence to develop tribal energy resources and broaden the availability of electricity to Native communities. The law would make the Navajo Nation eligible for potentially billions of dollars in grants, low-interest loans and loan guarantees for energy resource development and environmental protection, according to the president. The Indian Energy Title contains two provisions of benefit to Navajo, including extending the eligibility of Diné Power Authority to receive grants and assistance for development of the Navajo Transmission Project, and extending authorization until 2011 for the Navajo Electrification Project. Neither provision provides appropriations. The Indian Energy Title also would create the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs to promote tribal energy development, reduce energy costs, enhance tribal energy infrastructure, and provide electrification to tribal lands. The title authorizes $1 million for Federal Power Marketing Administration assistance on tribal land and additionally promotes using energy efficient technologies and shared savings contracts in housing on tribal lands to promote energy efficiency. The full Senate is expected to take up the Energy Policy Act this month. "I am proud of this energy bill," Domenici said after gaining nearly unanimous support (21-1) from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee on May 26. "It's been a long five months but we are sending a bill to the floor that does more for conservation, diversification, technology and efficiency than Congress has done before. "This committee found a path to compromise on tough issues, and there will be more difficult decisions to make when we get to the Senate debate," he said. According to Bingaman, on the supply side the legislation supports the development of clean energy technologies and also contains some strong energy-efficiency provisions. The bill would modernize and expand the nation's electricity grid and encourage the design and deployment of advanced nuclear technologies, clean coal technologies, and hydrogen technologies as a means of moving America away from its dependence on foreign oil. Gallup Independent. Send questions or comments to gallpind@cia-g.com ***************************************************************** 63 DOE: 18 CFR Part 35: Decommisioning Trust Funds FR Doc 05-11532 [Federal Register: June 14, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 113)] [Rules and Regulations] [Page 34340-34343] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr14jn05-12] [Docket No. RM05-15-000; Order No. 658] Modification of Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Trust Fund Guidelines Issued May 27, 2005. AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is amending its nuclear plant decommissioning trust fund (Fund) guidelines to remove the requirement that the financial report that public utilities furnish to the Commission each year must show all purchases and sales of investments and substitute a requirement that public utilities must include in their report a summary amount for purchases of fund investments and a summary amount for sales of fund investments. All other reporting requirements in the special provisions that relate to Fund reports remain in place; e.g., records of individual purchases and sales of investments must still be maintained even if such individual transactions are not routinely reported. These modifications are the result of a review conducted by the Commission's Information Assessment Team (FIAT), identifying the Commission's current information collections, evaluating their original purposes and current uses, and proposing ways to reduce the reporting burden on industry through the elimination, reduction, streamlining or reformatting of current collections. These changes in the Commission's regulations will reduce the reporting burden on the electric industry while simultaneously simplifying Fund reports and making it easier for the Commission to review them. DATES: Effective Date: The rule will become effective upon July 14, 2005. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William O. Blome (Legal information), Office of the General Counsel, Division of Energy Projects, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. (202) 502-8426. Joseph C. Lynch (Legal information), Office of the General Counsel, Division of Market Tariffs and Rates, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. (202) 502- 8497. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Before Commissioners: Pat Wood, III, Chairman; Nora Mead Brownell, Joseph T. Kelliher, and Suedeen G. Kelly. Introduction 1. This Final Rule deletes from the Commission's regulations the requirement that the nuclear plant decommissioning trust fund report that public utilities furnish to the Commission each year must show all purchases and sales of trust fund investments. This Final Rule instead requires that public utilities must include in their annual trust fund report, only a summary amount for purchases of fund investments and a summary amount for sales of fund investments. All other requirements in the regulations pertaining to nuclear plant decommissioning trust funds remain in place, including maintaining records of each purchase or sale of a trust fund investment so that, as appropriate, the Commission may review them. These changes in the Commission's nuclear plant decommissioning trust fund regulations resulted from a review of the Commission's regulations conducted by the Commission's Information Assessment Team (FIAT) that was tasked to assess the Commission's information needs. The tasks identified to meet this mission included identifying all of the Commission's current information collections, through forms and filing requirements (electric, hydropower, natural gas, oil and general) and evaluating their original purposes and current uses, and proposing ways to reduce the reporting burden on industry through elimination, reduction, streamlining or reformatting of current collections. The modifications to the Commission's nuclear plant decommissioning trust fund regulations contained in this final rule will reduce the reporting burden on the electric industry, while simultaneously simplifying reports filed with and reviewed by the Commission. Background 2. On June 16, 1995, the Commission issued Order No. 580,\1\ establishing requirements for the formation, organization, and operation of nuclear plant decommissioning trust funds (Fund) and for Fund investments. Order No. 580 established requirements for the organization and operation of the Fund, and for the particular investments which the Fund may make. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- \1\ Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Trust Fund Guidelines, Order No. 580, 60 FR 34109 (June 30, 1995), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles 1991-1996 ] 31,023 (1995), order on reh'g, Order No. 580-A, 62 FR 33342 (June 12, 1997), FERC Stats. & Regs., Regulations Preambles 1996-2000 ] 31,055 (1997) (Order No. 580). ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- 3. Order No. 580 provided, among other things, that a Fund must be an external Fund and that a Fund Trustee must be independent of the public utility, have a net worth of at least $100 million, exercise the care that a reasonable person would exercise in the same circumstances, keep accurate and detailed records, and open the Fund to inspection and audit. 4. Order No. 580 further provided that the Trustee may not invest in any securities of the public utility that owns the nuclear plant or in that public utility's affiliates, associates, successors or assigns and may only use the Fund to decommission the nuclear plant to [[Page 34341]] which the Fund relates and to pay the administrative and other expenses of the Fund, including taxes. Public utilities are to deposit all decommissioning collections into the Fund at least quarterly and to refund all excess collections to customers in the manner that the Commission prescribes. 5. As relevant here, the public utility must submit to the Commission, by March 31 of each year, one original and three conformed copies of a financial report that shows for the previous calendar year: (a) The activity of the Fund during the period, including amounts received from the public utility, purchases and sales of investments, gains and losses from investment activity, disbursements from the Fund for decommissioning activity, and payment of Fund expenses, including taxes; and (b) Fund assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the period (excluding the liability for decommissioning). Discussion 6. The intent of this Final Rule is to clarify exactly what information should be submitted in the annual financial report to the Commission. Many public utilities include in their yearly reports of Fund activity every purchase and sale transaction that the Fund engaged in over the course of the year. This practice results in trust fund reports that are hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of pages long. It is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to find pertinent information. Some of the computerized files that the public utilities are forwarding to the Commission from their Trustees are so large that the Commission cannot open them, or they take an inordinately long time to access. While it is important for public utilities (and the Trustees) to maintain complete records, it is not necessary that the Commission routinely receive this volume of information each year for each Fund. 7. The difficulty arises from the inclusion of the phrase ``purchases and sales of investments'' in 18 CFR 35.33(d)(2). What the Commission needs is typically not information on every individual transaction, but summaries of purchases and sales transactions of Fund investments. When describing the activity of the Fund during the reporting period, public utilities with nuclear plants should only report to the Commission the amounts that the Fund received from the public utility, the gains and losses from overall investment activity, disbursements from the Fund for decommissioning activity, payment of Fund expenses, including taxes, and the Fund assets and liabilities (excluding the liability for decommissioning) at the beginning and end of the reporting period. This is the information that the Commission routinely needs. 8. Accordingly, the Commission is deleting the phrase ``purchases and sales of investments'' from 18 CFR 35.33(d)(2) and substituting the requirement that public utilities must include in their filing a summary amount for purchases of Fund investments and a summary amount for sales of Fund investments. 9. The Commission is also adding an express requirement that, consistent with section 35.32(a)(7) of the Commission's regulations,\2\ public utilities owning nuclear plants must maintain records of individual purchases and sales transactions until after decommissioning has been completed and any excess jurisdictional amounts have been returned to ratepayers in a manner that the Commission determines. Public utilities need not include these records in the yearly report furnished to the Commission. It was understood in Order No. 580 that the public utilities would maintain records of purchases and sales of Fund investments.\3\ They must do this to administer the Fund prudently. The Commission is now expressly incorporating this requirement into its regulations. That is, the Commission will now expressly require that public utilities continue to maintain records of individual purchases and sales of investments. At any time, of course, the Commission can review these records to ensure that the Fund is conforming to the Commission's nuclear plant decommissioning trust fund guidelines.\4\ ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- \2\ 18 CFR 35.32(a)(7). \3\ See 18 CFR 35.32(a)(5). \4\ Id. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Information Collection Statement 10. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations require OMB to approve certain information collection requirements imposed by agency rule.\5\ Comments are solicited on the Commission's need for this information, whether the information will have practical utility, the accuracy of provided burden estimates, ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondents' burden, including the use of automated information techniques. The information collection requirements for this final rule are contained in FERC-516, ``Electric Rate Filings'' (1902-0096). ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- \5\ 5 CFR 1320.11. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Estimated Annual Burden 11. This final rule clarifies the Commission's requirements regarding the organization and operation of Funds and the investment of Fund assets. The Commission estimates that the public reporting requirements for the information collection requirements at issue contained in this rule average two hours per response. Public utilities submit this information to the Commission on an annual basis. The Commission estimates that the number of respondents is 53. As there are an average of two responses per year by each affected public utility (a separate annual report is filed for each nuclear plant, and some respondents have interests in more than one nuclear plant), the annual burden associated with this information requirement is 212 hours. The burden estimate includes the time required to implement the revised standards, search existing data sources, gather and maintain the data needed, and complete and review the information. 12. As noted immediately above, the Commission currently receives reports from 53 companies.\6\ The Commission estimates that, under its current rules, it takes four hours to prepare and submit a report. By reducing the content of the report from filing each purchase and sales transaction to filing summary amounts for purchases and sales of fund investments, this final rule reduces the amount of time necessary to prepare and submit a report from four to two hours. The estimates shown in the table below reflect the total burden that the final rule will impose. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- \6\ This is a decrease from the 72 companies estimated in Order No. 580. [[Page 34342]] ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- Average number Data collection Number of Number of hours of responses Total annual respondents per year hours ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- FERC-516.................................... 53 2 2 212 Title: Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Trust Fund Guidelines (FERC- 516 [Electric Rate Filings]). Action: Modification of collection. OMB Control No. 1902-0096. Respondents: Public utilities owning nuclear power plants. Frequency of Responses: Annually. Necessity of Information: The Commission uses the data collected in these information requirements to carry out its regulatory responsibilities under the Federal Power Act (FPA). The Commission's Office of Markets, Tariffs, and Rates uses the data for evaluating electric rate filings submitted by the industry. The Division of Financial Audits of the Office of Market Oversight and Investigations uses the data in assessing whether jurisdictional companies are complying with the requirements of the Uniform System of Accounts and the Commission's regulations. Internal Review: The Commission has reviewed this amendment to its regulations to eliminate the necessity of reporting annually every individual purchase and sale of investments that the Fund has transacted during the year, and has determined that this modification of its regulations is necessary to facilitate its review of Fund activities. The modification, moreover, conforms to the Commission's plan for efficient information collection, communication, and management within the electric utility industry. The Commission has assured itself, by means of internal review, that there is specific, objective support for the burden estimates associated with the information/data retention requirements. 13. Interested parties may file comments regarding these burden estimates or any other aspect of this information collection requirement, including suggestions for reducing this burden, with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 [Attention: Michael Miller, Office of Executive Director, Phone: (202) 502-8415, FAX (202) 273-0873, e-mail: michael.miller@ferc.gov]. Comments on the requirements of this rule may also be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503 [Attention: Desk Officer for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission--(202) 395-4650.] Environmental Analysis 14. The Commission is required to prepare an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement for any action that may have a significant adverse effect on the human environment.\7\ The Commission has categorically excluded certain actions from this requirement as not having a significant effect on the human environment--such as rules relating to information gathering, analysis, and dissemination and rules relating to electric rate filings under sections 205 and 206 of the FPA and the establishment of just and reasonable rates.\8\ This Final Rule involves information gathering and analysis, and the collection and subsequent investment of money to fund nuclear plant decommissioning affects the rates that public utilities charge under sections 205 and 206 of the FPA, and whether those rates are just and reasonable. Accordingly, no environmental consideration is necessary. \7\ Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, Order No. 486, 52 FR 47897 (Dec. 17, 1987), FERC Stats. & Regs. Regulations Preambles 1986-1990 ] 30,783 (1987). \8\ 18 CFR 380.4(a)(5), (15). Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 15. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) requires rulemakings to contain either a description and analysis of the effect that the rule will have on small entities or to contain a certification that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.\9\ Most public utilities to which the Final Rule would apply do not fall within the RFA's definition of small entity.\10\ Consequently, the Commission certifies that this Final Rule will not have ``a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.'' \9\ 5 U.S.C. 601-12. \10\ 5 U.S.C. 601(3), citing to section 3 of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632. Section 3 of the Small Business Act defines a ``small business concern'' as a business that is independently owned and operated and that is not dominant in its field of operation. 15 U.S.C. 632. The Small Business Size Standards component of the North American Industry Classification System defines a small electric utility as one that, including its affiliates, is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, and/or distribution of electric energy for sale and whose total electric output for the preceding fiscal year did not exceed four million MWh. 13 CFR 121.201. Document Availability 16. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an opportunity to view and print the contents of this document via the Internet through the Commission's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) and in the Commission's Public Reference Room during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First Street, NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426. 17. From the Commission's Home Page on the Internet, this information is available in its eLibrary. The full text of this document is available in the eLibrary both in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, printing, and downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type the docket number excluding the last three digits of this document in the docket number field. 18. User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's Web site during normal business hours. For assistance contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@FERC.gov or toll-free at (800) 208- 3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659. Or you may e-mail the Public Reference Room at public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. Administrative Findings and Effective Date 19. The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) \11\ requires rulemakings to be published in the Federal Register. The APA also mandates that an opportunity for comment be provided when an agency promulgates regulations. However, notice and comment are not required under the APA when the agency for good cause finds that notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.\12\ The Commission finds that notice and comment are unnecessary to this rulemaking. As explained above, the Commission is merely clarifying the proper scope of an annual report required by its regulations regarding the reporting of information on nuclear [[Page 34343]] plant trust funds. This clarification does not change existing law or policy. It substantially reduces a reporting requirement and reduces the reporting burden on the electric industry. Accordingly, this rule is effective 30 days following publication in the Federal Register. \11\ 5 U.S.C. 551-559. \12\ 5 U.S.C. 553b(3)(B). Congressional Notification 20. The Commission has determined, with the concurrence of the Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget, that this rule is not a ``major rule'' within the meaning of section 251 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.\13\ The Commission will submit this Final Rule to both houses of Congress and the General Accounting Office.\14\ ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- \13\ 5 U.S.C. 804(2). \14\ 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 35 Electric power rates, Electric utilities, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. By the Commission. Linda Mitry, Deputy Secretary. 0 In consideration of the foregoing, the Commission amends Part 35, Chapter I, Title 18, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows: PART 35--FILING OF RATE SCHEDULES AND TARIFFS 0 1.The authority citation for Part 35 continues to read as follows: Authority: 16 U.S.C. 791a-825r, 2601-2645; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 7101-7352. 0 2. Section 35.33 is amended by revising paragraph (d)(2) and adding paragraph (d)(4) to read as follows: Sec. 35.33 Specific provisions. * * * * * (d) * * * (2) Activity of the Fund during the period, including amounts received from the utility, a summary amount for purchases of fund investments and a summary amount for sales of fund investments, gains and losses from investment activity, disbursements from the Fund for decommissioning activity and payment of Fund expenses, including taxes; and * * * * * (4) Public utilities owning nuclear plants must maintain records of individual purchase and sales transactions until after decommissioning has been completed and any excess jurisdictional amounts have been returned to ratepayers in a manner that the Commission determines. The public utility need not include these records in the financial report that it furnishes to the Commission by March 31 of each year. * * * * * [FR Doc. 05-11532 Filed 6-13-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-U ***************************************************************** 64 Guardian Unlimited: Public Glimpses Machines That Fueled Bomb From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday June 14, 2005 9:01 AM AP Photo TNWP603 By DUNCAN MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (AP) - The government is offering a rare glimpse of the massive machines used to enrich uranium for the ``Little Boy'' bomb - the first atomic weapon used in war, dropped 60 years ago in August on Hiroshima, Japan. Inside the high-security Y-12 nuclear weapons plant remain the last of 1,152 calutrons that once filled nine buildings. The machinery was part of the top-secret bomb-building Manhattan Project, which turned this rural countryside about 30 miles west of Knoxville into a ``secret city'' of 75,000 people between 1942 and 1945. ``Don't you know the people in Knoxville wondered what in the world was going on out here,'' Department of Energy guide Ray Smith said Monday. ``All this material was coming in, truckload after truckload, and nothing ever left.'' About 50 kilograms of highly enriched uranium were produced in Oak Ridge over a year's time for the Little Boy bomb - all carried in briefcases by plainclothes couriers to Los Alamos, N.M., where the bomb was partially assembled before being moved to Tinian in the Northern Marianas Islands and loaded onto the B-29 Enola Gay for the bomb run over Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. Many of those questions remain in this still highly classified environment, where today nuclear warhead parts are dismantled and refurbished and bomb-grade uranium is stockpiled. For the first time, the public will be allowed to see the old calutron machines - devices used for separating out fissionable uranium for reactor fuel or bombs - in tours this weekend as part of Oak Ridge's annual Secret City Festival. The tours quickly filled in advance with more than 600 people signing up. Even many who worked here didn't know exactly what they were working on until the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing more than 100,000. Japan surrendered less than a month later. ``I wouldn't have known what an atomic bomb was. I had never heard of it,'' said Gladys Owens, 80, of Harlan, Ky., who was among scores of young women hired to control electric current in the calutrons on orders from the engineers. The calutrons separated fissile Uranium 235 for the bomb using huge magnets and vast quantities of electricity from the government-owned Tennessee Valley Authority. Owens, who was 19 and just out of high school when she worked here from January until August 1945, said she didn't piece together her place in history until she attended the festival last year, saw her picture in the historical displays and was given a private tour. Her reaction? ``Mostly, I thank God the state of Tennessee is still on the map,'' she said, with a laugh. ``Because I was right here at the controls. At 19 years old.'' --- Y-12 plant: http://www.y12.doe.gov/bwxt/y12.html Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 65 ABQjournal: 3 Labs Rip Nuclear Program the Albuquerque Journal newspaper. Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Albuquerque Journal--> John Fleck--> By John Fleck Journal Staff Writer The United States' current approach to maintaining its nuclear arsenal "looks increasingly unsustainable," according to an internal report by senior officials at the nation's three nuclear weapons labs. The nuclear weapons program's future costs exceed the available budget, and the effort to maintain aging warheads is forcing the nation to retain a larger nuclear arsenal than would otherwise be needed, the report concludes. Completed last month, the report's findings mirror in some respects those of a key House of Representatives subcommittee. The House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee issued a report last month calling for a sweeping reorganization of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex as part of its proposed 2006 Department of Energy budget. The two reports set the stage for today's unveiling of the Senate's version of the DOE budget, written by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. The outcome of the debate is critical to New Mexico, which is home to Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, two of the three U.S. nuclear weapons design laboratories. The federal government will spend an estimated $2.9 billion this year for nuclear weapons work in New Mexico, more than in any other state. The House and lab reports both argue that it is no longer feasible to maintain the existing Cold War nuclear arsenal by nursing along old weapons, refurbishing aging parts when necessary. The labs' report, written by a quartet of senior nuclear weapons scientists and endorsed by the weapons program chiefs of the three U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories, argues that continuing to maintain weapons is possible "only at significantly increasing cost." The program, dubbed "Stockpile Stewardship" when it was established a decade ago, "merely preserve(s) nuclear weapons with out-dated technology and a ponderous and expensive enterprise required to support old technology," the labs' report concludes. Because of resulting uncertainties about long-term weapons reliability, "the United States must retain a relatively large number of reserve weapons to ensure against contingencies," the lab scientists from Sandia, Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories wrote— spares in case problems crop up in some of the primary stockpile weapons. Official stockpile numbers are classified, but the independent Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental and arms control group, estimates there are 5,300 nuclear weapons in the active U.S. stockpile and another 5,000 being held in reserve. The House subcommittee, led by Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, raised similar arguments last month, concluding that the nuclear weapons labs need to design a new "Reliable Replacement Warhead" that is easier to care for in the long run. Hobson's 2006 budget report calls for the new warhead to be "designed for ease of manufacturing, maintenance, dismantlement and certification without nuclear testing." To do that, Hobson's spending plan would: + Reduce spending on refurbishment of current U.S. weapons; + Increase spending on design efforts for the new Reliable Replacement Warhead; + Reduce spending on preparations for possible future underground nuclear test blasts at the federal government's Nevada Test Site; + Cut spending on nuclear weapons supercomputers, arguing that they have not lived up to their promise as a way of conducting virtual nuclear tests to maintain existing weapons; + Eliminate funding for a new factory to build plutonium nuclear weapon cores; and + Delay money for a new plutonium lab at Los Alamos until the weapons designers have a clearer picture of what the newly designed warhead requires. Greg Mello, an arms control activist at the Albuquerque-based Los Alamos Study Group, called Hobson's vision of a new nuclear weapons program "sweeping." Aides to Domenici declined comment, saying they preferred to wait until they released their own proposed version of the 2006 nuclear weapons budget. Copyright Albuquerque Journal Steve@abqjournal.com ***************************************************************** 66 DOE: Agency Information Collection Extension FR Doc 05-11724 [Federal Register: June 14, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 113)] [Notices] [Page 34456] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr14jn05-56] AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Submission for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review; comment request. SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted an information collection package to the OMB for extension under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The package requests a three-year extension of its ``Technology Partnership Ombudsmen Reporting Requirements'', OMB Control Number 1910-5118. This information collection package covers information necessary to implement a statutory requirement that the Technology Transfer Ombudsmen report quarterly on complaints they receive. DATES: Comments regarding this collection must be received on or before July 14, 2005. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, please advise the OMB Desk Officer of your intention to make a submission as soon as possible. The Desk Officer may be telephoned at (202) 395-7345. ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to: DOE Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget New Executive Office Building, Room 10102, 735 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503. Comments should also be addressed to: Sharon Evelin, Director, Records Management, Division IM-11/Germantown Bldg., U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave, SW., Washington, DC 20585-1290. Or by fax at (301) 903-9061 or by e-mail at . And to Ann Broker, GC-12, U.S Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave, SW., Washington, DC 20585-1290 . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The individuals listed in ADDRESSES. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This package contains: (1) OMB No.: 1910- 5118; (2) Package Title: Technology Partnerships Ombudsmen Reporting Requirements; (3) Type of Review: Renewal; (4) Purpose: The information collected is used to determine whether the Technology Transfer Ombudsmen appointed by DOE national laboratories in accordance with the Technology Commercialization Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-404) are properly working to resolve complaints from outside organizations regarding laboratory policies and actions with respect to technology partnerships; (5) Estimated Number of Respondents: 24; (6) Estimated Total Burden Hours: 100; Statutory Authority: Pub. L. 106-404, Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 2000. Issued in Washington, DC on June 3, 2005. Sharon Evelin, Director, Records Management Division, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 05-11724 Filed 6-13-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P ***************************************************************** 67 DOE: International Energy Agency Meeting FR Doc 05-11725 [Federal Register: June 14, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 113)] [Notices] [Page 34457-34458] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr14jn05-58] AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE). ACTION: Notice of meetings. SUMMARY: The Industry Advisory Board (IAB) to the International Energy Agency (IEA) will meet on June 21, 2005, at the headquarters of the IEA in Paris, France, in connection with a meeting of the IEA's Standing Group on Emergency Questions. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samuel M. Bradley, Assistant General Counsel for International and National Security Programs, Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, 202-586- 6738. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with section 252(c)(1)(A)(i) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6272(c)(1)(A)(i)) (EPCA), the following notice of meeting is provided: A meeting of the Industry Advisory Board (IAB) to the International Energy Agency (IEA) will be held at the headquarters of the IEA, 9, rue de la F[eacute]d[eacute]ration, Paris, France, on June 21, 2005, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The purpose of this notice is to permit attendance by representatives of U.S. company members of the IAB at a meeting of the IEA's Standing Group on Emergency Questions (SEQ), which is scheduled to be held at the IEA on June 21, beginning at 2:30 p.m. and continuing at 9:30 a.m. on June 22, including a preparatory encounter among company representatives from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on June 21. The agenda for the preparatory encounter is as follows: I. Welcome, Review of Agenda, and Introductions II. Input on SEQ Work Plans --Workshops to Expand SEQ Member Knowledge on Oil Markets --Emergency Response Exercise 4 --IEA/EC Convergence of Reporting --Non-Member Country Cooperation III. Closing and Review of Meetings of Interest to IAB Members --Workshop on Oil Stockpiling in the APEC Region, July 26-27, 2005, Honolulu --SEQ and IAB Meeting, November 17-18, 2005, Paris --SEQ and IAB Meeting, March 22-23, 2006, Paris --SEQ and IAB Meeting, June 21-22, 2006, Paris --SEQ and IAB Meeting, November 15-16, 2006, Paris The agenda for the SEQ meeting is under the control of the SEQ. It is expected that the SEQ will adopt the following agenda: 1. Adoption of the Agenda 2. Approval of the Summary Record of the 113th Meeting 3. Emergency Response Review Program (part 1) --Emergency Response Review of the Netherlands 4. The Current Oil Market Situation --Report on the Current Oil Market 5. Report on the Current Activities of the IAB --Report on Current Activities --Presentation: How the Oil Market Functions 6. Presentation: What Constitutes an Oil Supply Crisis? What Are the Ramifications of Action vs. Inaction? 7. SEQ Program of Work --Overview of Future Work in 2005 --Results of IEA Priority-Setting Exercise --Evaluation of Program of Work --Report on June Governing Board Meeting Discussion on Program of Work 8. Update on Compliance with IEP Stockholding Commitments --Update on Compliance with IEP Stockholding Commitments --Reports by Non-Complying Member Countries 9. Report on Recent Governing Board Meetings 10. Emergency Response Review Program (part 2) --Emergency Response Review of New Zealand --Emergency Response Review of Italy 11. Other Emergency Response Activities --Proposed Work on Gas Supply Emergency Policies 12. Activities with Non-Member Countries and International Organizations --Offer of a Voluntary Contribution by the United Kingdom --Asian Overseas Oil Investment: Can the National Oil Companies Deliver? --Report on 3rd IEA/OPEC Workshop, May 15, 2005, Kuwait --Workshop on Oil Stockpiling in the APEC Region, July 26-27, 2005, Honolulu 13. Emergency Response Review Program (part 3) --Emergency Response Review of Greece --Questionnaire Response of Denmark --Questionnaire Response of Sweden --Schedule of Emergency Response Reviews 14. Policy and Other Developments in Member Countries 15. Other Documents for Information --Emergency Reserve Situation of IEA Member Countries --Emergency Reserve Situation of IEA Candidate Countries --Monthly Oil Statistics: March 2005 --Base Period Final Consumption: 2Q 2004-1Q 2005 [[Page 34458]] --Quarterly Oil Forecast: 2Q 2005 --Update of Emergency Contacts List 16. Other Business --Dates of Next Meetings (tentative): November 17-18, 2005; March 21-23, 2006; June 20-21, 2006; November 14-16, 2006. As provided in section 252(c)(1)(A)(ii) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6272(c)(1)(A)(ii)), the meetings of the IAB are open to representatives of members of the IAB and their counsel; representatives of members of the IEA's Standing Group on Emergency Questions (SEQ); representatives of the Departments of Energy, Justice, and State, the Federal Trade Commission, the General Accounting Office, Committees of Congress, the IEA, and the European Commission; and invitees of the IAB, the SEQ, or the IEA. Issued in Washington, DC, June 8, 2005. Samuel M. Bradley, Assistant General Counsel for International and National Security Programs. [FR Doc. 05-11725 Filed 6-13-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P ***************************************************************** 68 lamonitor.com: Lab workers press DOE for answers The Online News Source for Los Alamos ROGER SNODGRASS, roger@lamonitor.com, Monitor Assistant Editor Current and retired employees of Los Alamos National Laboratory took their last chance to converse with the official in charge of the bidding process that will weigh heavily on their working conditions next year. Tyler Przybylek, the chair of the Source Evaluation Board that will evaluate proposals for managing the laboratory contract, answered questions from nearly 200 people for more than two hours at a public meeting Sunday. Przybylek acknowledged the value of past input from employees' concerns and the uncertainties that depend on the coming change regardless of who wins. "A lot of people think it will be like flying into a cliff, but I think it will be more like a speed table, up a little bit and then down," Przybylek said. (A speed table is a traffic-calming device designed to encourage drivers to comply with the appropriate speed limit.) A panel included two retirees, Steve Czuchlewski, and moderator Joe Ladish, and two current staff members, Sue Chasen and Robert Gibson. The forum was hosted by the Committee on LANL Excellence, a broad community coalition that has worked, as Czuchlewski said, to mitigate unintended consequences and understand how the complex provisions under consideration will play out in scientific and technical terms at the laboratory and in the community. Chasen and Gibson presented a series of prepared questions, covering a wide range of issues. The hardest question may also have been the easiest to answer. It was about the uncertainty expressed throughout the final Request for Proposal, in which guaranteed jobs and compensation for current career and term employees at the lab is "subject to the availability of funds." The legal term is required, Przybylek said, because no officer of the U.S. government can obligate funds that haven't been committed by Congress, and next fiscal year's budget has not been passed. More difficult to resolve, perhaps, was the unease at the root of several questions having to do with the new fee structure contemplated in the new contract. How could the current laboratory budget pay an additional $50 million to $70 million in management fee awards and tens of millions more for state Gross Receipts Taxes that will be owed by for-profit participants in the laboratory contract - without reducing staff? The University of California, as a nonprofit organization, has escaped the tax, but the team it has lined up for the bid includes for-profit partners. Lockheed Martin, the other leading contender in the competition is a for-profit corporation. "It could mean reducing staffing," Przybylek said. "But there are a whole bunch of other ways to avoid laying off people." With all that financial incentive at stake, with the best and the brightest working on the problem and no excuses accepted, he said, "We expect them to find ways," to save money without cutting staff. He gave as an example, "with no implications intended," a $50 million savings realized by Sandia Corp. by merging laboratories after assuming the contract to manage Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia Corp. is managed and operated by Lockheed Martin. In his opening comments Przybylek said his board had shown responsiveness to LANL employee concerns in reinforcing the pension and benefits provisions of the new contract. "We heard you," he said. "You wanted us to get rid of 'comparable' for the compensation package. We went to 'substantially equivalent.'" As long as there is a contract and a budget, then there is someone to pay the bill, he said. "Why did we forget about retirees?" he asked. "Our mistake," he said. Current retirees will remain in the UCRP system, along with the assets to cover their retirement. Eligible retirees will continue to receive health benefits, although the health plan and payments will be tied to the new limited liability corporation, as established by the successor contractor. The current workforce will be effectively split into three groups - those who quit, those who go on, and those who freeze their UC pensions, according to a summary account provided by Roberto Archuleta, the SEB benefits specialist. Those who stay will be assured of a job and a "substantially equivalent" pay and benefit package. Their leave balances and service credits toward health insurance and retirement will be carried over, along with the equity in their pension account under UC, to the new company. A benefit-value study that had been floated in the draft Request for Proposal is no longer in play for current employees who continue into the new contract. Such a study was almost certain to have sharply reduced pensions and benefits for current LANL employees, which are higher than average. Any corrective actions to bring the pensions and benefits in line with other DOE facilities will only apply to new employees hired by the new contractor. Those who quit before May 31, when the new contract is scheduled to begin, will retire with everything they have coming to them under the current contract. Those who are vested and want to freeze their benefits in the University of California pension system may do that. They are guaranteed employment, if they choose, and their leave credits will remain, but they will have to start fresh as entry-level employees with the new limited liability corporation that will manage the laboratory in the future. New employees won't have those choices. They will accept or reject the new compensation and benefit package of the successor contractor, according to market forces. "If the laboratory starts experiencing problems attracting qualified workers," Archuleta said, "a case may be made to adjust that." All current workers will have at least 60 days to see what the new contractor comes up with in terms of a "substantially equivalent" compensation package, before they will have to choose which of the options to take. A germ of future conflict came up in a discussion of how DOE planned to extricate the equity underlying existing employees' equity from the University of California. "All the vested rights and assets to cover those employees who retire under the current contract will have to stay with UC." "We're going to negotiate what the present value of those assets are. Easy? Heck no." He anticipated an arduous set of negotiations. With respect to the competition as a whole, Przybylek said, "The process is in place to move through with predictability, meeting timelines and getting results." © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 69 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Rocky FR Doc 05-11726 [Federal Register: June 14, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 113)] [Notices] [Page 34456-34457] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr14jn05-57] Flats AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of open meeting. SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EMSSAB), Rocky Flats. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. No. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register. DATES: Thursday, July 7, 2005, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. ADDRESSES: College Hill Library, Room L-107, Front Range Community College, 3705 W., 112th Avenue, Westminster, Colorado. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Korkia, Executive Director, Rocky Flats Citizens Advisory Board, 12101 Airport Way, Unit B, Broomfield, CO 80021; [[Page 34457]] telephone (303) 966-7855; fax (303) 966-7856. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of environmental restoration, waste management, and related activities. Tentative Agenda: 1. Presentation and Discussion on the Rocky Flats Transition Interim Surveillance and Maintenance Plan. 2. Presentation and Discussion on the Results of Air and Water Monitoring During Building Demolition. 3. Other Board business may be conducted as necessary. Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public. Written statements may be filed with the Board either before or after the meeting. Individuals who wish to make oral statements pertaining to agenda items should contact Ken Korkia at the address or telephone number listed above. Requests must be received at least five days prior to the meeting and reasonable provisions will be made to include the presentation in the agenda. The Deputy Designated Federal Officer is empowered to conduct the meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly conduct of business. Individuals wishing to make public comment will be provided a maximum of five minutes to present their comments. Minutes: The minutes of this meeting will be available for public review and copying at the office of the Rocky Flats Citizens Advisory Board, 12101 Airport Way, Unit B, Broomfield, CO 80021; telephone (303) 966-7855. Hours of operations are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Minutes will also be made available by writing or calling Ken Korkia at the address or telephone number listed above. Board meeting minutes are posted on RFCAB's Web site within one month following each meeting at: . Issued at Washington, DC on June 9, 2005. R. Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. 05-11726 Filed 6-13-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************