ECA Update January 7, 2021

Image View this email in your browser ECA UPDATE Jan 7, 2021 FEATURED CLEANUP Hanford Cleanup: DOE's Efforts to Close Tank Farms Would Benefit from Clearer Legal Authorities and Communication GAO | 1/7/2021 The Department of Energy, under agreement with EPA and Washington State, is cleaning up radioactive waste at its Hanford site. It finished retrieving waste from one group of underground tanks—a "tank farm"—and it has begun retrieving waste from 2 of the remaining 17. If DOE classifies the residual waste in tanks as something other than high-level waste, and the state approves it, DOE can fill the tanks with grout and leave them in place. This could avoid some risks and save $18 billion. But DOE's legal authority to do this is unclear. We recommended that Congress consider clarifying DOE's authority to manage the residual waste. Continue reading >> Follow the latest DOE budget updates with ECA's budget tracker Image Monitor DOE spending bills, detailed site budgets, and more. Find everything you need to know about the DOE budget here! NUCLEAR WASTE Billions could be saved at Savannah River Site by reclassifying radioactive wastes, DOE says Aiken Standard | 1/6/2021 Billions upon billions of dollars and years of toil could be saved by classifying and treating certain kinds of nuclear wastes currently trapped at sites across the U.S. as less dangerous, based on their characteristics, a new evaluation from the Department of Energy shows. More than $200 billion could be pocketed if certain reprocessing wastes – both current and expected – at the Savannah River Site, Idaho National Laboratory and the Hanford site in Washington were categorized as not high-level radioactive waste, a term that denotes hazard level. “Classifying these reprocessing wastes as non-HLW could enable DOE to begin disposition of such waste earlier, reduce costs, and lower the risk to workers, the public, and the environment,” the department said in a years-in-the-making report to Congress. Continue reading >> ECA released a write-up on January 4 highlighting the reclassification: DOE took yet another step forward on its High-Level Waste Interpretation last week, providing House and Senate Armed Services Committee leadership with a report evaluating the “feasibility, costs, and cost savings of classifying covered defense nuclear waste as other than high-level radioactive waste, without decreasing environmental, health or public safety requirements,” as required under Section 3139 of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. The report, “Evaluation of Potential Opportunities to Classify Certain Defense Nuclear Waste From Reprocessing as Other than High-Level Radioactive Waste,” evaluates the inventory of reprocessing waste that is in storage or is planned to be produced at the Savannah River Site (SRS), the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and at Hanford. The report identifies up to $230 billion in cleanup cost savings -- far exceeding any estimates to date. Continue reading ECA's report >> Image IN OTHER NEWS NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Chairman Kristine Svinicki Announces Her Intent to Depart The NRC (NRC, 1/4) UPCOMING EVENTS Sept. 8-10, 2021 National Cleanup Workshop; Alexandria, VA ECA PUBLICATIONS Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation. ECA's Key Points on DOE HLW Interpretation ECA's FAQs on DOE HLW Interpretation Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications ECA BULLETIN Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org. View current and previous editions of the ECA Bulletin at www.energyca.org/bulletin DOE SITE PROFILES Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments. Access your community's profile by visiting: www.energyca.org/site-profiles DOE Site Proflies Energy Communities Alliance 1625 Eye St., NW Suite 800 Washington DC 20006 USA