NRC rejects Utah appeal of nuclear waste storage site

Washington (Platts)--9Sep2005

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Friday rejected Utah's final
appeal of an application of an eight-utility consortium to build and operate a
spent fuel storage facility on an Indian reservation in Utah's West Desert. In
a 3-1 decision, the commission also authorized NRC staff to issue a license to
Private Fuel Storage LLC (PFS) to build the facility, which is the first-ever,
stand-alone private storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the US. 
     NRC Commissioner Gregory Jaczko cast the dissenting vote. PFS filed its
application with the NRC in June 1997. NRC issued its final environmental
impact statement in January 2002 and a Consolidated Safety Evaluation Report
in March 2002.
     The nuclear utility consortium plans to build a 4,000-cask above-ground
facility on 100 acres of land owned by the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes,
about 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. 
     PFS still needs approval from other federal agencies, including the Dept
of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management and the
Surface Transportation Board, before it can begin construction.
     The facility will be built on land leased from the Skull Valley Band of
the Goshute Indians over strong protests from the state because the area is
used for training by the US Air Force from nearby Hill Air Force Base and the
chance of a crash releasing radiation was too high. Utah petitioned for NRC
review of a Feb 24 decision by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boad, which
rejected the state's assertions. NRC's memorandum and order also dismisses as
moot petitions by PFS and the NRC staff for review of portions of an earlier
ASLB ruling.
     "Our decision today concludes this protractd adjudication, which has
generated more than 40 published Board decisions and more than 30 published
Commission dcisions," NRC said in its memorandum and order. "The adjudicatory
effort, plus our staff's separate safety and environmental reviews, gives us
reasonable assurance that PFS's proposed [storage facility] can be constructed
and operated safely," it said.
     The facility is being built by seven US utilities, led by Xcel Energy in
Minnesota.

For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at
http://nucweek.platts.com.

Please visit: www.platts.com

Their coverage of energy matters is extensive!!.