Prairie Island pushes for stored waste solution

 

 

The Prairie Island Indian Community in Minnesota that hosts twin nuclear reactors and 35 large steel nuclear waste storage casks that sit just 600 yards from Prairie Island tribal homes, wants federal government to honour its promise to transfer the waste out of the community.

The Prairie Island Indian Community, a federally recognised Indian Nation located in southeastern Minnesota along the banks of the Mississippi River, approximately 30 miles from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, is calling on the federal government to fulfil its promise to build a permanent nuclear waste storage facility.  The community hosts twin nuclear reactors and 35 large steel nuclear waste storage casks that sit just 600 yards from Prairie Island tribal homes.

According to a community statement, a total of 98 casks could be stranded on Prairie Island indefinitely unless the federal government greenlights a final repository site.  Safety concerns for the pro-nuclear community are also going reportedly unheard since the only evacuation route off the Prairie Island is frequently blocked by passing trains. The Tribe has been pushing for the removal of the nuclear waste since 1994 when Xcel Energy was first allowed to store the waste near its reservation.

The latest push for a waste storage solution outside its community comes in response to a CNN scheduled airing of a pro-nuclear documentary, "Pandora's Promise," a documentary film that heavily favours an increased reliance on nuclear power and explores attitudes about potential environmental benefits.

"When onsite nuclear storage was first approved in our state of Minnesota 20 years ago, our Tribe and other concerned citizens were promised it would be temporary, and because the federal government was legally required to develop a national repository by 1998, we were also promised that only 17 spent fuel casks were needed on Prairie Island,” said a Community statement.

"To date, no replacement facility has been identified and all progress made toward developing the Yucca Mountain site has been halted. Thirty-five spent fuel casks are now stored on Prairie Island, with a total of 98 needed to store the nuclear waste generated through 2034, the end of the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant's current operating license,” continued the statement.

The community said that while not opposed to nuclear power as an energy source, collectively they are “deeply troubled” by the federal government's broken promise to remove the highly radioactive waste from their communities.

 

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