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It's woefully behind schedule -- about four years, in fact -- and almost forgotten, but a Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant may be published later this year. The big environmental document, known as the SWEIS, was under preparation years ago and reportedly nearing completion, but it got shunted aside and all but disappeared when a bigger project -- involving post-Cold War "transformation" of the entire U.S. nuclear weapons complex -- came on the scene. That, however, did not eliminate the legal obligations to do an environmental study of impacts at Y-12. Steven Wyatt, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Y-12 is still alive, still in preparation and "projected to be be published around the end of September 2009."

Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation Created by the Accumulation of Weapons-Useable Fissile Material in the Territory of the Russian Federation Presidential Title 3-- The President [[Page 29391]] Notice of June 18, 2009 Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation Created by the Accumulation of Weapons-Useable Fissile Material in the Territory of the Russian Federation

Notice of Extension of Public Comment Period for the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long- Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center, DOE/EIS-0226D (Revised) AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of extension of public comment period. SUMMARY: This notice announces an extension of the public comment period initially published in the December 5, 2008 Notice of Availability (73 FR 74160) for the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center [DOE/EIS-0226-D (Revised)] (referred to as the ``Draft Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship EIS'' or ``Draft EIS.''). The comment period will now close on September 8, 2009.

As part of POGO's effort to identify good government practices at the state and local level, I attended the DC City Council's Committee on Government Operations and the Environment's June 26 hearing on the "Whistleblower Protection Amendment Act of 2009." It will likely become law, as 12 of the 14 council members signed on to introduce the bill. If the components of the bill remain the same through the mark-up process, it could be one of the most protective and comprehensive whistleblower protection laws in the nation. (For a look at how your state ranks on whistleblower protection, check out PEER's great analysis.) First off, I want to commend the Committee staff for following the good oversight hearing practice of having those most affected by the legislation speak first (the whistleblowers), followed by the subject matter experts (public interest groups), and lastly the government panel. This format, which we recommend during our COTS training to congressional staffers,

CHELYABINSK, Russia - Resident of Muslimovo, in Russia's Chelyabinsk Oblast, will be fully relocated by the end of the year because of nuclear contamination in the village, RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports. The ethnic Tatar-populated village and much of the surrounding region was heavily contaminated in 1957 by the infamous explosion at the nearby Mayak nuclear station. Russia's oversight body for nuclear power, the Rosatom Nuclear Energy State Corporation, and Chelyabinsk Oblast authorities agreed on the village's relocation in 2006, and some 690 families have been relocated since then. About 150 families still live there. Local authorities plan to plant trees where the village stood after residents have been fully relocated and the village has been decontaminated by the end of 2009. An estimated 500,000 people have been affected by radiation from Mayak, and large tracts of land have been polluted.

In 2003, the nuclear industry was very nearly killed off in Britain. In 2009, it is so resurgent that captains of the energy industry are arguing it is renewables that should be killed off, or at least kept on a starvation diet. Today, the Confederation of British Industry has thrown its weight behind the nuclear industry's calls for the government to scale back "overambitious" wind power targets in favour of atomic energy. Two foreign-owned energy giants, E.ON and EDF, have recently told the government it must essentially choose between new nuclear and major renewables developments. With global warming, energy security and fuel poverty all rendering energy policy a matter of life and death today, in their own ways, this new polarisation in the nuclear debate is a desperately dangerous development.

The Navajo Nation has weathered severe drought conditions for about the last 20 years, so when a water source presents itself, the last thing usually considered is whether it might be contaminated. "Water is precious," said Eleanor Peshlakai, 67, of Black Falls. "Last year I was hauling water in my truck during the middle of a real dry spell. As I was filling up at a water trough, some of the water sprayed out from the hose and out of nowhere the lizards came running. They were thirsty. They, too, are suffering the drought, just like the humans, waiting for any form of moisture."

Katherine Peshlakai, Faye Willie and Elsie Tohannie have a lot in common, besides their years.Following the Long Walk in the 1860s and the imprisonment of Navajos at Bosque Redondo, their families settled in an area later known as Wupatki National Monument. Recognition of Navajo occupancy was not included in enabling legislation that created the park, and in the early 1960s, the families were kicked out. Driven from their winter sheep camps at Wupatki and across the Little Colorado River to make way for the national monument near Flagstaff, they settled in Black Falls, an area contaminated in the 1950s by radioactive fallout from above-ground atomic testing at Nevada Test Site.

By letter dated October 24, 2006, AREVA NP, Inc. (AREVA) requested the renewal of Special Nuclear Material License No. SNM-1227. Pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 2.106, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing notice that Special Nuclear Material License No. SNM-1227, which authorizes AREVA to possess and process enriched uranium up to a maximum of five weight percent uranium-235, for the manufacture of fuel assemblies for commercial nuclear power plants (both pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors) at its fuel fabrication facility in Richland, Washington, has been renewed for a period of 40 years. AREVA's request for the proposed renewed license was previously noticed, and an opportunity to request a hearing provided, in the Federal Register on March 15, 2007 (72 FR 12202). A Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact has been noticed in the Federal Register on April 3, 2009 (74 FR 15312).

In a speech on 5 April 2009 in Prague, Czech Republic, US President Barack Obama said that his Administration will: negotiate a new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia this year; immediately and aggressively pursue U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; seek a new treaty that verifiably ends the production of fissile materials intended for use in nuclear weapons; and seek to build "a new framework for civil nuclear cooperation, including an international fuel bank, so that countries can access peaceful power without increasing the risks of proliferation" (1).

There are a few unmistakable realities in the world. One of them, Vince Matthews thinks, is that increasing energy demands are unstoppable. Another is that Colorado has a wealth of mineral and energy reserves that could be vital in meeting national and global appetites. Matthews, Colorado state geologist and director of Colo­rado Geological Survey, presented his views during the first seminar Thursday morning of the Fueling Energy Summit 2009, hosted by Yampa Valley Partners at the Holiday Inn of Craig.

The results of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's annual safety performance assessment for the Indian Point nuclear power plant will be the subject of a public meeting on Thursday, May 21. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel, at 455 South Broadway in Tarrytown, N.Y. (Directions are available at: http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/hotel/TERHIDT-Doubletree-Hotel-Tarrytown-New-York/directions.do.) Prior to the conclusion of the meeting, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the plant's performance, as well as the agency's oversight of the facility. In addition, the NRC will conduct an informational open house from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the same location that will allow members of the public to ask questions of agency staff on a one-on-one basis. Indian Point, which is located in Buchanan (Westchester County), N.Y., is the site of two operating pressurized-water reactors. Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., owns and runs the facility. Overall, the Indian Point plant operated safely during 2008. At the conclusion of last year, as assessed by the NRC Reactor Oversight Process, there were no performance indicators for the plant that were other than "green" and no inspection findings that were "greater than green." During 2009, Indian Point will receive the very detailed inspection regime used by the NRC, as well as enhanced oversight in the area of groundwater contamination. In 2008, the NRC devoted approximately 16,700 hours of inspection to Indian Point, including seven major team inspections.

Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, as amended AGENCY: Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Employment Standards Administration, Labor. ACTION: Notice of revision of listing of covered Department of Energy facilities. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) is publishing a list of Department of Energy (DOE) facilities covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, as amended (EEOICPA). This notice revises the listing of DOE facilities that was included as part of the list of covered facilities last published by DOE on August 23, 2004 (69 FR 51825) to include the determinations made by OWCP on this subject through June 23, 2009.

On a 2-2 vote, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was unable to reach a decision on the staff's recommendation to issue a final rule expanding the number and type of radioactive sources covered under the National Source Tracking System (NSTS). "I appreciate the effort Commissioner Lyons has dedicated to the successful implementation of the current National Source Tracking System and the diligent work the NRC staff did to prepare a draft final rule to further expand it," Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko said. "Although the Commission did not approve the expansion of this system today, I look forward to working with my fellow Commissioners to continue to improve on this important piece of our radioactive source security efforts." The final rule would have expanded the NSTS to include Category 3 sources, requiring additional licensees to report information on the manufacture, transfer, receipt, disassembly and disposal of these radioactive sources to the NSTS. These sources include fixed industrial gauges (level gauges, conveyor gauges, thickness gauges, blast furnace gauges, dredger gauges, and pipe gauges); well-logging devices; medium and low-dose-range brachytherapy; and certain radiography devices. Additional details on the proposal can be found on NRC's Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/commission/secys/2009/.

The NRC is seeking comments on a proposed rule, published in today's Federal Register, that would change emergency preparedness requirements for operating nuclear power plants, for those that might be licensed and built in the future, and for research and test reactors. The proposed rule would limit the duties of a plant's onsite emergency responders to ensure they are not overburdened during an emergency event, and require specific provisions to protect them and other plant personnel during a hostile action event. In addition, the proposed rule would require all nuclear power plants to incorporate hostile action scenarios in their drills and exercises, which currently primarily focus on nuclear-related scenarios. New requirements for back-up measures for alerting and notification systems are also included in the proposed rule. The NRC has held several public meetings while developing the proposed rule and will be holding additional public meetings at six locations over the next several weeks. At these meetings, hosted jointly by the NRC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), staff from both agencies will be available to answer questions about the proposed regulations and draft guidance. The first meeting will be held in the Philadelphia, Pa., area on June 2, 2009. Attendees are strongly encouraged to read the documents on http://www.regulations.gov (Docket Nos. NRC-2008-0122 and FEMA-2008-0022) before the meeting. After reviewing all public comments, the NRC staff plans to submit a proposed final rule to the Commission in February 2010.

Today, U.S. Senator Mark Udall, expressed support for a Senate Resolution that would honor the workers who helped build America's nuclear weapons supply. Senator Udall was a co-sponsor of Senate Resolution 151, which passed Wednesday by unanimous consent. It designates a national day of remembrance for the workers on October 30, 2009.

A matter of 24 minutes could affect the lives of 20 million people within 30 miles of the Indian Point Nuclear Plant. That's the core of an argument awaiting a ruling from a federal appeals court in a case against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for allowing lower-quality fire barriers at the Westchester County plant 24 miles outside of the city. The case also marks the first time the NRC is challenged to grant so-called exemptions that affect public safety without alerting the public. The court case comes on the heels of an NRC public meeting Thursday night on safety at Indian Point.

By letter dated July 3, 2008, Energy Metals Corporation (Energy Metals) submitted a Source Materials License application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the Antelope and JAB Uranium Project in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. The Antelope and JAB Uranium Project would involve the recovery of uranium by in situ leach (ISL) extraction. An NRC Administrative review, documented in a letter to Energy Metals dated March 9, 2009, found the application acceptable to begin a technical and environmental review. Before approving the license application, the NRC will need to make the findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and NRC's regulations. These findings will be documented in a Safety Evaluation Report (SER) and a site-specific environmental review consistent with the provisions of 10 CFR Part 51.

Residents couldn't have been happier when, in February, a ribbon cutting was held to officially open the Black Falls Church watering point. Ideally, it meant water haulers wouldn't have to travel long distances anymore to fill their barrels with safe drinking water. For people such as Nina Tohannie, it meant that her brother Ronald wouldn't be sending her down into Dry Spring to scrub the walls of the well with chlorine and pull out the bones and carcasses of dead animals. "When it's like that, you can smell it," Ronald said. "We'd have to clean out the well and siphon all that water out with a water pump. Then somebody has to crawl down in there and get what's left. I can't get it with the water pump. It's really thick. So we have to take a bucket down there with a rope on it.

The Department of Energy is not adequately reporting the environmental impact of its billion-dollar program to clean up nuclear waste, according to a government audit. The Government Accountability Office released a report today noting that the DOE's nuclear clean-up program has been labeled as "a high-risk area for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement" since 1990, which the GOA says is the result of "inadequate management and oversight of its projects." As recently as March of 2009, the report stated, the GOA testified that cost increases at some major nuclear clean up projects were estimated to require an additional $25 to $42 billion to complete. Despite the consistent problems with the projects and ballooning budgets, the DOE did not adequately report its progress or the actual environmental impact of its work, the audit states.