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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,

URGENT ACTION ALERT! Condemned by health and environmental groups across the country, GNEP means foreign nuclear waste imported and "reprocessed" in the USA. This is a national issue! We need a big national outcry!!! Washington, Oregon, Idaho, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, South Carolina, and all our sister states! Cold War nuclear sites are thirty years behind on clean-up! NO foreign waste! Global Nuclear Energy Partnership In the dying throes of the Bush administration, one last environmental disaster is being foisted on the public. With GNEP, the Pacific Northwest, Hanford Nuclear Reservation and Idaho Falls, the Southwest and sites in the Eastern USA could all get a lot more nuclear waste (both from within and outside the country) and dirty nuclear waste 'reprocessing' plants, "recycling" reactors, and "advanced fuel cycle research facilities"-all verbal green-washings of very dirty processes. The Department of Energy (DOE) is holding public hearings on GNEP in November through early December, 2008, final hearing on December 9 in Washington DC in a rush to push this awful idea in under the wire. Thursday, November 20, 7:00 p.m. Hilton Garden Inn 700 Lindsay Boulevard Idaho Falls, IDAHO 83402 Tuesday, November 18, 7:00 p.m. Best Western Hood River Inn - Gorge Room 1108 East Marina Way Hood River, OREGON 97031 Monday, November 17, 7:00 p.m. Red Lion Hotel 2525 North 20th Avenue Pasco, WASHINGTON 99301 Monday, November 17, 7:00 p.m. Lea County Event Center 5101 North Lovington-Hobbs Hwy Hobbs, NEW MEXICO 88240 Tuesday, November 18, 9:00 a.m. Pecos River Village Conference Center Carousel House 711 Muscatel Avenue Carlsbad, NEW MEXICO 88220 Tuesday, November 18, 7:00 p.m. Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell Occupational Technology Center Seminar Room 124 20 West Mathis Roswell, NEW MEXICO 88130 Thursday, November 20, 7:00 p.m. Hilltop House Best Western 400 Trinity Drive (at Central) Los Alamos, NEW MEXICO 87544 Mon

SUMMARY: The NRC is issuing its Final Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) DC/ COL-ISG-05 (ADAMS Accession No. ML081710264). This interim staff guidance supplements the guidance provided to the staff in Chapter 11, ``Radioactive Waste Management,'' of NUREG-0800, ``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants,'' concerning the review of radioactive releases in gaseous and liquid effluents (GALE) to support design certification (DC) and combined license (COL) applications. This guidance provides a clarification on the use of a newer version of the boiling-water reactor and pressurized-water reactors GALE codes that is not referenced in the current NRC guidance.

The NRC is soliciting public comment on its Proposed Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) DC/COL-ISG-013 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML090830488). The purpose of this ISG is to modify and provide Combined License (COL) and Design Certification (DC) applicants additional clarity and guidance for the application of Standard Review Plan (SRP) Sections 11.2 and 2.4.13 on the characterization of hydro geological properties of a site associated with the effects of accidental releases of radioactive liquid on existing or likely future uses of ground and surface water resources in meeting the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 100 (10 CFR 100.10 or 100.20) and Appendix B to 10 CFR Part 20 on effluent concentration limits.

"WHAT: News briefing to release 1st Year Radioactive Report Card on President Obama and his Administration to grade their performance on policies on nuclear weapons production, waste cleanup and reactor funding. WHEN: Monday, March 15, 2010 - - 10:00am WHERE: Room 2322 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC WHO: Leaders of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) a national network of organizations representing the concerns of people living downwind and downstream from U.S. nuclear research, testing, production and waste disposal facilities - Michele Boyd, Director, Safe Energy Program, Physicians for Social Responsibility -- taxpayer subsidies for new reactors, radioactive waste disposal, and nuclear contamination cleanup - Ralph Hutchison, Coordinator, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance -- new Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear production plants, the next generation of weapons they may help support, and the implications for U.S. treaty obligations - Nick Roth, Program Director, Alliance for Nuclear Accountability -- performance of President Obama and his Administration during its first year in office and changes that must be made to improve its grades. WHY: Scores of activists from across the nation will present their concerns about U.S. nuclear weapons, cleanup and reactor spending policies in dozens of meetings with leaders of Congress and the Obama Administration from March 15 - 17 as part of ANA's 22nd Annual DC Days. "

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a special inspection at the DC Cook Nuclear Power Station to review circumstances around a turbine generator fire and degradation of the fire suppression system. The two-unit plant is operated by American Electric Power and is located in Stevensville, Mich. On Sept. 20, 2008, a malfunction in the Unit 1 turbine generator resulted in a fire and caused the operators to manually shut down the reactor. The turbine generator transforms steam into electricity. All nuclear safety systems functioned as expected and were not affected by the fire which occurred in a building separate from the nuclear reactor. The utility declared an unusual event, the lowest of NRC's four emergency classifications, when the fire could not be extinguished within 15 minutes. The fire was extinguished 25 minutes after it started. There were no injuries and no hazard to the public.

Hyperion Power Generation, which is designing a small, 25 MWe, nuclear reactor, revealed design details Nov 18 (slides) about the company's product at the winter meeting of the American Nuclear Society taking place in Washington, DC. This is the first release of reactor design information by the company. It marks the kick-off of the firm's pre-application process with the NRC for safety analysis review that leads to a reactor design certification decision by the agency.

Hyperion Power Generation, which is designing a small, 25 MWe, nuclear reactor, revealed design details Nov 18 (slides) about the company's product at the winter meeting of the American Nuclear Society taking place in Washington, DC. This is the first release of reactor design information by the company. It marks the kick-off of the firm's pre-application process with the NRC for safety analysis review that leads to a reactor design certification decision by the agency.

"Breaks Under Kerry-Lieberman Wipe Out Risk for Utilities Already Benefiting From Massive Loan Guarantees Earth Track Analysis Finds That Just Two of the Subsidies Add Another $1.3 Billion to $3 Billion in Tax Breaks Per Reactor; May Make It More Likely Taxpayers Will Face Downside Risk. Washington, DC -- The nuclear industry could end up facing no risk under massive tax break subsidies in the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill, according to an important new analysis conducted for Friends of the Earth by the research organization Earth Track. These tax breaks totaling $9.7 billion to $57.3 billion (depending on the type and number of reactors) would come on top of the Kerry-Lieberman measure's lucrative $35.5 billion addition to the more than $22.5 billion in loan guarantees already slated for nuclear power. Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica said: "Doling out an additional $1.3-$3 billion in tax breaks per new reactor means the industry would be at the table playing almost entirely with taxpayer money. Industry will have little to lose when a reactor goes belly up. While taxpayers are bankrolling the industry's nuclear gamble they would share in none of the reactor's financial returns. In fact, all taxpayers will receive if the reactors are built is responsibility for disposing of the waste. By contrast, investors stand to make billions with no risk should their reactor gambit goes belly up and enter bankruptcy." "

Just two years ago, Morris was in the running to become a nuclear fuel recycling site. But a backlash - in evidence at a Bolingbrook hearing Dec. 4 - has the Department of Energy asking Americans if the U.S. should recycle fuel and how it should happen. The department wanted three facilities: a research lab, a recycling center and a recycling reactor. The reactor would make electricity while destroying the long-lasting radioactive fuel leftovers. The plan was part of President Bush's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) to increase nuclear energy use. Missed the hearing? To submit comments to the Department of Energy on whether we should recycle spent nuclear fuel: n Write to: Mr. Frank Schwartz, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy - NE-5, 1000 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20585. n Fax: 866-645-7807 n Visit: www.regulations.gov

All U.S. plants are in violation even though fire is 50% of meltdown risk WASHINGTON, DC - Deliberate bureaucratic negligence has left millions of Americans exposed to unnecessarily high risks from fire hazards at the nation's nuclear power reactors for more than a decade, and Congress must demand either the enforcement of fire protection regulations or the suspension of operating licenses. That's according to three watchdog organizations that today sent a new report, Fire When NOT Ready, to eight congressional committee chairs.

Office of New Reactors; Interim Staff Guidance on the Necessary Content of Plant-Specific Technical Specifications for a Combined License AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Solicitation of public comment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The NRC is soliciting public comment on its proposed Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) DC/COL-ISG-08 (ADAMS Accession No. ML082520707). The purpose of this ISG is to change the NRC staff position on the necessary content of plant-specific technical specifications (PTS) when a combined license (COL) is issued. This ISG clarifies the staff guidance contained in Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.206, ``Combined License Applications for Nuclear Power Plants,'' Section C.III.4.3, ``Combined License Information Items That Cannot Be Resolved Before the Issuance of a License,'' and replaces the related guidance in NUREG-0080, ``Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants,'' Chapter 16.0,

Chairman Boxer, Ranking Member Inhofe, distinguished members of the Committee: Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on some of the crucial issues surrounding the licensing process for the proposed facility for long-term storage of lethal, long-lived nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. My name is Kenneth Cook and I am president of Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit environmental research and advocacy organization that uses the power of information to protect public health and the environment. EWG has offices in Washington, DC and Oakland, California.

WASHINGTON, DC - On Thursday, June 5, 2008, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis R. Spurgeon and Director for DOE's Loan Guarantee Office David Frantz will participate in a media roundtable hosted by U.S. Senators George Voinovich and Thomas Carper to discuss America's nuclear renaissance and the associated challenges and solutions for financing new plant construction. Assistant Secretary Spurgeon and Director Frantz are expected to highlight the Department's role in the expansion of clean, safe nuclear power in the United States.

WASHINGTON, DC - Later today, June 3, 2008, U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman will host a press briefing at the National Press Club where he will announce the submittal of a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct the Nation's first deep geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, currently stored at 121 temporary locations in 39 states across the nation.

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy today announced continued progress at the conclusion of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership's (GNEP's) second Steering Group meeting. Representatives from twenty-eight countries and three intergovernmental organizations attended the two-day meeting in the Kingdom of Jordan hosted by the Jordanian Atomic Energy Commission.

WASHINGTON, DC - On Wednesday, May 7, 2008, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management (EM) James A. Rispoli will deliver remarks at the Environmental Management Advisory Board (EMAB) semi-annual public meeting in Washington, D.C. Assistant Secretary Rispoli will provide an update on the Bush Administration's priorities for safely and responsibly cleaning up the Nation's Cold War era nuclear waste and will outline the Department's recent accomplishments across the DOE complex

Jordan and the United States have signed a contract for the construction of a modern central storage facility (CSF) for radioactive waste at the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission ((JAEC) in Amman. JAEC Nuclear Fuel Cycle Commissioner Ned Xoubi and Daniel Rutherford, contract manager at the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory signed the agreement in Washington, DC last week, according to a statement released by the Jordanian embassy in the US. Under the contract agreement, the US Department of Energy will provide the JAEC with $370,000 for the construction of the advanced storage facility. Expected to be completed later this year, the storage facility will host Jordan's radioactive waste and nuclear sources in a safe and secure environment for the next five decades.

The National Energy Summit & International Dialogue will take place in Washington, DC on September 23-24 at the Mayflower Hotel. A live webcast will feature gavel-to-gavel coverage of both days, including exclusive interviews and in-depth analysis. Please visit with us regularly as the speakers and agenda are updated on a frequent basis. Also, check out our interactive blog as we endeavor to engage in a vigorous discussion in the days leading up to this exclusive event. The National Energy Summit & International Dialogue broadcast has concluded. You can view the vidoes from the summit here. Click here to learn more about the Council on Competitiveness.

Plan to Radically Hike Post-Accident Radiation in Food & Water Sparks Hot Dissent Washington, DC - A plan awaiting approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that would dramatically increase permissible radioactive releases in drinking water, food and soil after "radiological incidents" is drawing vigorous objections from agency experts, according to agency documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). At issue is the acceptable level of public health risk following a radiation release, whether an accidental spill or a "dirty bomb" attack. The radiation arm of EPA, called the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (ORIA), has prepared an update of the 1992 "Protective Action Guides" (PAG) governing radiation protection decisions for both short-term and long-term cleanup standards. Other divisions within EPA contend the ORIA plan geometrically raises allowable exposure to the public. For example, as Charles Openchowski of EPA's Office of General Counsel wrote in a January 23, 2009 e-mail to ORIA: "[T]his guidance would allow cleanup levels that exceed MCLs [Maximum Contamination Limits under the Safe Drinking Water Act] by a factor of 100, 1000, and in two instances 7 million and there is nothing to prevent those levels from being the final cleanup achieved (i.e., it's not confined to immediate response of emergency phase)."

Nuclear bosses have been accused of trying to "bribe" Sellafield staff not to strike by threatening to withhold a £1,500 loyalty payment. British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) staff at other UK nuclear sites have received the cash when those businesses were sold to private sector.