David Blee Executive Director, Nuclear Infrastructure Council
U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council RadWaste Summit September 2015
U.S. spent fuel inventories continue to mount Safe at-reactor dry storage is the default strategy Yucca Mountain is still very much in play Federal spent fuel management policy is at a crossroads Political, legal, financial, economic, energy security, environmental progress and nonproliferation pressures are compounding need for action 2014 election with change of Senate control; Senator Reid retirement, White House turnover are game changers politically USNIC -- www.usnic.org
Leading U.S. business consortium advocate for new nuclear and engagement of the American supply chain globally. Composed of over seventy companies representing the Who s Who of the nuclear energy supplychain community. Member of the Bipartisan Policy Center Nuclear Waste Initiative, U.S. Department of Commerce s Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Council, U.S. Industry Delegation to the IAEA and PATRAM industry lead USNIC -- www.usnic.org
Portfolio of issues include: Key U.S. mover deployment Manufacturing & supply-chain readiness Technology advancement Sustainable fuel cycle: Backend WG & Transport TF Licensing surety & costs International nuclear markets Fukushima D&D & U.S. environmental management Outreach & education USNIC -- www.usnic.org
Comprehensive approach Repository cornerstone Completion of the Yucca Mountain license application Centralized spent fuel management approaches Assured funding and new organization FedCorp Technology linkage SMRs, Advanced Reactors, Recycling Transportation is a not a safety issue: Utilization of the private sector to the maximum extent Costs of inaction mounting USNIC -- www.usnic.org
USNIC -- www.usnic.org
USNIC -- www.usnic.org
USNIC -- www.usnic.org
USNIC -- www.usnic.org
USNIC -- www.usnic.org
USNIC -- www.usnic.org
1982 -- Passage of Nuclear Waste Policy Act 1987 -- Amendment to NWPA directs scientific investigation of Yucca Mountain solely 1990 - President Bush Appoints Nuclear Waste Negotiator 2002 -- Presidential designation of Yucca Mountain based on suitability scientific 2002 - U.S. House & Senate Overwhelming Approve Yucca Overriding Nevada Veto 2008 - DOE Yucca NRC license application submitted 2010 -- DOE file motion with NRC to withdraw: as not workable -- NRC ASLB rejects motion 2012 -- Blue Ribbon Commission report unveiled - U.S. Court vacates NRC Waste Confidence Decision -- NRC suspends final licensing actions USNIC -- www.usnic.org
2013 -- New DOE Strategy announced -- U.S. Court orders Yucca licensing review to resume -- U.S. Court orders DOE to suspend $750M Nuclear Waste Fund fee 2014 - Secretary Moniz Zeros Out Nuclear Waste Fund fee -- NRC issues final rule for Continued Spent Fuel Storage Waste Confidence replacing - NRC issues Yucca SER, Revamped Waste Confidence 2015 - U.S. House Appropriates $125 million for Yucca Review -- Senate Back-end Bill reintroduced -- Private-sector consolidated storage proposals surface -- DOE de-comingles defense waste from commercial spent fuel -- NRC issues Supplemental Yucca EIS USNIC -- www.usnic.org
Urgent action needed Repository required under any scenario Central storage needed in near-term New organization and funding reform required to implement program Any approach should be consent-based driven USNIC -- www.usnic.org
Consent-based siting Pilot interim storage site for shutdowns (2021) High-capacity interim storage site (2025) Repository (2048) DOE awaiting guidance from Congress while evaluating generic non-site-specific issues De-comingles defense waste from commercial spent fuel USNIC -- www.usnic.org
NRC Licensing Moratorium Waste Confidence Milestone Schedule Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) Scoping Period October 25, 2012 January 2, 2013 Publish Scoping Summary Report March 5, 2013 Publish Draft GEIS and Waste Confidence Proposed Rule September 13, 2013 Public Comment Period September 13, 2013 December 20, 2013 Publish Final GEIS and Final Waste Confidence Rule September 2014 USNIC -- www.usnic.org
One mill per kilowatt hour (approximately $750 million per year collected) $7.5 billion spent on Yucca Mountain $30 billion in NWF (interest adding $1.5 billion/year) 2009 -- NARUC/NEI lawsuit to reduce fee to zero 2013 Court orders DOE to reduce to zero 2014 DOE Secretary Moniz initiates zero fee action. Fee reverts to zero. USNIC -- www.usnic.org
Breach of Contract (year 1998) 80 breach of contract lawsuits for compensation for costs that utilities would not have incurred if DOE performed 33 lawsuits settled ($2.7 billion to utilities) 26 final judgments ($991 million to utilities) Future Government Liability DOE estimates -- $21.4 billion Assumes 2021 action Source: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman USNIC -- www.usnic.org
All roads eventually lead to transportation as the long pole in the tent Transportation safety track record is extraordinary 3,000 safe shipments over 10 million miles in the U.S. More fuel moved internationally (>70,000 metric tons) than current U.S. inventory National Academies Going the Distance : There are no fundamental technical barriers to the safe transport of spent nuclear fuel... USNIC -- www.usnic.org
Eight key elements: A new, consent-based approach to siting future nuclear waste management facilities. A new organization dedicated solely to implementing the waste management program and empowered with the authority and resources to succeed. Access to the funds nuclear utility ratepayers are providing for the purpose of nuclear waste management. Prompt efforts to develop one or more geologic disposal facilities. USNIC -- www.usnic.org
Prompt efforts to develop one or more consolidated storage facilities. Prompt efforts to prepare for the eventual large-scale transport of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste to consolidated storage and disposal facilities when such facilities become available. Support for continued U.S. innovation in nuclear energy technology and for workforce development. Active U.S. leadership in international efforts to address safety, waste management, non-proliferation, and security concerns. USNIC -- www.usnic.org
U.S. spent fuel inventories continue to mount Safe at-reactor dry storage is the default strategy Yucca Mountain is still very much in play Federal spent fuel management policy is at crossroads Political, legal, financial, economic, energy security, environmental progress and nonproliferation pressures are compounding need for action 2014 election with change of Senate control; Senator Reid retirement, White House turnover are game changers USNIC -- www.usnic.org
Yucca Mountain Bob Hoffman President RBH Associates, Inc. September 9, 2015 25
Marvin Fertel, President and CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute, July 20, 2015 We think that the NRC s issuance of its Safety Evaluation Report is very significant In that the staff has determined that Yucca Mountain is safe for a million years 26
Yucca Mountain Tunnel 27
YUCCA MOUNTAIN CHRONICLE Jan 27, 1951 First nuclear test at NTS 1959-1961 DOE evaluation of Salt formations 28
YUCCA MOUNTAIN CHRONICLE May 21, 1975, NV Assembly Joint Resolution 15 (AJR 15), Assemblyman Lloyd Mann (D-CL) urging ERDA to choose NTS (Nevada National Security Site) for storage and processing of nuclear material-approved by Gov. O'Callaghan and former Gov. Bob List. 29
YUCCA MOUNTAIN CHRONICLE Jan 1978, Climax Mine at NTS performed heat transfer test for SNF 1982 National Waste Policy Act (NWPA) enacted by congress with specific rules for NRC and EPA. Evaluate 9 sites 30
YUCCA MOUNTAIN CHRONICAL 1987 Amend NWPA for DOE to limit study to Yucca Mtn. (Sen. Reid Screw NV Bill ). Passed by large majority of both houses and signed by the President. Now the Law of the Land. 1987 Start Site Evaluation. 1994 Exploratory tunnel boring began with Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) 31
TBM GRINDING HEAD 32
TUNNEL BORING MACHINE 33
YUCCA MOUNTAIN CHRONICAL 1982-2008 Engineering, Science, and construction period. NRC Licensing Application preparation. June 2008, DOE submits its license application to NRC to satisfy nuclear safety requirements and obtain an approved SER. 34
YUCCA MOUNTAIN CHRONICAL March 2010, DOE filed a motion with NRC ASLB seeking permission to withdraw its application. Sept 2011, Commission was evenly divided and took no action. Further review suspended Ch. Jaczko. 35
Yucca Mountain Chronical August 2013 US Court of Appeals ordered the NRC to complete its review and decide whether to approve or reject the DOE application. The court stated: At this point, the Commission is simply defying a law enacted by Congress, and the Commission is doing so without any legal basis. 36
YUCCA MOUNTAIN CHRONICAL Oct, 2014 NRC issues the final volume of its Safety Evaluation Report on the DOE Application Positive findings. Sept, 2015 Approximately $14B spent on Site Characterization out of a fund of about $30B 37
YUCCA MOUNTAIN LOCATION 100 miles north of Las Vegas on Nellis Air Base bombing range land Located on the NV National Security Site (formerly NTS) Arid and uninhabited desert surrounded by ridges and mountains 38
YUCCA MOUNTAIN LOCATION On same site where there were 105 above ground and 828 below ground nuclear weapons tested. Ended Sept 23, 1992. Same site as Area 51, Tight security at site. 39
YUCCA MOUONTAIN LOCATION 40
YUCCA MOUNTAIN LOCATON 41
ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN SITE CHARACTERIZATION DOE, NRC, AREVA, FLUOR-DANIEL, SAIC, KIEWIT/PARSONS, CONSTRUCTON AND TUNNELING SERVICES, TRW, BECHTEL, DUKE ENGINEERING, LOS ALAMOS NL. LIVERMORE NL, LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NL, LAWRENCE BERKELEY, ARGONNE NL, OAK RIDGE NL, SAVANNAH RIVER NL, USGS, MORRISON KNUDSEN. SANDIA LABS, UNR, UNLV, NEY COUNTY, NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN NATION, USEPA, USGSA, USDOT, STATE OF NV, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 42
SITE CHARACTERIZATION STUDIES For 27 years scientists and engineers have studied Yucca Mountain s geology, hydrology, chemistry, and climate This must meet standards of nuclear material encapsulation for 10,000 years now extended to 1 million years. 43
SCIENTIFIC STUDIES 44
SITE CHARACTERIZATION STUDIES Surrounding rock, volcanic Tuff, deposited 11-14 million years ago. Climate; water flow; seismic activity, volcanism. Physical characteristics; porosity, dryness, mineral content, rock structure and fractures. Water entry and movement. 45
SITE CHARACTERIZATION STUDIES Nuclear heat generation, physical and chemical changes to rock and heat transfer measurements. Environmental conditions affecting engineered barriers. SNF decay and deterioration Groundwater flow and radioactive particle movement. 46
CASK/ROCK HEATING STUDIES 47
SITE CHARACTERIZATION STUDIES Disruptive events (earthquakes, volcanic activity, human intrusion, global warming changes) Tunnel construction and stability Area security Transportation of SNF Natural and engineered barriers 48
ENGINEERED BARRIER SNF encapsulated in Zr Alloy tubes, both BWR and PWR fuel Waste Package, 2 concentric cylinders Inner, 316 SS, 2 in thick 49
ENGINEERED BARRIER Outer, Alloy 22. 1 inch thick Inner and outer lids, similar material welded. Drip shields, titanium sheet 50
ENGINEERED BARRIERS 51
NATIONAL AND NEVADA ADVANTAGES FROM YUCCA MOUNTAIN From mid-1980 2003, Framatome had 70 personnel in Las Vegas which added $8.5M annually to Nevada. At that time there were about 4000 personnel at the site and Las Vegas adding $380M annually to Nevada 52
CONCLUSIONS Title 42 of US Code provides NV with many options to negotiate funding. Nevada should actively negotiate for funding such as infrastructure, projects, education, UNR and UNLV grants, lower corporate taxes, lower property taxes. 53
CONCLUSIONS Provide NV with increased employment, Fed governmental payments to state, greater fees and sales tax revenues, increased construction for transportation, and in- state subcontractor work, and dollars spent in NV 54
CONCLUSIONS NV would receive annual payments of $10M prior to receiving SNF and $20M annually each year until closure Multiplicity will add to economics These amounts could increase in time. 55
CONCLUSIONS State employment would increase by the addition of 3,000-4,000 employees There is still about $16B left in the Nuclear Waste Trust Fund plus interest 56
CONCLUSIONS Congress is willing to allocate more funding (Sen. Inhofe-OK) Consider having a private organization from NV manage and operate the mountain as a business with DOE technical oversight 57
CONCLUSIONS The Nuclear Waste Problem is and has always been largely a political problem, driven by fear, prone to exaggeration and interpretation of risks, and manipulated by those with narrow political agendas. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and amended in 1987 is the LAW OF THE LAND. 58
CONCLUSIONS The science and engineering investigated and completed included in the DOE safety application submitted to the NRC in 2008 is solid and was judged so by NRC with positive findings on DOE safety application Yucca Mountain is not a nuclear waste dump, it is a Geologic Temporary Repository for Spent Nuclear Fuel. 59
Top of Yucca Mountain 60
YUCCA MOUNTAIN Bob Hoffman President RBH Associates, Inc. hoffskipc@aol.com September 9, 2015
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YUCCA MOUNTAIN CHRONICLE May 1972, Sen. Howard Cannon (D-NV) writes AEC Chairman Schlesinger making a case for a national repository at NTS Sept 1974, Gov. O'Callaghan recommended AEC to consider NV as a possible storage site 63
YUCCA MOUNTAIN CHRONICLE Dec, 1974, Bruce Arkell, NV State Planning Coordinator, NV should allow the AEC to construct a nuclear waste storage facility. Supported by Clark County, Las Vegas, Nye and Lincoln counties and organized labor. 64
SITE CHARACTERIZATION Gathering and evaluating data on the site Preparing the conceptual design Assessing repository performance Preparing licensing application for the NRC Preparing EIS 65
SITE CHARACTERIZATION 66
NATIONAL AND NEVADA ADVANTAGES FROM YUCCA MOUNTAIN Nuclear facilities in the US adds to its state revenues very well: - Indian Point, NY contributes $1.3B annually in local economic output. - Palo Verde, AZ contributes $1.1B annually in local economic output 67
NEVADA POLITICS Opposing: Sen. Reid, Sen. Heller, Gov. Sandoval Proponents: Rep Mark Amodei, Rep Cresent Hardy 68
Used Fuel Management: Mitigating the Liability Everett L Redmond II, Ph.D. Nuclear Energy Institute September 9, 2015 69
Used Nuclear Fuel in Storage in the U.S. December 2014 Used fuel inventory - 74,258 MTU (pools and casks) - Increases ~2000 MTU annually or less than 180 casks per year ISFSI* storage - 22,233 MTU (casks) - 2079 casks/modules loaded - 65 Operating ISFSIs *ISFSI = Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation 70
Key Used Fuel Events Yucca Mountain project suspended 2010 Blue Ribbon Commission on America s Nuclear Future recommendations January 2012 DOE Strategy January 2013 Court ordered NRC to restart review 2013 Nuclear Waste Fee suspended by Court order, May 2014 NRC Yucca Mountain Safety Evaluation Report issued January 2015 71
Rate payers Who Pays? - one mill/kwh - one tenth of a cent/kwh - adjustable - $750 million per year prior to 2014 - $0 as of May 2014 after Court order - Nuclear Waste Fund more than $35 billion investment income more than $1 billion per year All taxpayers - Payments from taxpayer funded Judgment Fund for lawsuits resulting from failure to accept used fuel beginning in 1998 72
Taxpayers Paying Billions For Federal Government s Failure to Accept Used Nuclear Fuel $4.5 Billion paid from taxpayer-funded Judgment Fund as of September 2014 for damages incurred because DOE did not begin accepting used nuclear fuel in 1998 Liabilities will continue to grow after DOE begins accepting used fuel until backlog eliminated (decades) DOE estimates the total taxpayer liability at $27.1 Billion if it begins accepting used fuel in 2021 Every year of delay in opening a facility will cost the taxpayer an additional $500 million (estimated) Taxpayer liabilities not paid from Nuclear Waste Fund 73
Industry Strategy New management entity board and CEO Access to the waste fund and fees Completion of the Yucca Mountain licensing process Consolidated interim storage for commercial used fuel and DOE high-level waste Research, development and demonstration on advanced fuel cycles 74
Legislation Introduced 111 th Congress - Voinovich and Upton on Fedcorp 112 th Congress - Senator Murkowski used fuel storage - Senators Feinstein, Alexander, Bingaman, and Murkowski used fuel storage in appropriations - Senator Bingaman Nuclear Waste Administration Act 2013 113 th Congress - Senators Wyden, Murkowski, Feinstein, and Alexander Nuclear Waste Administration Act 2014 114 th Congress - Senators Murkowski, Cantwell, Alexander and Feinstein Nuclear Waste Administration Act 2015 - Senate appropriations used fuel storage 75
Shutdown Sites Without An Operating Reactor California - Humboldt Bay* - Rancho Seco* - San Onofre Colorado - Ft. St. Vrain Connecticut - Connecticut Yankee* Florida - Crystal River Illinois - Zion* Maine - Maine Yankee* Humboldt Bay Rancho Seco Trojan Massachusetts - Yankee Rowe* Michigan - Big Rock Point* Oregon - Trojan* Vermont - Vermont Yankee Wisconsin - LaCrosse* - Kewaunee * total of 248 used fuel casks and 11 GTCC casks at these sites 76
Mitigating Taxpayer-Funded Liability 2014: $4.5 Billion* in damages already paid from Judgment Fund Estimate of total damage awards that will eventually be paid from taxpayer-funded Judgment Fund if acceptance of used fuel begins on this date (billions) 2021: $27.1* 2028: $30.6 2038: $35.6 2042: $37.6 2014 2015 2020 2028 2038 2042 2015: Yucca Mountain licensing resumes 2020: Holtec and WCS estimated date for opening of their CIS facilities 2028: Yucca Mountain opens - assumes annual average funding of $1.4 billion** * Taken from 2014 DOE Audit Report of Nuclear Waste Fund OAS-FS-15-03 out years estimated assuming $500 million per year increase based on Blue Ribbon Commission Final Report **These dates assume that the land and water rights have been obtained by the time NRC completes its review. Construction will not be permitted to begin until land and water rights are secured. *** Historical maximum appropriation was $576 million Funding Options 2038: Yucca Mountain opens assumes a max of $750 million/year funding*** 2042: Yucca Mountain opens assumes a max of $600 million/year funding*** 77
Questions? Everett Redmond Nuclear Energy Institute elr@nei.org 202-739-8122 78
Eric Knox Nuclea and Environment, AECOM
INDUSTRY PERPECTIVE PANEL Moderator: Jeremy Dillon, Reporter, RadWaste Monitor Speakers: David Blee, Executive Director, Nuclear Infrastructure Council Robert Hoffman, President, RBH Associates Everett Redmond, Sr. Dr. Fuel Cycle and Technology Policy, Nuclear Energy Institute Eric Knox, Nuclear and Environment, AECOM