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Important Dates
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*All times are Central Time
August 10
National Transportation Stakeholders Forum (NTSF) Planning Committee Call - 12 PM*
September 9-11:
Regional Tribal Engagement (RTE) Work Group Quarterly Conference Call - 2 PM*
November 17-18:
Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (MRMTC) Fall Meeting - Chicago suburbs, IL *Tentative*
April 14, 2021:
DOE Site Visit - Dresden, IL
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Join Our List
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COMMITTEE HAPPENINGS
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|  | | Adam Davenport, Wisconsin | |
The Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (MRMTC) will be losing one of its members at the end of this month. Wisconsin's appointee to the committee, Adam Davenport, has accepted a new position. He will be part of the newly-established Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) integration team at Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM). While still working out of Wisconsin, Adam will be more of a liaison permanently embedded at WEM. Adam's last day as an employee of WEM will be August 28th, and his successor on the MRMTC will be announced soon. Best of luck to Adam in his new position!
In other MRMTC news, the Regional Tribal Engagement (RTE) Work Group has a new member, Michael Bradley. Michael is the Deputy Chief of Police for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. The Pokagon Band is based in southwestern Michigan and Northeastern Indiana and are, and will continue to be, important stakeholders in radioactive materials shipments from the Palisades and DC Cook Nuclear Power Plants. The MRMTC RTE Work Group had its third quarterly call of 2020 on July 13. As per the RTE Work Group's recommendations that were accepted at the Spring 2019 Meeting, the MRMTC Regional Tribal Briefing was held on June 2, 2020. With that briefing being the group's main task for the first half of 2020, July's call focused on regrouping and deciding what the group's next projects should be. In the next few months, the main objective will be expanding and formalizing the group's membership. It is the hope that an expanded membership will create new lines, and deepen existing lines, of communication between Midwestern Tribes and states. The group also backed a proposal to #HonorNativeLand by opening future in-person meetings of the MRMTC with an acknowledgement of the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of that land. Finally, the RTE Work Group will be updating "Appendix E. Tribal Information" of the Planning Guide for Shipments of Radioactive Materials through the Midwestern States. The next call of the MRMTC RTE Work Group is scheduled for October 12.
Speaking of the Planning Guide, thanks to the quick work of the MRMTC members, the online version of the guide is now fully up to date with new statute links, updated points of contact, and an updated shipment fees table. Please check it out and share with your contacts who may find it useful.
Finally, the MRMTC, along with the other state regional groups (SRGs) and the Tribal Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (TRMTC), will be participating in the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy's (DOE-NE) Transportation Core Group Check-in Call today. From 2012-2017, the Transportation Core Group met approximately biannually for stakeholders to receive technical presentations on DOE-NE's work, updates on recent and near-term power plant site visits, technical workshops, etc. The group did not meet at all in 2018 but was restarted in August of 2019. With COVID-19 restricting nearly everyone's travel, 2020's meeting will be an abbreviated web-meeting. Topics to be covered today include DOE's FY21 budget, the Atlas railcar development, Section 180(c) updates, etc. Look for a summary of today's meeting in next month's newsletter.
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NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION STAKEHOLDERS FORUM
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 Following the conclusion of the National Transportation Stakeholders Forum (NTSF) five-part virtual meeting series in late June, activity in the forum has been relatively quiet. Most NTSF-related work that the MRMTC has recently been involved with is providing comments on draft documents prepared by NTSF Ad Hoc Working Groups (AHWG). The MRMTC recently submitted comments on the draft Management Plan, which explains the roles and responsibilities of Planning Committee (PC) and working group members and defines the parameters for how those who are not NTSF members may work with the NTSF, as well as the specific procedures that have proven to be successful in past efforts. The comment period for this draft plan will be until August 14.
Additionally, the MRMTC recently submitted comments on the DOE Office of Integrated Waste Management (DOE-IWM) "Draft Railcar Safety Inspection Protocol." One of the provided comments requests clarification on how this inspection process will, or won't, be a "rail analog" to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Level VI Inspection Program. Other comments include a request for a Venn diagram distinguishing between what carriers inspect, what the FRA inspects, what states inspect, and what third-party contracted agents would inspect; clarifying that states do not expect trains to stop at jurisdictional borders; and a request to define what a "serious defect" would be.
In addition to the MRMTC's comments, the Association of State Rail Safety Managers submitted their own set of comments that can be read here.
Finally, there will be an NTSF PC call on Monday, August 10, at 12 PM Central Time. Expected agenda topics include an update on 2021 Annual Meeting planning and a discussion about the future of the NTSF wiki site.
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| FOCUS THIS MONTH | | |
We Did Not See This Coming
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| | | Former Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder | |
It's the story that refuses to go away. As we 've covered in countless previous editions of the MRMTC monthly newsletter, Ohio's House Bill authorized a $150 million per year bailout to FirstEnergy Solutions to keep its Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants running. After a petition drive failed to reverse the 2019 law, it may be defeated for another reason... corruption. On the morning of July 21, Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder and four associates were arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents for racketeering, bribery, and money laundering.
The criminal complaint alleges that over the course of three years, FirstEnergy directed $61 million to Generation Now, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit run by Jeffrey Longstreth, a longtime Householder associate. On paper, Generation Now was supposed to focus on social welfare efforts. Instead, the money was used in three ways. First, it was used to back Ohio House of Representatives candidates who would be supportive of Rep. Householder's run to regain his position as Speaker of the House. Second, the money was used to build support for HB 6 in the Legislature and the public. Finally, it was used to block signature-gathering attempts by opponents. These efforts combined effectively bailed out FirstEnergy's financially flailing nuclear power plants.
In the two weeks that have followed, Rep. Householder has not yet been removed from the State House, but he was unanimously removed from his speakership. The State House elected former Ohio Supreme Court Justice, Rep. Bob Cupp as the new Speaker. Both House Democrats and House Republicans have called for immediately repealing HB 6. After initially reaffirming his support for HB 6, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has now called for a repeal and replacement. Some Ohio politicians like DeWine still support the $1.3 billion bailout of the nuclear power plants, but believe it was passed in an unacceptable manner and should be replaced.
Looking to the future, things for FirstEnergy and other nuclear energy utilities are not looking good. Shares of FirstEnergy dropped 21% the day after Rep. Householder's arrest. In Illinois, Commonwealth Edison has to pay $200 million as a result of a federal lobbying probe. That case is slower burning than Ohio's but it also involved the Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan. With nuclear power plants and nuclear utilities already struggling to financially compete with coal and natural gas, the stain of corruption will make future endeavors all the more difficult.
Thank you to Michael Snee for first highlighting this story!
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NUCLEAR NEWS
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| | Marie Curie, circa 1920 |
Nuclear Viewing
After a long day of work focusing on radioactive materials transportation and other related nuclear fuel cycle matters, do you ever want to kick back and relax with a movie about one of the world's most famous physicists? If you answered yes, then you should check out Radioactive, a biographical drama film about Marie Curie. Staring Rosamund Pike, the biopic covers the pioneering scientist's life and work, including her marriage to Pierre and her discovery of polonium and radium. You can watch Radioactive on Amazon Prime.
Thanks to Kim Tyrrell for the recommendation!
An Update from Another Region
Our friends at the Western Interstate Energy Board's (WIEB) High-Level Radioactive Waste Committee (HLRWC) have continued their fantastic policy paper work with a new entry entitled "Transportation Responsibilities Non-Delegable to Private Entities." This position paper states that WIEB believes "The federal government, working through the DOE or any new management entity, should not delegate certain core responsibilities to agents or contractors it hires to perform spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste (SNF/HLW) transportation."
While acknowledging that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) directs DOE to "utilize by contract private industry to the fullest extent possible" when transporting commercial SNF/HLW, the WIEB policy paper reaffirms its stance from the 1990s that certain core functions should be maintained by DOE regardless of the contracts with private entities. Some of these functions include consulting and negotiating directly with the states, selection of transportation modes and routes, provision of technical assistance and funding to states, etc. You can read the whole policy paper and the other core responsibilities here.
Thanks to Melanie Snyder for sharing WIEB's work!
The End of an Era
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| | | Ken Niles reporting from the 1984 Democratic National Convention (DNC) | |
Finally, we note an upcoming "going" whose impact will be felt throughout the MRMTC and NTSF world. At the end of this month, Ken Niles will retire from Oregon state government. Ken began his government career in 1989 as a temporary hire at the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE). Having spent the previous 11 years in radio and television broadcasting in Spokane, Washington, and later Salem, Oregon, Ken's two-month assignment at ODOE was to write generic news releases "in the event that the Trojan Nuclear Plant had an accident." Thirty-one years later, Ken will retire from the department after rising to the position of Assistant Director for Nuclear Safety.
As a long-time chair of the WIEB High-Level Radioactive Waste Committee, Ken has represented the West on the DOE-NE Transportation Core Group since its inception in 2012. He also represents Oregon on the Western Governors' Association's (WGA) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Transportation Technical Advisory Group (TAG). Ken's involvement in the NTSF has been extensive --- serving on the Planning Committee, co-leading two ad hoc working groups with MRMTC staffer Lisa Janairo, and twice appearing as the keynote speaker at the NTSF annual meeting (he earned rave reviews both times). Ken also was highly engaged with the NTSF's predecessor, the Transportation External Coordination Working Group, devoting his time to writing and reviewing key messages and fact sheets as well as developing a rail shipment planning timeline. Ken's interest in communications led to his collaboration with Lisa on presentations and several papers, including " Why DOE's Messages on Transportation Don't Resonate with the Public (and What DOE Can Do to Fix the Problem)." In providing input or feedback --- either individually or in his frequent role as spokesperson for the states --- Ken was always hopeful his words would persuade DOE to act. He never took it personally when that didn't happen.
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| | Ken Niles at a Minnesota Twins game during the 2014 NTSF Meeting |
The next chapter in Ken's life will involve spending time with his wife Mary (also retired), playing with his dog Ziva, golfing and enjoying the Oregon coast, and volunteering within his community. Ken will be at ODOE through the end of the month, so anyone wanting to send him well wishes can email him at his work email address. Best of luck to you, Ken. We'll keep in touch through this newsletter and hope you'll drop us a line now and then to let us know how you're doing. You've been a great colleague, mentor, and friend. Here's hoping our paths cross again someday. |
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Thank you for reading. Watch for the next edition to come out on
September 3, 2020.
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Missed a newsletter? Past issues are archived on the committee's webpage.
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Please do not reproduce or create new content from this material without the prior express written permission of CSG Midwest.
This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Numbers DE-NE0008604, DE-EM0004869, and DE-EM0005168.
This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.
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