And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: MAY 26, 1999
U.S. Moves One Step Closer to Tritium Production
Indian Tribal Governments to Participate in NRC Hearings
No Permits to Develop in Floodplains or Wetlands
Oregon to Remove Two Dams in Sandy River Basin
Gore Hands Our Brownfields Grants
Tour de Sol Electric Cars Arrive in Albany, New York
Y2K Breakdown Could Mean Water Trouble for D.C. Suburbs
DOE Says Electricity Deregulation Environmentally Friendly
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 1999
For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/may99/1999L-05-26-09.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
U.S. MOVES ONE STEP CLOSER TO TRITIUM PRODUCTION
Many, but not all, of the technical issues involved in the
use of a commercial
nuclear power plant for production of tritium have been
addressed in a new
Department of Energy (DOE) technical report, the Nuclear
Regulatory
Commission (NRC) said today. Tritium is a radioactive
isotope of hydrogen that
is essential for the effective functioning of nuclear
weapons in the U.S. arsenal.
The United States has not produced tritium since 1988.
Because tritium decays at
the rate of about five percent per year, DOE says the U.S.
will need new
production by 2005. Current tritium needs are being met by
recycling tritium
from dismantled nuclear weapons. The DOE's "Tritium
Production Core Topical
Report," was submitted to NRC last July. It evaluates the
effect of tritium
production on the technical areas NRC reviews during the
nuclear power plant
licensing process. Because of the variety of plant designs
in the U.S. - and since
the DOE report did not include plant-specific analyses - 17
areas will need to be
analyzed further in a plant-specific license amendment
request by any licensee
seeking to produce tritium in a commercial plant. These
issues include such
matters as reactor vessel integrity, control room
habitability, spent fuel storage,
and the spent fuel pool cooling system. In December the DOE
chose the
Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar and Sequoyah plants
in Tennessee for its
commercial light water reactor tritium production program.
NRC anticipates
license amendment requests for that purpose from TVA next
year. Because of the
importance of this program to U.S. national security, the
Commission will assign
high priority to the requests. It will allow the opportunity
for a public hearing.
NRC plans to hold public meetings in the vicinity of each
plant before tritium
production can begin. The full text of the unclassified
portion of the report will be
posted online at: http://www.nrc.gov/OPA
* * *
INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN NRC HEARINGS
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is amending its
regulations to provide
federally recognized Indian tribes with the option to
participate in NRC
adjudicatory proceedings as an "interested governmental
participant," rather than
requiring them to intervene as a formal "party" in any
proceeding in which they
wish to participate. Formal intervention is currently the
only course of action
available to tribal governments. This amendment to the NRC's
Rules of Practice
recognizes that tribes exercise inherent sovereign powers
over their members and
territories, similar to the powers exercised by state and
local governments.
Accordingly, the amendment ensures that tribes have the same
options now
available to state governments, units of local governments,
and their official
subdivisions, any of which can take part in NRC proceedings
as an "interested
governmental participant." The rule is being published in
final form because NRC
considers this action noncontroversial and routine. It will
become effective 60
days from the date of publication in an upcoming edition of
the Federal Register,
unless significant adverse comments are received within 30
days of publication of
the notice. Comments to: Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission,
Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff.
Comments may be submitted through the NRC homepage:
http://www.nrc.gov
by selecting the "comments" link on the rulemaking web site.
* * *
NO PERMITS TO DEVELOP IN FLOODPLAINS OR WETLANDS
James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency
(FEMA), today called for partnerships with nature and the
environment as an
important means of reducing disaster losses and creating
disaster-resistant
communities. Speaking Tuesday, at the annual conference of
the Association of
State Floodplain Managers in Portland, Oregone Witt said
that a healthy, natural
environment is one of the key ingredients to
disaster-resistant communities. It
also is a core principle of Project Impact, FEMA's
initiative to change the way
America deals with disasters. "We believe that part of
disaster resistance is using
natural protection: wetlands as sponges, timberland as a
buffer from mudslides
and the coastline as a barrier to hurricanes," Witt said.
"Sometimes the best
protection against nature's disasters is working with
nature's resources." Witt
noted that through the agency's hazard mitigation program,
FEMA is buying
people out of the floodplain and restoring natural open
space. "These stretches of
land are key environmental areas that, when opened again,
promote bio-diversity
and the connection between habitats," he said. "Returning
land to the river also
helps farther up and down stream as well. Land returned to
nature acts like a
sponge that can temporarily store flood waters, lessening
the impact elsewhere in
the watershed. We've taken a firm stand. No permits to
develop in floodplains or
wetlands."
* * *
OREGON TO REMOVE TWO DAMS IN SANDY RIVER BASIN
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber today announced a plan to
remove two dams
in the Sandy River Basin, a major step in restoring natural
habitat for threatened
salmon and steelhead. The removal of the dams, located 30
miles east of
downtown Portland, is the result of a broad-based
collaboration between Portland
General Electric (PGE), the City of Portland, the state of
Oregon, the National
Marine Fisheries Service, and other federal and state
agencies. As part of the
agreement, Governor Kitzhaber committed to a full effort to
find $10 million in
state, federal and private money for the habitat restoration
project. Marmot Dam
on the Sandy River, Little Sandy Dam on the Little Sandy
River, and the related
canals and flumes will end their 90-year life as a
hydroelectric project. "For the
first time in almost a century, Oregonians will see these
two rivers flowing freely
again. Thanks to this unique public-private collaboration,
wild salmon and
steelhead will return home to the Sandy River Basin,"
Kitzhaber said. PGE
president Peggy Fowler said, "In the Sandy River Basin,
three factors came
together at once: our customers save money over the long
term, the environment
is enhanced by restoring natural habitat, and the people of
Portland benefit." PGE
expects the regulatory process and removal of the dams and
other structures will
take about two years. National Marine Fisheries Service
regional administrator
Will Stelle said, "The opening of the main stem of the Sandy
River will create an
unobstructed passage more than 100 miles long - from the
Pacific Ocean to
Mount Hood."
* * *
GORE HANDS OUT BROWNFIELDS GRANTS
At the White House Community Empowerment Conference in
Edinburgh, Texas
Tuesday, Vice President Al Gore announced over $32 million
in grants to help
more than 70 communities across the nation clean up and
redevelop Brownfields -
abandoned, contaminated properties, often found in
distressed areas - and return
them to active use. "These grants I am announcing today will
help bring to these
communities new jobs and new opportunities," Gore said. The
Vice President
awarded 45 Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund grants
totaling $30.6
million to help 65 communities across the nation leverage
funding to cleanup and
redevelop abandoned industrial properties. With these
grants, communities can set
up "revolving loan funds," providing low-interest loans to
businesses and others
so that they can turn brownfields back to productive use.
Gore handed $1.9
million in Job Training Grants to 10 communities to train
nearly 600 residents in
environmental cleanup techniques.
* * *
TOUR DE SOL ELECTRIC CARS ARRIVE IN ALBANY, NEW YORK
New York Governor George Pataki today welcomed to Albany
dozens of
electric vehicle teams competing in the 11th annual
Northeast Sustainable Energy
Association (NESEA) American "Tour de Sol" on its 250-mile
route from
Waterbury, Connecticut to Lake George, New York. The Tour
began in
Waterbury, Connecticut on Saturday, May 22, and will make
six stops before the
finish line events in Lake George, Saturday, May 29. Four
vehicles sponsored by
New York schools and two backed by state agencies were among the
contestants. Governor Pataki said, "These cars, trucks and
buses are already
helping clean New York's air, and are building key sectors
of our economy
around the state." "By making smart investments that have
encouraged this
growing industry to set up shop here in New York, we have
helped to create
more than 1,000 jobs - and set the stage for potentially
dramatic growth in the
future." The Governor cited local and state economic
development efforts to
attract smaller specialty vehicle manufacturers, like
Personal Electric Transport,
whose PET Scooter was on display Wednesday at the Empire
State Plaza in
Albany. Hawaii-based PET and Baker Electromotive of Virginia
are among several
firms establishing alternative fuel vehicle production
facilities at former air bases
in Plattsburgh and Rome, New York.
* * *
Y2K BREAKDOWN COULD MEAN WATER TROUBLE FOR D.C.
SUBURBS
Y2K compliance is a massive task for officials from one of
the largest
publicly-owned sanitation agencies in the United States, the
Washington Suburban
Sanitation Commission (WSSC) which handles water treatment
and sewage
facilities for the suburbs of Washington, DC. In a satellite
exchange May 19 with
Peruvian officials in Lima, Marjorie Johnson, WSSC
communications director,
and Michael Staed, WSSC senior management analyst, explained the
Commission's state of Y2K readiness. Staed said that WSSC
has completed 90
percent of its remediation of software, hardware and
embedded chip systems that
may pose a problem with the date change, and expects to
complete the testing of
all critical systems by June 30. With regard to hardware and
software purchased
from outside manufacturers, Staed said that WSSC has to rely
on the
manufacturers' statements that the items are Y2K compliant.
"We would have to
go and file suit against companies if, in fact, it doesn't
perform satisfactorily," he
added. "We don't anticipate that occurring, but our
procurement policies build
those types of protection in." Johnson cautioned that their
water and sewage
treatment system is heavily dependent on four different
electric companies, and if
there should be an extended breakdown in electric service
"the contingency for
dealing with that is not going to meet the needs of our
customers." Johnson said
that in such a case, WSSC will be able to supply a limited
amount of water to
critical customers, such as hospitals and businesses. Most
customers would have
to travel to a water station where they could obtain treated
water. More
information on the Y2K efforts of the Washington Suburban
Sanitation
Commission is online at: http://www.wssc.dst.md.us
* * *
DOE SAYS ELECTRICITY DEREGULATION ENVIRONMENTALLY
FRIENDLY
The Department of Energy today issued the Clinton
administration's analysis of
the Comprehensive Electricity Competition Act that went to
Congress last month.
The analysis underscores the economic and environmental
benefits of
competition. These savings, at least $20 billion annually
for electricity consumers,
would occur alongside projected reductions of greenhouse gas
emissions totaling
40 to 60 million metric tons of carbon equivalent in 2010 -
about the amount
generated by the electricity used in 30 million American
homes. "This analysis
underscores the need to move ahead with federal
restructuring legislation in order
to provide the full benefits of competition for American
consumers," said
Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson. "Residential consumers
in all 50 states
will realize savings - $232 a year for a typical family of
four - as a result of retail
competition." Residential electricity prices in 2010 are
projected to be 16 percent
lower with competition. Today, deregulation of electric
utilities is proceeding on a
state-by-state basis. The federal legislation would create
competition across all 50
states. The estimated environmental benefits, particularly
the reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions, are attributable to: increased
competition promoting
greater efficiency; the expected introduction of new
technologies to provide
energy services to end users; the ability of consumers to
purchase "green power"
from renewable energy sources, and a new package of
provisions that promote
the use of cost-effective distributed generation
technologies that reduce energy
waste by producing both heat and power. The Supporting
Analysis for the
Comprehensive Electricity Competition Act is online at:
http://home.doe.gov/policy/ceca.htm
AmeriScan Index: April 1999
© Environment News Service (ENS) 1999. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
doctrine of international copyright law.
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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