News Release 2/24/05
Contact:
Sue Martin 801-209-3062 or John Parkyn 608-787-1236
Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board Recommends License for Spent Nuclear Fuel Site
First Such Recommendation in Nearly a Decade
LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN (Feb. 24,
2005) - Today the Atomic Safety & Licensing Board of the
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommended that
an operating license be granted to Private Fuel Storage LLC of
La Crosse, Wisconsin. The license would allow the construction
and operation of a spent nuclear fuel storage site on the Skull
Valley reservation of the Goshute Indians in central Utah.
The ASLB also ruled today on
a late-filed contention by the state of Utah. The state asked
the Board to consider whether the US Department of Energy will
accept spent fuel packaged for the PFS facility at the proposed
repository at Yucca Mountain. ASLB denied admission of the contention
because there was insufficient basis to warrant admitting the
contention for further inquiry.
The resolution of these final
two issues in the PFS case is the first major positive licensing
action on a new nuclear facility since the issuance of the operating
license for the Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Barr Nuclear
Power Plant in 1996 (its construction permit was granted in 1973).
Chairman of the Board and Chief
Executive Officer John D. Parkyn said; "This action, the
first in nearly a decade, is a great advancement for the nuclear
industry in America. More than two-thirds of the emission-free
electrical generation in this country comes from nuclear power
plants. American energy independence is critical in this time
of national challenge, and maintaining the nuclear option is
enhanced by this decision. This facility, which complements the
proposed permanent facility at Yucca Mountain will allow the
industry to move forward with a centralized, safe, secure facility
and will provide an important alternative to the need to continue
addressing storage for spent fuel at 72 separate locations across
the United States."
Today's decision is nearly eight
years since the licensing process began. PFS had reviewed the
feasibility of such a facility and prospective locations for
several years before submitting their license application in
1997. The licensing process included NRC staff evaluation of
the license application and extensive public input.
Private Fuel Storage is owned
by a group of eight utilities that applied for a license from
the NRC in 1997. The utilities wish to offer a safe, clean, temporary
site for dry fuel storage until the federal facility originally
scheduled to open in January of 1998, is available. The Department
of Energy is developing a license application for a federal repository
at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
Public hearings on the application
were held in 2000 and 2002. They provided opportunities for public
comment on the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which was
issued in 2001 and the Final Safety Evaluation Report, issued
in 2002. The ASLB recommendation will be reviewed by the NRC
Commissioners. If the Commissioners concur with the recommendation,
they will direct the NRC staff to issue a license.
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