Federal regulators seek public comment on nuclear fuel storage

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The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public feedback on a report about the impact of storing spent fuel from the nation's commercial nuclear power plants for as long as 200 years.

According to a release from NRC officials Tuesday, the feedback would be used for the agency's plan to update its Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS.

The EIS is a document used for decision-making and to determine whether there are any negative environmental effects caused by a proposed action.

The EIS is part of the agency's 2010 Waste Confidence Decision and Rule regulations, which include the NRC position that spent fuel can be safely managed until it has a final repository for storage.

The 42-year-old Oyster Creek Generating Station, based in Lacey, has more than 750 metric tons of radioactive waste stored in a fuel pool at the facility.

Oyster Creek, owned and operated by Exelon Corp., is set to close in December 2019.

NRC officials have directed staff to prepare a long-term update concerning extended storage of spent fuel. But the agency is seeking public input before it finalizes its update.

A key conclusion by the agency is an extended storage period would be managed under a regulatory program similar to current regulations pertaining to spent fuel at nuclear power plants.

Several environmental groups, including Brick-based Grandmothers, Mothers, and More for Energy Safety, or GRAMMES, claim the amount of material at Oyster Creek far exceeds its original design capacity.

GRAMMES founder Paula Gotsch said Tuesday that while she is pleased the NRC is seeking input on the issue of how long nuclear waste should be stored, she does not have faith in the agency's ability to manage the material.

"This is the lesser of all the evils as there is no place to safely store this material," she said. "There has been talk of creating regional disposal sites but really there should not be any new nuclear power plants built until they can figure out what to do with the nuclear waste we have now.

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