South Dakota rejects power for control over uranium mining permits
South Dakota Senate panel rejects uranium mining bill
http://www.ksfy.com/story/21076787/south-dakota-senate-panel-rejects-uranium-mining-bill
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – A South Dakota Senate committee has rejected a
plan to restore some of the state’s permitting authority over a
proposed uranium mine.
The Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted 7-1 to kill the
bill after committee members said they see no need for the state to
duplicate federal regulatory programs.
The committee hearing focused on Powertech Uranium Corp.’s proposed
uranium mine near Edgemont. It would pump groundwater into the
underground ore deposits to dissolve the uranium. The water would be
pumped back to the surface, where the uranium would be extracted.
The Legislature two years ago suspended state rules on permitting such
uranium mines. That means federal agencies will decide if the mine
gets a license and can inject water underground.
The state controls water rights permits.
Poor UK new nuclear industry !- stalled by Cumbria’s rejection of waste dump
Much of the UK’s high level nuclear waste is stored above ground at SellafieldNo other community had come forward as a potential site, and no other community looks likely to. And given West Cumbria’s nuclear history it always seemed the best bet.
The government also has to find a solution. It will be harder to justify new nuclear power stations if the country can’t find a long term way of dealing with its existing waste problem.
Is it all over for Cumbrian nuclear waste store plans?, BBC News 1 Feb 13, The long term plan could have seen nuclear waste buried underground in Cumbria For the second time in 14 years the hunt for a long-term solution to Britain’s nuclear waste stockpile seems to have foundered in Cumbria.
In 1999 Cumbria County Council rejected plans for a rock laboratory that could have paved the way for an underground nuclear waste store. And now the same council has again withdrawn as a potential site for a repository. Cumbria’s decision The majority of the council’s executive decided the county wasn’t suitable. The government has also said it accepts Cumbria’s decision and will look elsewhere.
So is it all over? Continue reading
Republican senators’ ignorant and disrespectful treatment of defense nominee Chuck Hagel
Zero Tolerance for Nuclear Weapons, HUFFINGTON POST, William Hartung, Director, Arms and Security Project, Center for International Policy, 1 Feb 13, There were many low moments in yesterday’s disrespectful, intolerant inquisition of secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel by key Republican senators, but some of the most troubling involved the dismissive, ill-informed tone they took towards serious proposals for reducing global nuclear arsenals.
The criticisms centered around Hagel’s support for Global Zero, an organization whose goal is to set in motion a process that will lead to a world free of nuclear weapons. The goal itself should be uncontroversial. Presidents of diverse political leanings, from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, as well as a majority of former U.S. secretaries of defense and secretaries of state have endorsed it. What has too often been missing is a road map for getting there.
In a May 2012 commission report with the decidedly non-threatening title “Modernizing U.S. Nuclear Strategy, Force Structure and Posture,” Global Zero made a series of suggestions on how to responsibly reduce U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals on the road towards nuclear disarmament. Continue reading
Abandonment of Virginia uranium mining proposal
“This is not just environmentalists,” Jaffe said. “This is small business owners in Southside, it’s farmers, it’s parents of small children, it’s community leaders, it’s physicians — all these disparate voices coming together.”
Environmentalists were joined in their opposition by local grass-root organizers, Virginia’s largest farm lobby, the state’s medical society, municipal and church groups, the NAACP and others
Uranium mining proposal abandoned in Virginia Bloomberg, By Steve Szkotak on January 31, 2013 RICHMOND, Va. (AP)— A proposal to mine uranium in Virginia was abruptly abandoned Thursday in the Legislature, and supporters scrambled to appeal directly to the governor to salvage what would be the first full-scale mining operation of the radioactive ore on the East Coast.
Unable to deliver the votes in the General Assembly, Sen. John Watkins withdrew his legislation to establish state regulations for uranium mining in Southside Virginia, a rural area along the North Carolina state line and home to the largest known deposit of the radioactive ore in the U.S.
Watkins instead asked fellow Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell to use his administrative powers to have state agencies draw up the rules. McDonnell has not taken a position on the divisive issue and his spokesman J. Tucker Martin said the governor was reviewing the request.
Meanwhile, opponents of uranium mining, many of whom had traveled to Richmond for a hearing on the legislation, cheered when Watkins announced his decision.
“This is a resounding — a resounding — victory,” said Cale Jaffe of the Southern Environmental Law Center.
He credited broad opposition to the proposal, which was pitched by the mining company as a job creator in a hard-hit section of the state.
“This is not just environmentalists,” Jaffe said. “This is small business owners in Southside, it’s farmers, it’s parents of small children, it’s community leaders, it’s physicians — all these disparate voices coming together.”……. Continue reading
Lots of government incentives fail to win Cumbrians: nuclear waste dump rejected
Cumbria sticks it to the nuclear dump lobby – despite all the carrots on offer Guardian UK, Terry Macalister, 31 Jan 13, Council’s decision to turn down the hosting of huge underground nuclear waste depository is a body blow for government Cumbria county council’s decision to “dump the dump” by voting against a nuclear waste repository close to the Lake District has drilled a nasty great hole in the middle of the government’s wider nuclear strategy.
Ministers had made clear that part of the agreement with the public over a new generation of atomic power stations would involve finding a safe and permanent home for the high-level waste created by the old ones.
Cumbria’s decision is a body blow for government because though it may not necessarily have been the most geologically suitable spot, it certainly was the most politically suitable.
The “energy coast”, as the region calls itself, is home to Sellafield, formerly Windscale, the largest nuclear complex in Europe with more than 5,000 well-paid jobs, as well as the nuclear submarine-building base at Barrow-in-Furness.
Even a secretarial job there can pay £10 an hour, and to win votes in the local constituency you need to pin your nuclear colour – yellow – to the mast, as the MP for Copeland, Jamie Reed, and his predecessor, “Neutron Jack” Cunningham, have done.
The Unite union, representing many Sellafield workers, can also be relied upon to bang the nuclear drum on a national level, and was quick to condemn the county council’s decision on Wednesday.
The government had dangled all kinds of carrots in front of Cumbria’s local and regional councils, including the prospect that up to 1,000 jobs could be created from the proposed £12bn underground project. It made some headway when Copeland and Allerdale councils voted in favour of further dialogue, but that was not enough without the county council.
Now, if an area steeped in a nuclear culture is not prepared to countenance a waste dump, then who will?…… Continue reading
Loan guarantee for Vogtle new nuclear plant – a dangerous waste of tax-payers’ money?
groups that oppose the construction of the Vogtle reactors are arguing that the proposed loan guarantee for the project is “Solyndra-like,” a reference to the scandal over a solar panel manufacturer in California that went bankrupt in 2011 after receiving a $535 million federal guarantee.
the Vogtle project is more than a year behind schedule, they noted. And the owners and the contractor are enmeshed in a $900 million dispute on costs
Nuclear Opponents Invoke Solyndra NYT, By MATTHEW L. WALD, 31 Jan 13, Are new nuclear power plants a good bet for taxpayers? Congress evidently thought so in 2005, when it set aside $17.5 billion in loan guarantees to help restart nuclear construction in this country after a three-decade drought.
The theory at the time was that nuclear power was essential to maintaining diversity in the nation’s electric power system and to cutting carbon dioxide emissions by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The program was signed into law by President George W. Bush, and President Obama later proposed expanding that program to more than $50 billion.
Eight years later, no actual loans have been made, and opponents of one nuclear project in Georgia are now arguing that none should be, because the risk of default is too high. Continue reading
Bulgarian government confirms it will not build new nuclear power plant
Failed referendum leaves Bulgaria without nuclear future Rt 31 January, 2013, A referendum on nuclear energy in Bulgaria failed due to low turnout, and the country’s ruling party has confirmed it will not build a new nuclear plant….. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov confirmed that his ruling center-right GERB party would not resume construction on a nuclear power plant in Belene.
In March 2012, the GERB party scrapped the 2,000-megawatt nuclear plant project, which had been under construction by Russia’s Atomstroyexport since 2008. The Bulgarian government said that the country could no longer afford the plant’s 6.4-billion euro price tag……
Kozloduy’s two operational 1,000-megawatt reactors, designed by the Soviet Union, were modernized in 2005 and 2006 to meet EU safety demands. They will be operable until 2027 and 2032 respectively, at which point Bulgaria will no longer generate nuclear energy.
Britain’s new nuclear power plans stalled, ad Cumbria refuses to host waste dump
Nuclear plans in disarray after Cumbria votes ‘no’ to radioactive dump The future of new nuclear power stations in Britain has been dealt a serious blow, after a council threw out plans for a giant radioactive waste dump near the Lake District.Telegraph UK, By Rowena Mason, and Emily Gosden 30 Jan 2013
Eddie Martin, Conservative leader of the council, told a public meeting he did not feel ministers had offered enough reassurances to Cumbria.
The Coalition wants to see several nuclear power stations built over the next decade, but the plans cannot go ahead unless there are “effective arrangements” for storing the future waste.
Cumbria was the only county council that came forward offering to explore the possibility of a “geological disposal facility” on its land but it has now ruled itself out of contention. Continue reading
China likely to abandon three major nuclear energy projects
No nuclear restart in sight Global Times | 2013-1-29 By Liang Fei
China’s three largest major inland nuclear projects, operated by China
National Nuclear Corp, China Power Investment Corp and China Guangdong
Nuclear Power Holding Co respectively, are not likely to resume
construction any time soon, experts said Tuesday. ….
The three inland nuclear power projects, located in Taojiang county in
Central China’s Hunan Province, Tongshan county in Central China’s
Hubei Province, and Pengze county in East China’s Jiangxi Province,
have already invested around 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), China
Economic Weekly reported Tuesday.
“It is very likely that these inland projects will ultimately be
abandoned,” Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy
Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times. Continue reading
Virginia’s Senate set to block legislation that would allow uranium mining
Opponents: Va. Uranium Bill Doomed in Committee
http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/Opponents-Va-Uranium-Bill-Doomed-in-Committee-188934761.html
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Opponents of uranium mining in Virginia say
they have the votes in a Senate committee to block legislation that
would effectively end a decades-old state moratorium on mining the
radioactive ore.
They said Tuesday the vote won’t even be close.
The predictions are coming from the Virginia Coalition, the Alliance
for Progress in Southern Virginia and the Southern Environmental Law
Center.
Sen. John Watkins’ legislation is scheduled to be heard Thursday by
the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. He did not
immediately return a message left with his office by The Associated
Press to respond to the dire predictions for his bill.
Virginia Uranium Inc. wants the General Assembly to end the 1982
mining ban so it can tap a 119-million-pound deposit of the ore in
Pittsylvania County.
Vogtle nuclear plant a financial debacle for USA’s loan guarantee program
Georgia nuclear power plant could be Solyndra redux, report says
A report by two energy-consulting firms says the US government has not protected US taxpayers well enough against the risks of federal loan guarantees to a new nuclear power project. Christian Science Monitor, By Mark Clayton, Staff writer / January 30, 2013 Construction of the first newly licensed US nuclear power plant in decades could become a “Solyndra-like” debacle thanks to billions in federal loan guarantees whose terms appear too weak to protect taxpayers, according to one group’s analysis of internal documents released by the US Department of Energy.
The two-reactor $14 billion Vogtle plant being built in Georgia is seen as a test of the US nuclear industry’s planned “renaissance” with a new nuclear reactor design and updated construction processes all aimed at cutting time and costs.
But two Massachusetts-based energy-consulting firms, Earth Track and Synapse Energy Economics, say the $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees backing the project were crafted with excessively favorable financial terms for the recipient companies, weak federal oversight, and possible political interference in the loan-guarantee process. The two firms analyzed hundreds of Energy Department e-mails and financial documents released earlier this month to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), a green-energy watchdog group that won access to them in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. …..
In their report, Earth Track and Synapse say the documents reveal: Continue reading
Low turnout in Bulgaria’s nuclear referendum – invalidates result
Bulgaria nuclear vote ‘invalidated by low turnout’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21217882 27 Jan 13, A
controversial referendum on whether to build a new nuclear power plant
in Bulgaria appears to have been invalidated by low turnout.
An exit poll put turnout at around 20% – far below the 60% required
for the poll, which was called on the basis of an opposition petition.
The opposition Socialists want the centre-right government to reverse
its decision not to build the plant.
The poll has been seen as a barometer for elections later this year. Continue reading
French govt putting up funds to promote nuclear companies
FRANCE PREPARES FUND TO SUPPORT SMALLER NUCLEAR FIRMS PARIS http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/15961651/france-prepares-fund-to-support-smaller-nuclear-firms/ 27 Jan 13, – The French government plans to unveil a fund to support small and mid-size businesses in the country’s nuclear industry, a spokeswoman for the industry ministry said on Saturday, confirming a report in Le Monde newspaper.
The government also plans to set up an association bringing together French nuclear players in addition to the 123 million-euro (105 million pounds) fund, which will be designed to take stakes in companies, bolster their capital and facilitate tie-ups, the spokeswoman said.
It will be financed by major groups such as utility EDF , nuclear reactor maker Areva and engineering firm Alstom , as well as France’s FSI strategic investment fund.
While the proportions are yet to be determined, Le Monde reported that the FSI would provide “a large third” of the sum.
The moves will be decided at a meeting of the French nuclear industry strategic committee on Tuesday, attended by Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg and Ecology Minister Delphine Batho.
The industry ministry spokeswoman said it wants to show support for a sector that employs 200,000 people in France and which will likely hire 110,000 workers by 2020. (Reporting by Yann Le Guernigou; Writing by James Regan; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
Nuclear plant operators, not taxpayers, should pay for safety upgrades, says EU Parliament
“Nuclear operators should bear €25 billion cost of making Europe’s reactors safer“http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/content/20130121STO05427/html/Nuclear-operators-should-bear-%E2%82%AC25-billion-cost-of-making-EU-reactors-safer 25-01-2013 Nuclear operators, 
not taxpayers, should cover the costs of necessary safety upgrades as well as pay for everything they are liable for in the event of a nuclear accident, according to a resolution approved by the EP’s energy committee on 24 January. Improving Europe’s nuclear power plants so that they can withstand a natural disaster is estimated to cost up to €25 billion.
Threat to the public
Nuclear energy accidents, whether caused by human error or an earthquake, pose a severe risk to public health. The consequences from the explosion in the Chernobyl plant in 1986, the world’s worst nuclear disaster, are still being felt today as discussed in the EuroparlTV video above.
The aftermath of Fukushima
After the Fukushima accident in Japan in March 2011, 145 reactors in 15 EU member states were tested to assess whether nuclear power plants here could withstand a natural disasters. The checks showed that nearly all nuclear power plants need safety improvements. Continue reading
Gross contradiction: Germany stopping domestic nuclear power, but promoting it overseas
“a gross contradiction, that we are pushing forwards with the change in energy generation while supporting atomic energy abroad.”
Germany still supports foreign nuclear power http://www.thelocal.de/national/20130121-47451.html#.UP7XzR19JLs
21 Jan 13 Despite the German government’s dedication to ridding the country of nuclear power, it will continue to use public money to guarantee the construction of such power stations in other countries, it was reported at the weekend. The parliamentary committee for sustainable development voted unanimously at the end of last year to recommend the government stop financial backing for foreign atomic energy projects.
The change in energy policy only applies to domestic production, the letter says. The government considers it a “sovereign decision of other states to choose a different construction for their own energy policy.”
Chairman of the committee, Andreas Jung, from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, said it was “a gross contradiction, that we are pushing forwards with the change in energy generation while supporting atomic energy abroad.”
The government is currently promoting its policy with the slogan, “High time that something changed”, while Environment Minister Peter Almaier has been talking of establishing an international club of countries stepping away from nuclear energy.
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