Retrospective on lessons from 1985 Tennessee MRS attempted siting: The local view

Conference · Fri Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1991 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:7310076

Peelle, E ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

Six years have elapsed since the unsuccessful US Department of Energy (DOE) effort to site a monitored retrievable storage (MRS) facility in Tennessee. The local MRS task force (TF) effort in 1985 has been described extensively in prior publications. These articles described the successful interactions between DOE and the local TF in the context of extensive state and regional opposition. The MRS TF found that while the proposed facility could be safe, many conditions were needed to ensure its long-term safety and to change the net benefit balance from negative to positive. The DOE and the TF reached agreement on many of the TF conditions but were still far apart on others when negotiations ended in 1985. The local governments that had created the TF unanimously accepted its conclusion. The governor of Tennessee eventually vetoed the siting process, and the state sued in 1985 to stop the DOE from continuing its efforts. When Tennessee's legal block was removed in 1987, DOE presented its MRS recommendations to Congress. Two brief periods of activity among the TF and local political leaders included testimony in 1987 before two Congressional committees and before the MRS Study Commission in 1989. This testimony sought those additional conditions for siting the DOE had not given in its negotiations with the TF. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate key points and lessons learned from this path-breaking effort by a local unpaid TF of citizens and elected officials through its entire life until disbanding in 1989.

• OSTI ID: 7310076
• Report Number(s): CONF-911107--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Journal Volume: 64
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Management
053001 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects-- Siting-- (1992-)
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
COMMUNICATIONS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DOCUMENT TYPES
ECONOMICS
HEARINGS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
IMPLEMENTATION
INFORMATION
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LAWS
LEGAL ASPECTS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACTS
OAK RIDGE RESERVATION
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
PUBLIC INFORMATION
PUBLIC OPINION
PUBLIC RELATIONS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SAFETY
SITE SELECTION
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
STATE GOVERNMENT
STORAGE
TENNESSEE
US DOE
US DOE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
WASTE DISPOSAL ACTS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE
WASTES