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As reported in the last issue, in late January the US Department of Energy announced plans to convert 34 metric tons of surplus weapons-grade plutonium into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at the Savannah River facility in South Carolina. The MOX fuel would then be made available for burning in commercial nuclear facilities. Russia is committed to disposing of an equal amount of plutonium under the terms of a September 2000 agreement between Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin.
The US plan involves transporting the plutonium from the former Rocky Flats production facility in Colorado by 2006. However, South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges (Democrat) has expressed his strong opposition to the scheme in the absence of a guarantee from the federal government that it will remove the plutonium from the state if the project runs into trouble or is scrapped. By mid-April, with the Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham eager to commence shipments in the near future, the dispute had reached boiling point - and the brink of legal action by Hodges.
On April 11, Abraham wrote to the Governor arguing that it "is now time to bring this process to a close. Further delay in reaching agreement will undermine important international and domestic priorities of the United States. First, it will undermine the US plutonium disposition agreement with Russia. We need to move forward with the MOX plant that will be used to dispose of [the] plutonium at issue in order to honour our commitments to the Russian Federation. That will be very difficult to do in the face of potential litigation from the Governor of the state where the plant is to be located. Second...our inability to reach agreement is also jeopardizing [nuclear] clean-up activities across the nation. In particular, a continued impasse will...directly cause the closure of Rocky Flats to slip past 2006."
On April 12, Hodges' spokesperson, Jay Reiff, insisted there would be no climb down: "The Governor is dead serious about this... The Governor wants the future leaders of South Carolina to have the leverage and force of law to make sure the [Energy] Department lives up to its commitments". Abraham tried another letter (April 12): "[I]t would be wholly irresponsible for the country to attempt to conduct its national security and foreign policy affairs through the judicial process... The courts are an appropriate forum for handling lawsuits, not for performing such Executive Branch duties as overseeing and implementing the US-Russian nuclear non-proliferation agreement. This is especially true at this time, when we have clear evidence that terrorist groups are seeking access to nuclear materials." With Hodges still unmoved, on April 15 Abraham issued a federal Record of Decision provided a statutory 30-day notice of intent to begin deliveries of plutonium to South Carolina from Rocky Flats. The Governor responded immediately, stating (April 15): "Until there is a legally enforceable agreement that holds the federal government to its word, I will do everything at my disposal to ensure that plutonium does not enter South Carolina. While I am open to a Congressional [compromise] solution, the Secretary's decision to limit the timeframe to thirty days will make this very difficult." On April 16, Reiff declared: "The Governor made it very clear that the 30-day notice would escalate the situation." Asked what form this escalation might take, the spokesperson replied that South Carolina "troopers blocking shipments is an option. Legal avenues will be aggressively pursued. You use every feasible tool."
The MOX plan has also been severely criticised by non-proliferation advocates, both because it would greatly increase the amount of plutonium in the private sector, potentially subject to theft or diversion, and because reprocessing sets a bad example to states who may use it, as India and other countries have in the past, to mask the production of weapons-grade material.
US plans to construct a central US nuclear waste depository in Nevada (see last issue) is also running into stiff state resistance. On April 8, Governor Kenny Guinn (Republican) issued a veto of President Bush's decision to approve construction at the Yucca Mountain site. Guinn, citing environmental concerns and fear of attacks on the estimated 77,000 tons of nuclear material destined for the facility, insisted: "Let me make one thing clear, crystal clear in fact - Yucca Mountain is not inevitable." Energy Department spokesperson Joe Davis countered (April 8): "It is strongly in the interest of national security, energy and homeland security to move forward and not leave waste stranded in 131 scattered sites around the country". Congress has the power to override the Governor's veto. While the House of Representatives is expected to do so by a clear margin, many members of the Senate, including Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, have made clear their opposition to the Yucca Mountain scheme.
Reports: Daschle says he may fail to block nuclear dump, Reuters, March 20; Nevada gov. takes nuke veto to DC, Associated Press, April 8; Nevada triggers nuclear waste battle in Congress, Reuters, April 9; Abraham wants Congress vote on Nev. nuclear dump site soon, Dow Jones Business News, April 9; DOE urges South Carolina Governor Hodges to sign plutonium disposition agreement, US Department of Energy Press Release, PR-02-061, April 11; Text of draft agreement between US Energy Department and South Carolina, April 11, Energy Department website (http://www.energy.gov); Letter from Secretary Abraham to Governor Hodges, April 11, Department of Energy website; South Carolina battles US on plutonium, New York Times, April 12; SC Gov. blocks plutonium shipments, Associated Press, April 12; Secretary Abraham urges South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges to reconsider and sign agreement, US Department of Energy Press Release,PR-02-064, April 12; Letter from Secretary Abraham to Governor Hodges, April 12, Energy Sec. Oks plutonium shipments, Associated Press, April 15; US Energy Department website; Plutonium standoff intensifies, Associated Press, April 16.
© 2002 The Acronym Institute.