![]() The experience in other countries is that building consent takes quite a while. “That remains to be seen because congressional funding for these kinds of activities has historically been uneven - although the Southern California delegation has been key to keeping support in recent years. “My general impression is that this timetable is realistic, but probably could be accelerated a little bit if DOE could provide sustained support that is credible,” said David Victor, professor at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, and chair of the San Onofre Community Engagement Panel. ‘Realistic’ Screenshot from DOE presentation How quickly things move will likely boil down to how important Congress feels this quest is, and how much money it dedicates to the task. ![]() Of course we’ve all learned that such timelines can be purely aspirational - DOE was supposed to start accepting the nation’s commercial nuclear waste for permanent disposal in, um, 1998 - but again, after decades of paralysis, this is at least some progress. That’s expected to take another 2-3 years, and the DOE won’t entertain volunteer hosts just yet. ![]() We’re in Stage 1 right now: “Planning and Capacity Building.” This involves earning the trust of local communities, encouraging “mutual learning” and understanding of nuclear waste management. The feds plan to figure that out over the next decade-and-a-half.Īt its “ Consent-based Siting Consortia Kickoff” on Tuesday, July 25, the DOE spelled out three distinct phases for its renewed effort to enlist communities ready, willing and able to host the nation’s nuclear waste, at least temporarily. Yes, by 2038 (more or less), millions of pounds of spent fuel from San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and other commercial reactors could be preparing to leave their steel-and-concrete tombs and relocate to a new, albeit temporary, federal home or homes. Department of Energy has a timeline to “operation readiness” for a new site to hold America’s nuclear waste: ![]() This Google Earth image shows how close the expanded dry storage area for spent nuclear waste will be to the shoreline at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. ![]()
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