ECA NEWS RELEASE

The Energy Communities Alliance, which represents local communities near U.S. Department of Energy sites, is calling on the next Administration to perform a comprehensive review of
efforts to address the environmental legacy of nuclear weapons production and government- sponsored nuclear energy research. (Los Alamos County is a member and Councilor Randall Ryti is the ECA board treasurer)

In a new paper released today, “Ensuring Long-Term Success: Recommendations for the Next Administration on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Mission,” ECA outlines a series of recommendations for the next Administration to help ensure the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) is well positioned for long-term success. While EM has made substantial progress in cleaning up sites since its launch in 1989, decades of work remain to be completed, and the program faces substantial challenges in areas such as workforce development, waste disposal capacity and sustained relationships with local communities that can threaten continued success.

“The communities near DOE sites have played such an important role in U.S. national security and prosperity, dating back to the Manhattan Project. We expect DOE to prioritize and ensure a safe, effective and transparent cleanup, working hand-in-glove with the communities, so that we can have a successful and sustainable future as well,” said Brent Gerry, Mayor and CEO of West Richland, Wash. and ECA Chair. West Richland is located near the Hanford site, one of the original Manhattan Project sites EM is working to clean up.

ECA is calling on the next Administration to conduct a thorough review of all aspects of DOE’s cleanup mission, including the effectiveness of DOE’s relationships with local communities; how DOE prioritizes cleanup activities; how DOE contracts with industry to perform cleanup; remaining technical challenges; available waste disposal capabilities; the potential for new and innovative approaches to cleanup; and the effectiveness of long-term stewardship. Such a review also needs to look at how the EM mission is integrated with other key DOE programs, such as the National Nuclear Security Administration and the national laboratories overseen by the Office of Science.

ECA is also putting forward a set of recommendations for the new Administration to better ensure long- term cleanup success, including:

 Establishing disposal paths for every type of radioactive and hazardous waste, including ensuring both private and public sites are available and utilized

 Re-evaluating EM’s use of the end-state contracting model so that more funds are available for actual work

 Ensuring regulatory agreements are reasonably achievable and balance short- and long-term
needs

 Improving workforce planning to address EM “brain drain” and long-term needs for skilled
talent of all kinds

 Continuing to focus on economic/energy development benefits

 Maintaining robust local, state, tribal government and stakeholder engagement at each site

 Clarifying DOE policy on how hazardous and radioactive materials discovered at “completed
sites” will be addressed to ensure that the cleanup is protective of human health and the
environment and the local community is not responsible for DOE’s legacy waste cleanup

 Reconstituting a dedicated nuclear waste organization within DOE to address high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel issues

“We know some of the most difficult work EM will face is still to come. That’s why now is the right time for a thorough look at all aspects of the program to ensure we can maintain the track record of progress DOE has achieved in cleanup over the past 35 years,” said Rebecca Casper, Mayor of Idaho Falls, Idaho, near the Idaho National Laboratory and ECA Vice Chair. “DOE’s cleanup program enjoys bipartisan support. It’s not a Republican issue or a Democratic one — it’s a national obligation. That’s why we have prepared a set of recommendations we believe will aid the next Administration in successfully advancing this mission.”

“One of the benefits of Los Alamos County being a long-standing member of the Energy Communities Alliance is having our voice amplified with other similar communities around the country,” said Councilor Randall Ryti. “This new white paper from ECA comes at an opportune time locally with the new Consent Order between NMED and EM and the strategic vision approaching implementation. Among the recommendations proposed in the white paper – waste disposal paths, community engagement, and how to deal with “completed sites” are three that resonate with us in Los Alamos County.”

ECA’s paper is available at https://www.energyca.org/publications. For additional information, please contact Faith Sanchez, ECA Program Director, at 202-828-2410 or faiths@energyca.org

Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) is a non-profit membership organization of local governments adjacent to or affected by U.S. Department of Energy activities. The mission of ECA is to bring together local government officials to share information, establish policy positions, and promote community interests to address an increasingly complex set of constituents, environmental, regulatory, and economic development needs. Additional information is available at www.energyca.org.