Thursday, February 13, 2003

Impact of Nuclear Waste Repository Delays on Nuclear Plants in Minnesota A decision on the fate of the Goshute Nuclear Waste Storage Facility is imminent.  One of the forces behind that initiative, XCEL Energy,  faces the shutdown of its nuclear plants in Minnesota within a few years due to their reaching the statutory limitation of spent nuclear waste on site. Shutdown of the plants, particularly of the 1100 megawatt plant near Red Wing Minnesota has been on the agenda of Minnesota regulatory officials and the neighboring Prairie Island Indian Tribe, but with energy problems looming, XCEL is attempting to extend the life of these plants.  A complicating factor is the delay in the development of the Yucca Mountain Waste Repository, which will not be online until 2010 at the earliest. XCEL is one of the companies that would be shipping its waste to the Goshute Facility. Related Stories [Minneapolis Star-Tribune: (1) (2) ] comments or questions [] 11:17:18 AM

Envirocare granted modifications exemption to possess SNM Waste The Federal Register reports on the approval of a modified (from 1999) exemption to allow Envirocare to expand its handling of Special Nuclear Material. Envirocare requested:  Envirocare, in a letter dated July 3, and 29, 2002, proposes that NRC issue further exemptions by amending the 1999 Order as follows: (1) Include stabilization of liquid waste streams containing SNM; (2) include the thermal desorption process; (3) change the homogenous contiguous mass limit from 145 kg to 600 kg; (4) change the language and SNM limit associated with footnotes ``c'' and ``d'' of Condition 1 to reflect all materials in Conditions 2 and 3; and (5) omit the confirmatory testing requirements for debris waste. The exemption will become effective after the State of Utah has incorporated [the conditions specified by the NRC]  into Envirocare's radioactive materials license. comments or questions [] 10:36:05 AM

Uniform Commercial Code Debt Histories The National Information Consortium, parent company of Utah Interactive, which operates the state web presence (utah.gov)  in cooperation with the CIO's office, has announced in a press release, an online service to locate UCC information at the Department of Commerce website. Certified UCC searches provide debt histories and histories of liens on collateral that financial institutions use to make lending decisions. Certified UCC searches are also used by the legal community to establish priority for bankruptcy proceedings. Searching is by filing number or debtor name. comments or questions [] 10:26:16 AM