Creating a Nuclear Cluster in Mississippi

Background The Federal government through the Department of Energy (DOE) is designated by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) as responsible for management of commercial used nuclear fuel (UNF). This framework mandated transfer of UNF to the DOE by 1998 for disposal at the Yucca Mountain site, which was designated as the nations sole repository for UNF in 1987. To finance the DOE program, the NWPA established a one mil/kWh surcharge applied to nuclear electricity ratepayers, which has been collected into the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF) since 1982 for the purpose of carrying out this responsibility. While the laws and responsibilities for management of UNF have been established in law for more than 25 years, the DOE has yet to take custody of any UNF. The Obama Administrations withdrawal of the Yucca Mountain site license application in 2009 and the constraints on alternative storage options under existing law have contributed to a systemic failure that continues to cost both ratepayers and general taxpayers and to deter the expansion of the nuclear energy industry in the United States. A Broken System Our current used fuel management framework has been paralyzed by politics. The recent Yucca Mountain experience exposes this reality by demonstrating that the DOE is unable to appropriately carry out a long-term strategy without considerable political risks affecting the outcome. As a result of political paralysis, U.S. taxpayer liabilities are estimated to reach more than $22B to cover utility costs for federal inaction. Separately, nuclear electricity ratepayers have capitalized the Nuclear Waste Fund at more than $32B, with more than $394M resulting from contributions from Mississippi ratepayers who have received nothing of value in return. Although ratepayer and taxpayer funds have not been productively spent, the funding needed to successfully begin managing UNF already exists through ongoing ratepayer collections, which total about $750 million per year nationally. Finally, with no clear endgame for commercial used nuclear fuel, the U.S. Courts have intervened and cast doubt on the ability to secure final NRC licensing decisions for both existing and new nuclear plants, including the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station. A Better Way Used nuclear fuel is not a waste, but an important energy resource and commodity. UNF is a strategic asset that when consolidated in a dedicated management center can be leveraged as a platform for commercial energy production, advanced research and development, and the engineering of safe and simplified ultimate waste forms. Current U.S. nuclear fuel cycle practice only allows a small portion of the energy in nuclear fuel to be utilized, leaving enormous amounts of energy potential unused. The demonstrated failure of the Federal government over three decades requires a thorough re-assessment of our approach to UNF management, and provides an opportunity for the State of Mississippi to structure a consent-based host agreement that delivers significant economic development, employment, and energy security benefits.

Developing a consolidated UNF management center in Mississippi would serve as a platform for significant economic development opportunities across near (10 years), medium (25 years), and long-term (35 years) time horizons. In the near-term, constructing a facility designed for consolidated storage and monitoring of UNF is estimated to cost over $500 million and to employ almost 100. The development of transportation system upgrades required to safely and effectively move UNF to site and associated research and development activity would add additional economic impacts. In the medium-term, opportunities to leverage consolidated UNF to recover its energy value through recycling would include facility and associated infrastructure investments of more than $15B, and would create more than 18,000 direct jobs during construction and 5,000 direct jobs for 50 years of operation, with annual operating costs estimated at $500 million. In the long-term, Mississippis unique geologic salt domes provide an opportunity for co -located repository facilities, making Mississippi most competitive with the ability to fully manage all materials in one area. While direct facility costs would require data from specific site characterizations, estimates for long-term disposal costs are roughly $100B over the project life of 100 years. These economic benefits, to include the associated research and development opportunities, the state-based manufacturing and supply chain, and workforce development to support them, represent an opportunity to develop a massive nuclear energy industry cluster in the State of Mississippi. The Path Forward Securing a consolidated UNF platform in the state will require parallel actions at the Federal and state levels to modify laws, advance regulations, and develop consent and development structures for host agreements. At the Federal level, two primary legislative actions must be taken to assure a successful program foundation. First, UNF management responsibility must be transferred from DOE to a Federally-chartered corporation (FedCorp) with access to the Nuclear Waste Fund for its intended purpose, and the FedCorp must be empowered with the flexibility and authority to succeed. The State of Mississippi requires a credible Federal negotiating partner. Second, the NWPA must be modified to allow for the consolidation of commercial UNF at interim storage and/or recycling sites prior to active construction of a repository. In the regulatory space, near-term modifications must be made to allow for the siting of consolidated storage near any candidate repository and to enable the licensing of interim storage for certain high-level wastes. Further, to enable the construction and operation of UNF recycling facilities, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must complete the regulatory basis for licensing commercial recycling facilities. Finally, the Environmental Protection Agency standards for certain lowlevel emissions must be re-evaluated to reflect a more appropriate risk-based analysis. To advance progress toward tangible economic developments, the state of Mississippi will need to clearly express interest to the Federal government its desire to engage in exploratory activities for the hosting of interim storage and repository development and identify willing host communities and begin the process of educational engagement. Analysis of land transfer and transport right-of-way requirements, potential regional cooperative agreements with surrounding states, and the establishment of state vehicles to accelerate capital creation would advance the operational planning requirements for construction of facilities and the transport of materials.