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Citizens’ Environmental Coalition continues to push for responsible stewardship at the West Valley nuclear and hazardous waste site

Outline of our upcoming alliance work

(WNY) Citizens’ Environmental Coalition has been working alongside the Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Wastes (CWVNW), Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) and the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) in an exciting partnership of environmental watchdog groups determined to ensure the responsible cleanup of the West Valley nuclear and hazardous waste site.

    Our unique collaborative efforts have resulted in precedent-setting victories in the ongoing struggle with the Department of Energy, as we continue to call for the responsible remediation of this highly toxic site. CEC, with support from our allies, will keep up the pressure throughout the months and years ahead, until the goals of full exhumation and cleanup become a reality. 

    The formation of the CWVNW began in the 1960's, when then commercial reprocessing corporation, Nuclear Fuel Services, began dumping radioactive waste and reprocessing nuclear fuel in West Valley, New York, a small farming community 50 miles south of Buffalo. Following personal accounts of accidents, mishandling of high-level wastes and bad planning, the CWVNW was formed as a citizen's watchdog group. Thirty years and numerous radioactive leaks later, the group is still demanding the long-term safety of the site through waste exhumation and above ground storage. The CWVNW took legal action against the Department of Energy (DOE), which resulted in a requirement, that DOE provide ongoing technical information on cleanup plans and involve the public in waste management decisions at the site.   CWVNW is the on-the-ground grassroots organization watch-dogging activities affecting the site, doing public education and building momentum for a full exhumation and cleanup.

    NIRS was founded in 1978 and is an umbrella organization for hundreds of grassroots safe energy groups in the United States and around the world. NIRS educates and assists groups working to clean up radioactively contaminated sites, prevent nuclear proliferation and pollution, and support clean energy sources. NIRS has successfully improved federal and state policies and programs, and was involved in the 1980’s initiative in New York State to prevent more radioactive waste being brought to the West Valley site. NIRS actively supports regional and local organizing/education campaigns and represents community organizations on relevant policy issues in Washington . Internationally our 13 offices work with advocacy groups around the world concerned with safe energy issues.

What are the issues?
    In the tiny hamlet of West Valley in the Town of Ashford , NY the West Valley site has one of the most complex mix of nuclear and hazardous waste in the United States . High-level, “low-level,” transuranic, commercial and federal radioactive waste began arriving at the site in the early 1960s as part of a federally initiated plan to promote burial and commercial reprocessing of nuclear power and weapons waste. After years of high worker exposures, fires and radioactive releases to air and water, it became clear that reprocessing and shallow land burial at the site had failed. The private licensee abandoned the site and the state and local communities were left with this nuclear waste mess. The presence of huge amounts of radioactive and hazardous material is of serious concern at West Valley . The site itself is projected to erode substantially, dangerously releasing its radioactive legacy into the creeks and rivers that feed into Lake Erie , resulting in contamination of water and soil. West Valley and nearby communities are farming communities and the risk to well water and to the City of Buffalo and County of Erie water supply is real and profoundly dangerous. The entire ecosystem is at risk.
    In 1980, federal legislation passed requiring the US Department of Energy (DOE) to clean up a large portion of the site. Despite great strides in solidifying some of the reprocessing waste, much remains to be exhumed and isolated.
    In the near future DOE plans to release their final remediation proposal and Environmental Impact Statement for the site.  We are at a critical juncture in our campaign to advocate for complete exhumation of the highly radioactive waste at the leaking site.  Wastes will be radioactive for tens of thousands of years, yet according to the government's own estimates, the waste is buried in a region that will erode into the Great Lakes within a thousand years. Freeze-thaw cracking and erosion plague the site and predicted climate change will only exacerbate the problems.
    Based on the agency's past decisions and their policy at many other sites, we believe DOE will propose a "final remediation method" that involves leaving much of the buried waste in the ground.  Our organizations need to obtain more environmental and economic technical data to bolster support for a safe cleanup method involving exhumation and above ground storage of the waste.  It is important to assess the true costs of monitoring buried waste over tens of thousands of years as compared to exhumation.  Unfortunately, the DOE only considers the costs of a 30 to 100 year timeframe.  Equally important, is an assessment of the geological conditions at West Valley over the long term as the site is in a glacial till that is eroding and will erode into Cattaraugus Creek and Lake Erie within a thousand years.
    In addition to technical and economic data needs, it is crucial that we build strong public and political support for a full cleanup.  We must continue to build a committed and vocal coalition of groups, concerned citizens and state and local government officials to enlist their support in participating in DOE's comment period next year on the final cleanup plan.
    On the national level, our coalition needs to watchdog the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)'s flawed policy proposal which would ultimately turn complete cleanup control of the site to DOE, removing the state from any kind of partnership role in deciding on the final cleanup plan.  DOE has a proven track record of decommissioning nuclear and other hazardous waste sites prematurely therefore we staunchly oppose this proposal.
    The buried waste at the West Valley nuclear and hazardous waste site poses a serious threat to the purity of Great Lakes water and in fact, in the past, though acknowledged accidents and poor decisions, radioactive isotopes traceable to West Valley have been found in the water supply as far away as Rochester , NY . We know these isotopes have made it into the drinking water of western New York residents and are concerned about the possible links to high rates of cancer, multiple sclerosis, lupus and other diseases in the area.
    The stakes could not be higher for residents of Western New York as well as any person who relies on the Great Lakes Watershed for food, water and livelihood. As the land around the West Valley site continues to erode and the buried nuclear and hazardous waste continues to leach into the soil and water supply, the situation becomes more difficult and more costly to remediate.  Responsible environmental stewardship is desperately needed now.          

Project Description
    Our organizations seek funding for our Radioactive Waste Cleanup Campaign. This second-year request is for program support for CEC, CWVNW and NIRS, and our collaborative effort dedicated to the full cleanup of the West Valley nuclear and hazardous waste site. We came together because West Valley is at a critical juncture with the state proposing to reduce its watchdog role while the DOE is poised to propose an environmentally dangerous plan to monitor the leaking, buried waste. We have organized a strong coalition to advocate for a cleanup method that protects public health and environment with full exhumation of the leaking waste and safe storage.  Our coalition will advocate for a safe cleanup by sponsoring an expert study (Full Cost Accounting Study) to investigate geological problems at the site and assess the true, long term economic consequences of the various remediation options.  We will organize a larger and stronger network of concerned groups and citizens and hold media and educational events to build public support for a safe cleanup.  Between our three organizations, and another partner group, the national Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ), we span the local, regional, state and national arenas on toxic and nuclear issues, and can bring together a powerful mix of political and public support, coupled with technical and economic data, to effectively wage our cleanup campaign.

Advancing the Full Cost Cleanup Accounting Study is crucial for the responsible, environmentally conscious remediation of the West Valley site.
    In the months following the precedent-setting NYS Senate decision to fund our Full Cost Accounting Study (FCAS), we have moved this aspect of our campaign forward by hiring expert consultants. Synapse Energy Economics, Professor Michael Wilson of SUNY Fredonia and Dr. Frank Ackerman of Tufts University have been hired to conduct the study. Full Cost Accounting is a precautionary economic approach that comprehensively assesses all the costs of different cleanup options taking into account environmental, health, geological, economic development and other impacts over time. This is a key part of our strategic campaign for a safe, permanent cleanup at West Valley as the FCAS will provide critically important economic and environmental information on the various remedial options. 
    We will hold regularly scheduled conference calls to provide information and input to the FCAS consultants. The planning of site visits and meetings to interview agency officials, town representatives and residents near West Valley is also slated in the coming months. Our groups are assisting the consultants with supporting research, arranging site visits, reviewing drafts and assessing data and policy initiatives at the site.
    Our organizations will share responsibility for the success of FCAS by taking on various roles. CEC is serving as the liaison between our organizations and the consultants, facilitating the free-flow of information and managing the fiscal aspects of the grant. CEC schedules and covers the costs of our conference calls, as well as tracking of information and materials requested by consultants and group members.  The CWVNW takes the lead on securing pertinent information and documents that will give our consultants the greatest insight into the proposed cleanup alternatives. We have found the DOE insists on throwing hurdles in the way of securing this information, but since the CWVNW has extraordinary legal rights under a court ordered Stipulation of Compromise, the CWVNW is uniquely positioned to insist on the release of information. They have formally requested the information needed for the study and filed a legal Prayer for Relief to invoke a mandate from the Court if DOE cooperation is not forthcoming.
    NIRS, along with CWVNW, contributes its vast knowledge of how the DOE thinks and operates, conducts national research and helps guide the supporting research that is needed to do to the FCAS.  CHEJ also contributes its knowledge of full-cost accounting and precautionary economic analysis, state and federal agency remediation activities, and helps guide supporting research.  We will use all avenues that are available to provide the information needed for a geological investigation and an in-depth comprehensive economic analysis of the cleanup options.
    Our goal is to release and publicize the results of the FCAS report in advance of the decisive DOE public comment period on final cleanup.  The report results will provide New York citizens, organizations and political leaders with valuable information on the true costs of environmentally responsible cleanup for the West Valley site.  The funding of this study by state tax-dollars and the likely outcome of the analysis are nationally groundbreaking steps that can be used in other communities, whether the long-term threat is radioactive or chemically toxic waste.  

  Organizing broad public and political support is needed in advance of the public comment period on the DOE's proposed site cleanup option in 2007.
    In accordance with the 1980 passing of the federal West Valley Demonstration Act, DOE was ordered to present an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on site cleanup in a timely manner. The Draft EIS is still being debated among the many responsible federal and state agencies with roles at the West Valley site.  We are pressing the DOE for this absent study, and may file lawsuit if necessary. 

  Our creation of a FCAS for the West Valley site, which will be released to DOE, NYSERDA and the public in the months leading up to DOE’s release of its final EIS, will proactively address the final EIS, providing long-term scenarios and progressive options for site remediation.  Our group will engage the public directly, reaching out and involving many new citizens, organizations, opinion leaders and policymakers in the EIS process, and enlisting their active involvement.    

  When DOE finally does release its promised EIS, our coalition will have organized a vibrant network of citizens and groups to participate in the review process and testify at hearings or file comments to the federal agency on its proposed site remediation plans.  The slated release date of the EIS was January 2007 however the agency has pushed it back until later in 2007.  As we mentioned, based on the track record of DOE, we have well-founded reasons to believe that the preferred alternative will not adequately accomplish full cleanup and waste isolation at the West Valley nuclear and hazardous waste site. 

  The "Environmental Justice For All Tour" will shed local and national spotlight on our collaborative efforts.

    Environmental justice and health groups from all over the country are hosting a national tour of communities directly impacted by industrial contamination to meaningfully link these communities together with environmental justice and health anchor groups and promote safer, more equitable solutions to environmental hazards.  The tour, organized by groups in the Coming Clean network, is designed to educate elected officials and to put industry on notice that the public demands clean air, pure water, healthy soil, and safe conditions for all of our children.
    The purpose of the October 2006 Environmental Justice for All Tour is the unification of multi-racial and multi-regional grassroots community activists, environmental, health, and social justice advocates, medical professionals, policymakers, celebrities, and journalists aboard retrofitted buses, fostering solidarity among these diverse groups.  Judith Einach of CWVNW and Brian Hillery of CEC will hold a joint educational and media event in the Niagara Falls region on the opening day of the tour to highlight the problems, challenges and action needed at the West Valley site.
A strong media outreach campaign is essential to build public awareness and support for a full cleanup at the West Valley site.  
    The recent hiring of Judith Einach as the first, full-time campaign coordinator of the Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Wastes (CWVNW) created buzz and public interest and support. She has been an important step in bringing the issues of West Valley to the public in a more pressing way. Einach is an experienced organizer who was a Buffalo mayoral candidate in 2004. In August, she was featured in a lengthy, front-page expose on West Valley in the Springfield Journal, the local news source for the area surrounding the site.  There is also another upcoming article by Einach that will appear in the Buffalo News, to inform the public of the history of West Valley, as well as recent site activities and the dangers the site poses to the region. Host of the Western New York radio call-in program, The Einach Report, she has brought her listeners news of the proceedings as they unfold at West Valley.  We are pleased that because of listener demand, she now provides regular reports on West Valley during her programs.
    In the coming year, CWVNW, CEC, NIRS and other groups in our coalition will reach out to television, radio and print reporters to ensure coverage of media and educational events, newsworthy site activities, and the results of the FCAS report.  We will also seek to place opinion pieces in local newspapers, and alerts and articles in organizational newsletters.

Advocacy is needed to ensure the National Environmental Policy Act processes are honored during the cleanup of the West Valley site.  

    The continued tracking of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes, with specific focus on the still-pending Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), will be of increasing concern in the months ahead. Our coalition must continue to press for the “preferred cleanup alternative” from DOE, an element of the EIS still unrevealed to the public.  The increasingly tense dynamic between DOE and NYSERDA has boiled over again, resulting in yet another injunction filed against DOE by NYSERDA, as reports from the state agency have confirmed. 

     With the help of CHEJ, we will be vigilant over the ever-changing permit and operational processes of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) governing the management of hazardous waste at the site.  The direction the RCRA permit procedure at West Valley takes will ultimately define which government agency will be responsible for long-term monitoring and remediation at West Valley. It is essential that we keep abreast of these pending decisions as they evolve. 
Conclusion
    The history of the West Valley nuclear waste site is rife with irresponsible action on the part of NYS and federal agencies; and the problems at West Valley demand consistent, independent monitoring by environmental watchdog groups.  We envision a future where dangerous nuclear wastes are isolated from the environment to protect the citizens of Cattaraugus County, the Western New York Region, and indeed the country. 
    CEC, CWVNW, NIRS and CHEJ are positioned with new leadership working with seasoned environmental advocates, to take on the crucial next steps and challenges posed by regulatory agencies, public officials, and the West Valley nuclear and hazardous waste site itself. The unique strengths each of our groups brings to this issue are complimentary and form the basis for strong advocacy and outreach.
    Our groups are committed to full exhumation of the buried wastes at the site and feel confident that we have the people in place and the campaign strategy to successfully take on and surmount the challenges we face in the months ahead.