EFI Principal and former chief financial advisor for the Department of Energy Joe Hezir is quoted in a December 3 Bloomberg Law article (pdf) by Daniel Moore on consent-based nuclear waste siting, in light of a November 30 request for information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) seeking information on a consent-based siting process that would be used to identify sites to store the nation’s spent nuclear fuel.
Hezir said he thinks the RFI will “put some ideas on the table that will help flesh out what that engagement process will look like.” These ideas could help facilitate congressional action on a permanent site for nuclear waste. But, he said, consent is complex. “It’s not simply a black-and-white, one-time consent decision” for local communities, he said. Hezir was a former DOE chief financial advisor and was a consultant to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, an often-cited 2012 report.
The article further describes how DOE’s approach to consent-based sitting is likely to face opposition from local communities due to deeply entrenched distrust of federal officials.
–Angie Kaufman
(Share this post with others.)
