But several disputed their remarks.
"What you are proposing is a low-level radioactive waste dump that will have an economic impact on this area," Ed Henshaw, area resident and former Sequoyah Fuels employee, said.
Henshaw said the NRC had already made up its mind to allow for on-site disposal. "The NRC is a lap dog for the nuclear energy industry that it reputes to regulate," he said.
Nadine Barton of Tulsa, member of Partners for A Clean Environment (PACE), also accused the NRC of having selected the on-site disposal alternative. She said, "This is not right, but it's too late because they are going to go through with it."
The public meeting was to review the NRC draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The DEIS was done by NRC officials, their contractor, Ecology and Environment Inc., and others to determine how the four alternatives for disposal of contaminated materials will effect the environment at the 600-acre Sequoyah Fuels site. The NRC determined that the on-site disposal of contaminated materials is the best alternative. NRC officials told the group that their comments would be taken into consideration and, if called for, action may be taken to review and possibly change some decisions in the DEIS.
The group was displeased with the NRC's announcement that the final environmental impact statement (EIS) is expected in April 2008, and that the public comment period would be open until Nov. 5. (Postal and e-mail addresses are included at bottom). However, after the meeting NRC official Allen Fetter said that if many complaints are received about the looming deadlines, they might be changed.
At the beginning of the meeting the NRC officials reviewed the four disposal alternatives for the group of about 30 who attended the public hearing at Gore High School. The NRC has accepted Sequoyah Fuels proposal, which is listed as Alternative 1, to dispose of the materials on site at the plant's property east of Gore.
The proposals, briefly, are:
-Alternative 1 is on-site disposal of contaminated materials in an above-grade disposal cell, at a cost of $31.9 million. (Sequoyah Fuels is responsible for the costs of disposal.)
-Alternative 2 is an off-site disposal of all contaminated materials at a cost of between $189.9 and $253.7 million.
-Alternative 3 is a partial off-site disposal of contaminated materials which would include an on-site disposal cell and removal of contaminated sludges and sediments at a cost of between $38.5 and $44.4 million.
-Alternative 4 is a no-action policy at a cost of $19.3 million for simple maintenance by Sequoyah Fuels. This alternative was considered not acceptable by the NRC.
QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIONS
Henshaw was the most vocal of those opposing the on-site disposal plan.
Holding up on the NRC's own map, Henshaw pointed out that the Illinois River and the Arkansas River were both close by, and their intersection "is the largest fresh-water aquifer in the state."
He said the DEIS "...is fraught with irregularities and omissions," and that "it allows the burial of contaminated waste on the banks of these rivers."
Henshaw said the wastes have already immigrated into the rivers, and that, because of underground structure and faults, the contaminated groundwater would continue to seep into the rivers.
"The consequences are being ignored," Henshaw said of the DEIS.
Henshaw said the DEIS "is not worth the paper it is printed on."
He added, "Total reclamation is already impossible due to the failure of Sequoyah Fuels and the NRC (to contain the contamination earlier)."
Henshaw said those responsible "should be considered criminal and prosecuted criminally."
Gore resident O.L.Hefton, 95, said the stockholders of Sequoyah Fuels and General Atomics, which at one time owned Sequoyah Fuels but now denies ownership, should be made to pay for the cleanup.
Barton urged everyone to read the inch-thick DEIS. She noted that the contaminated materials deterioration rate would run from 200 to 1,000 years. "Rivers may change their course during that time," Barton said, adding, "Catastrophic events are not addressed (in the DEIS).
"They (Sequoyah Fuels) get the profit, the public gets the pollution," Barton snapped.
She also questioned the security around the plant. Sequoyah Fuels President John Ellis said the plant, which was been closed since 1993, has people and security at the site 24 hours a day.
Dana Tracy, Rural Fire Protection District No. 1 fire chief, asked about how the county emergency management and his fire department were to handle possible emergencies at the plant.
Ellis, after noting that the remaining Sequoyah Fuels staff worked hand-in-hand with the fire district, offered to provide some additional training for the fire district, which Tracy accepted.
Ryan Callison, Gore mayor, who is also with Cherokee Nation environmental program and the Inter-Tribal Environmental Council (ITEC), told the NRC staff that the Cherokee Nation would support the NRC's studies and that "Cherokee Nation comments will be forthcoming...on what that (on-site disposal) means to the environment."
He asked that the NRC consider a partnership not only with Sequoyah Fuels but also the town, the Cherokee Nation, and the ITEC.
Dennis Fields, president of the Gore School Board of Education, pointed out that the loss of Sequoyah Fuels ad valorem taxes was "bleeding the school to death." He said Sequoyah Fuels' taxes represented 25 percent of the school's revenue.
Sequoyah Fuels has paid the ad valorem taxes under protest, and the tax money is placed in an interest bearing escrow account until the county and Sequoyah Fuels works out their differences on the amount of taxes due in court.
Fields said if Sequoyah Fuels is not reclaimed completely, "The school is going to lose more money because the property values will decrease and that impacts our schools. If you are going to do it, do it right so this area doesn't bleed to death," Fields said.
Ellis said the amount of ad valorem taxes in the escrow account will be at about $1.9 million after this year's taxes are paid.
FUTURE COMMENTS
The NRC officials said comments on the DEIS may be made until Nov. 5 and sent to the following addresses.
By mail to Chief, Rules Review and Directive Branch, Mail Stop: T6-D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001.
By e-mail to nrcrep@nrc.gov.
By FAX to Attn: Allen Fetter at 301-415-5369.
NRC official Gregory Suber who was also at the meeting said the NRC is setting up a Web site for the Sequoyah Fuels decommissioning and reclamation, and the site should be on the Internet within two weeks. The address will be published when it is made available.
