Date: May 5, 2008
Source: EnergySolutions, Inc.
EnergySolutions Seeks Judicial Clarification of NW Compact Authority
EnergySolutions, Inc. (NYSE: ES) announced today that its subsidiary, EnergySolutions, LLC has filed a declaratory judgment action in the U.S. District Court in Utah seeking a determination that the Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management (the "Northwest Compact") lacks authority over EnergySolutions' Clive, Utah facility.
"This action is intended to clarify whether the Northwest Compact has authority to restrict or control the operations of our Clive facility, and therefore prohibit the company from undertaking an important international project," said Steve Creamer, CEO of EnergySolutions.
The Northwest Compact is a regional entity comprised of eight States, including Utah. EnergySolutions contends that, because Clive is a private commercial facility rather than a regional facility licensed and operated under the Northwest Compact, the Compact's authority is limited to matters pertaining to its own regional low-level waste disposal facility located in Richland, Washington.
EnergySolutions also announced that it has offered to self-impose a limit on international material equal to 5 percent of the remaining capacity at its Clive disposal facility.
"Although we believe the law allows us to import unlimited amounts of international material that meet the Nuclear Regulatory Commission import license requirements, we have offered this limit to ensure that we have more than ample capacity to serve the low-level radioactive waste disposal needs for the operation and eventual decommissioning of all 104 nuclear reactors in the United States, as well as to meet the needs of all current and future U.S. customers," said Creamer.
Creamer emphasized that the international material under consideration is the same kind of material that the company has received at its Clive facility from U.S. and international customers for nearly 20 years.
"We are talking about a very small amount of Class A low-level material that would be disposed after recycling and processing metal, paper, plastics and resins from the decommissioning of nuclear facilities," said Creamer. "We are not importing any spent fuel or any high-level waste, all of which has been or is being exported from Italy to France or the United Kingdom for recycling. In fact, over 99 percent of the radioactivity associated with this project will remain in Europe."
Creamer noted that international shipments of radioactive material occur every day, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has authorized similar recycling and disposal projects in the past.
"EnergySolutions offers the best technologies and facilities for the safe dismantling and decontamination of retired nuclear power plants, which is essential to the development of new nuclear power generation facilities," said Creamer. "Our services and facilities support greater global utilization of safe, clean and reliable nuclear energy -- which is critical in addressing issues of energy security and global warming."
Mr. Creamer emphasized that energy security and global warming are worldwide problems. Safe, clean and reliable nuclear energy will enable the United States and the rest of the world to reduce its reliance on high-carbon-emitting and non-renewable resources. All countries, including the United States, must be willing to provide technical solutions to resolve the worldwide energy crisis and protect the environment. EnergySolutions is committed to this cause.
In filing the declaratory judgment action, Creamer said that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission possesses the scientific and technical expertise to evaluate import license applications pursuant to the regulatory criteria.
Specifically, the court action seeks declarations that:
The Northwest Compact does not have regulatory authority over the Clive facility, which is a private commercial facility rather than a regional facility created by the Compact.
The U.S. Constitution does not allow the Northwest Compact to discriminate between identical domestic and foreign materials handled at the Clive facility.
Any effort by the Northwest Compact to restrict receipt of international LLRW is preempted by federal statutes and regulations.
EnergySolutions offers customers a full range of integrated services and solutions, including recycling, environmental restoration, decommissioning, disposal, fuel management, transportation, and research and engineering services across the fuel cycle.
Statements in this news release regarding future financial and operating results and any other statements about the company's future expectations, beliefs or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including economic conditions generally. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in the company's Form S-1 filed with the Securities Exchange Commission.
For more information, please contact:
Mark Walker
(801) 231-9194
Email Contact
www.EnergySolutions.com
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