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“MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 6, ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2003, OFFERED BY MR. INSLEE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2012 on Oct. 8, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 6, ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2003,
OFFERED BY MR. INSLEE
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speech of
HON. TOM UDALL
of new mexico
in the house of representatives
Thursday, October 2, 2003
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this motion. The Department of Energy may believe that simply reclassifying waste is a quick and clever way to solve a nasty problem but I, along with many of my colleagues, disagree.
Millions of gallons of high-level radioactive waste lie in corroding storage tanks in Idaho, Washington, and South Carolina with the potential of invading the nearby rivers. DOE doesn't want to clean it up because there's an easier way to go--it wants to reclassify some of that waste as ``incidental'' rather than high-level radioactive, and keep it in place. Simply reclassifying waste does nothing for the health and safety of the people who live near these sites. In fact, it could be extremely detrimental to their well-being. However, DOE does not seem to be concerned with those citizens. Instead, they want to take the easy path--just reclassify waste using unsound science and call it a day.
If it's not enough that harmful waste around the country would be kept in its current dangerous state under this proposal, another effect is that waste now deemed high-level radioactive waste could be shipped to New Mexico to be stored at the Waste Isolation Pilot Program (WIPP). The fact is that this waste is currently prohibited by law from being stored in WIPP. In addition, we've been told for years that high-level waste would not be brought to WIPP. To top it off, we do not even know if WIPP is ready to handle waste with such high levels of radioactivity. That is why we need to pass this motion.
During my tenure as New Mexico's Attorney General, I fought long and hard to make sure that what happens at WIPP would be decided by the people who are affected by it--the citizens of New Mexico. Decisions with such a large impact should be discussed openly and not in backroom deals. This arbitrary decision by the DOE, made without public comment by the people it would affect, boils down to clear abuse of a loophole. Codification of the proposal would be disastrous.
I urge my colleagues to support this motion. Doing so is crucial for the health and safety of our communities in New Mexico and across the country.
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