It's official: DOE has scrapped its GNEP plan

It was officially announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Energy that a plan that could have brought a nuclear reprocessing facility to the area has been scrapped.

Months after the end of the plan was first reported, the Department of Energy has officially announced via the Federal Register that the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership is no more.

"The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or Department) has decided to cancel the preparation of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement," the entry reads. "Via this notice, DOE announces that it has decided to cancel the GNEP PEIS because it is no longer pursuing domestic commercial reprocessing, which was the primary focus of the prior administration's domestic GNEP program."

GNEP was an international program proposed by the Bush administration to promote the use of nuclear power and to find solutions to closing the nuclear fuel cycle.

From its inception, it has drawn ire from pro- and anti-nuclear groups. From the massive expected cost to increased waste and environmental hazards, the project struggled for approval and funding.

Two of the 11 proposed sites were located in South Carolina. Savannah River National Laboratory received a federal grant to develop site proposals.

"This decision to halt the reprocessing EIS is celebrated by those who know the technical absurdity, proliferation risks and high costs involved with pursuit of commercial reprocessing of radioactive spent nuclear fuel in the U.S. We thank Secretary (Steven) Chu for taking this important step," said Tom Clements of Friends of the Earth. "The decision to cancel ... is a clear victory for the environment of South Carolina and taxpayers but a big setback to narrow special interests who had hoped to profit from a commercial reprocessing facility being built at the Savannah River Site."

In April, the Aiken Standard first reported a DOE spokesperson's comment that "the department has already decided not to continue the domestic GNEP program of the last administration."

"The long-term fuel cycle research and development program will continue but not the near-term deployment of recycling facilities or fast reactors. The international component of GNEP is under interagency review," said DOE deputy press secretary Jen Stutsman at the time.

The end of GNEP does not mean the end of reprocessing in South Carolina. The vetting process and environmental impact study means the 11 sites considered have much of the preparation work already completed if a future plan looks at reprocessing.

Contact Mike Gellatly at mgellatly@aikenstandard.com.