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Hodges sues DOE to halt plutonium shipments BY SCHUYLER KROPF
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Gov. Jim Hodges
elevated the fight over plutonium shipments at the Savannah River
Site Wednesday, suing the federal government to stop the planned
transfer of tons of radioactive plutonium until he gets the
processing agreement he wants.
A
spokesman for the U.S. Department of Energy called the lawsuit
"totally inconsistent with a desire to work things out" and vowed to
"continue working to solve the problem rather than engaging in
political grandstanding."
Hodges
emphasized that his lawsuit does not halt negotiations on a storage
and removal plan. It seeks only to stop any shipments from moving
into the state until a signed document is in
hand.
"Unless we act now, plutonium
could be crossing our border two weeks from today with no safeguards
for South Carolina," Hodges said.
"While
some progress has been made, the clock is ticking," he said. "If we
reach an agreement with DOE, the lawsuit can be
dismissed."
DOE wants to begin moving
tons of plutonium used to build nuclear weapons from its current
storage site in Rocky Flat, Colo., to SRS where it would be
converted sometime over the next decade into fuel for use by
commercial nuclear reactors. The shipments could begin as soon as
May 15.
Hodges filed the suit at the
Aiken County Federal District Courthouse, not far from the SRS
gates. He hopes to get a hearing before U.S. District Judge Cameron
Currie this week or early next week. Also named in the suit is
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.
Hodges' action drew quick criticism from U.S. Rep. Lindsey Graham,
who has been working on a deal that would enact millions of dollars
in fines against the Energy Department if the plutonium isn't
processed in a timely manner.Graham, a Republican candidate for U.S.
Senate, learned about it late in the day while he was waiting to see
a return draft of proposed changes."To believe that today's lawsuit
doesn't chill negotiations with DOE is unrealistic," he said. "I've
always believed that a lawsuit against the federal government
involving high-level national security issues will
fail."
Graham and other South Carolina
leaders presented a package Saturday that met every concern the
state has raised regarding plutonium shipments, and Wednesday, they
worked with the DOE to resolve minor additional concerns, DOE
spokesman Joe Davis said Wednesday.
"We
are therefore disappointed, that in light of our most recent good
faith efforts to satisfy the governor and on what seemed to be the
brink of the resolution to this problem, he chooses instead to run
to the courthouse," Davis said. "This action is totally inconsistent
with a desire to work things out."
In
his suit, Hodges said DOE's amended record of decision filed April
19 to move the shipments within 30 days violates the National
Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Administrative Procedure
Act.
Hodges' biggest concern is that the
plutonium might be parked in South Carolina indefinitely if the fuel
conversion initiative, called the MOX program - for mixed oxide fuel
- is never funded and the conversion plant never
built.
Graham, R-S.C., said the deal he
brokered is the best plan possible. It would fine the federal
government $1 million a day starting in 2011 if more than 1 ton of
the plutonium has not been made into fuel for nuclear reactors. The
fines would start again on Jan. 1, 2017, if all the plutonium is not
converted. The penalties would continue at the same rate and with
the same $100 million cap until all the nuclear material has left
South Carolina.
The fines would have to
be paid and the material removed, Graham
said.
But Hodges worries that in 15
years, DOE will consider a $100 million fine an acceptable monetary
loss in exchange for using SRS as a perpetual storage
site.
Graham said the deal wouldn't
allow that to happen. "If the governor's lawsuit fails, legislation
will be the only protection for the state," he
said.
Hodges has said he will lie down
in front of trucks carrying the plutonium and use state troopers at
roadblocks if an agreement is not reached.
U.S. Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., who is
also working on the storage deal, said Hodges' suit should not
trigger a tone of animosity among the parties. All Hodges wants "is
an enforceable exit strategy," he said.
But Davis said Hodges' claims of urgency in filing the lawsuit are
not valid because DOE cannot begin plutonium shipments until May
15.
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