Time For Aging Reactor Communities To Use The 10 CFR Rules To Take Back The Regulatory Process From Nuclear Industry

This afternoon I used the NRC's Rules and Regulations to file a citizens Formal Petition For Rule Making (found here) in the hopes of righting the wrongs of the NRC's rubber stamping of all nuclear industry license renewal applications. With the score Nuclear Industry 50, and Host Communities 0, it is obvious that the nuclear industry now owns the regulatory framework, and it is our job to TAKE IT BACK. Properly Organized, the citizens who are opposed to these unsafe, aging and brittled reactors can use 10 CFR 2.206, 2.802 and 2.202 as a tool to level the playing field, and force the NRC to give us a fair, open, honest license renewal process that looks at all reactor safety and security issues, instead of only those issues the licensees want us to have a voice in.

My petition could be flatly rejected by the NRC, or they could give it a cursory look, run it through the process so it looks good, then ignoring public comments reject it...which is what I expect. ( Though 1,000's of public comments when it is released in the Federal Registry would make it a bit more difficult on them.)

However, the beauty of the Petition For Rule Making, is that any stakeholder (which in the case of nuclear energy is every human being residing in America) can file one. So, as Arlo Guthrie used to say sing in his infamous, "Alice's Restaurant", can you imagine if ten people a day filed a Petition For Rule Making with the NRC...they would think it was an organization. And could you imagine 100 people a day filing a Formal Petition For Rule Making with the NRC? (It's almost as simple as writing an email!) They would think it was a movement, and that is JUST WHAT I AM PROPOSING! A take back the regulatory process, and return NRC to a position of honesty and integrity MOVEMENT, and all your organization against wrongful relicensing needs to do to join, is to host a Petition For Rule Making party in a home or coffee shop in your own host community.

If only 100 people in 100 host communities filed their very own Petition For Rule Making, that would give the NRC over 10,000 bites at the apple to DO THE RIGHT THING when it comes to protecting human health and safety! Could you imagine what would happen if all reactor host communities embraced this strategy and got 1,000, or 10,000 citizens to file their own petitions for rule making?

Nothing any of us has done so far is working! The biggest win we have had is out in California with the Diablo court victory. Problem is, Neil Sheehan has already been quoted three different times stating he will ignore those court findings in the other 49 states! The NRC is intent at relicensing these reactors, no matter what a host communities objections or fears are, even if they are legitimate! Which means we need to CHANGE THE WAY THE GAME IS BEING PLAYED. 10 CFR's Rules For Rule Making that we have to start using in a very big way...the survival of our communities may depend on it, as the NRC is far to willing to play Russian Roulette with our lives if it will help them realize their dream of a Nuclear Renaissance.