Innovative Process and Inventive Solutions: A Case Study of Local Public Acceptance of a Proposed Nuclear Waste Packaging and Storage Facility

Abstract

A joint Oak Ridge-Roane County citizen task force (TF) evaluated the Department of Energy's (DOE) proposal to site a Monitored Retrievable Storage facility in Tennessee in terms of environmental, transportation and socioeconomic impacts. Another potential host area (Hartsville) rejected the proposal before studying it. The case study examines how the TF used mitigation, compensation, and incentives (economic and non-economic) to address the problem of distrust of DOE and to change the net local impact balance from negative to positive. Intensive group interaction during their investigations and development of trust within the TF led to consensus decisions on safety and conditional acceptance. DOE accepted most of the TF conditions after informal negotiations. The siting process was stopped by extensive statewide opposition resulting in legal challenge by the state and vetoes by the governor and state legislature.

KEY WORDS:

• Incentives
• compensation
• mitigation
• negotiation
• consensus
• siting of noxious facilities
• conditional acceptance
• distrust
• citizen task force
• Nuclear Waste Policy Act
• Monitored Retrievable Storage
• local cost/benefit balance
• high level nuclear waste
• safety preconditions for siting