Lake Erie

Plans to create a long-term high-level nuclear waste storage site along Lake Erie at DTE Energy’s Fermi power-generating complex in Monroe County have triggered safety concerns by area residents who warn that the spent fuel could be vulnerable to accident or attack. So far federal regulators have dismissed their calls for enhanced oversight.

The board that oversees the licensing of nuclear power plants has ordered a hearing on concerns raised by opponents of a new reactor planned by DTE Energy. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled July 31 that four of the concerns raised by environmental groups and people who live near DTE energy’s Fermi complex in Monroe County warrant further examination.

It looks like those who have concerns about the permitting process for the proposed Fermi 3 nuclear power station are facing an uphill battle to have their worries considered by federal regulatory officials. A coalition that includes Monroe County residents and nuclear watchdog groups has put together 15 environmental and safety concerns they’d like to discuss as part of an upcoming Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hearing on the plan to expand DTE Energy’s Fermi nuclear complex in Frenchtown Township. But in order for these issues to be raised at the May 5 hearing, they must be approved by the ASLB. And the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and DTE Energy are urging the board to disregard virtually all of the coalition’s concerns.

Before the Michigan House of Representatives could put pen to paper on the new energy bill that passed the House last Thursday (and that was heavily lobbied for by state utilities), The Monroe Evening News reported that Detroit Edison had already applied for a permit for a second possible nuclear plant in Monroe County along [...]

MONROE, Mich. — Here is some late-breaking video of Sen. John McCain’s remarks here at the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station on the shore of Lake Erie, south of Detroit. McCain was joined by Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) — whom McCain mistakenly identified as a senator. Note the nuclear power [...]