SALT LAKE CITY, UT--(Marketwire - May 5, 2008) - EnergySolutions, Inc. (
NYSE:
ES)
announced today that its subsidiary, EnergySolutions, LLC has filed a
declaratory judgment action in the U.S. District Court in Utah seeking a
determination that the Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level
Radioactive Waste Management (the "Northwest Compact") lacks authority over
EnergySolutions' Clive, Utah facility.
"This action is intended to clarify whether the Northwest Compact has
authority to restrict or control the operations of our Clive facility, and
therefore prohibit the company from undertaking an important international
project," said Steve Creamer, CEO of EnergySolutions.
The Northwest Compact is a regional entity comprised of eight States,
including Utah. EnergySolutions contends that, because Clive is a private
commercial facility rather than a regional facility licensed and operated
under the Northwest Compact, the Compact's authority is limited to matters
pertaining to its own regional low-level waste disposal facility located in
Richland, Washington.
EnergySolutions also announced that it has offered to self-impose a limit
on international material equal to 5 percent of the remaining capacity at
its Clive disposal facility.
"Although we believe the law allows us to import unlimited amounts of
international material that meet the Nuclear Regulatory Commission import
license requirements, we have offered this limit to ensure that we have
more than ample capacity to serve the low-level radioactive waste disposal
needs for the operation and eventual decommissioning of all 104 nuclear
reactors in the United States, as well as to meet the needs of all current
and future U.S. customers," said Creamer.
Creamer emphasized that the international material under consideration is
the same kind of material that the company has received at its Clive
facility from U.S. and international customers for nearly 20 years.
"We are talking about a very small amount of Class A low-level material
that would be disposed after recycling and processing metal, paper,
plastics and resins from the decommissioning of nuclear facilities," said
Creamer. "We are not importing any spent fuel or any high-level waste, all
of which has been or is being exported from Italy to France or the United
Kingdom for recycling. In fact, over 99 percent of the radioactivity
associated with this project will remain in Europe."
Creamer noted that international shipments of radioactive material occur
every day, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has authorized similar
recycling and disposal projects in the past.
"EnergySolutions offers the best technologies and facilities for the safe
dismantling and decontamination of retired nuclear power plants, which is
essential to the development of new nuclear power generation facilities,"
said Creamer. "Our services and facilities support greater global
utilization of safe, clean and reliable nuclear energy -- which is critical
in addressing issues of energy security and global warming."
Mr. Creamer emphasized that energy security and global warming are
worldwide problems. Safe, clean and reliable nuclear energy will enable
the United States and the rest of the world to reduce its reliance on
high-carbon-emitting and non-renewable resources. All countries, including
the United States, must be willing to provide technical solutions to
resolve the worldwide energy crisis and protect the environment.
EnergySolutions is committed to this cause.
In filing the declaratory judgment action, Creamer said that the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission possesses the scientific and technical expertise to
evaluate import license applications pursuant to the regulatory criteria.
Specifically, the court action seeks declarations that:
-- The Northwest Compact does not have regulatory authority over the
Clive facility, which is a private commercial facility rather than a
regional facility created by the Compact.
-- The U.S. Constitution does not allow the Northwest Compact to
discriminate between identical domestic and foreign materials handled at
the Clive facility.
-- Any effort by the Northwest Compact to restrict receipt of
international LLRW is preempted by federal statutes and regulations.
EnergySolutions offers customers a full range of integrated services and
solutions, including recycling, environmental restoration, decommissioning,
disposal, fuel management, transportation, and research and engineering
services across the fuel cycle.
Statements in this news release regarding future financial and operating
results and any other statements about the company's future expectations,
beliefs or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. There are a number of important factors that could cause
actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such
forward-looking statements, including economic conditions generally.
Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results
and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in the company's Form S-1
filed with the Securities Exchange Commission.
Contact Information: For more information, please contact:
Mark Walker
(801) 231-9194
www.EnergySolutions.com