Glitches hamper radiation warning system in California

The federal government’s radiation alert network in California is not fully functional, leaving the stretch of coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco without the crucial realtime warning system in the event of a nuclear sensors - including the 3 closest to the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant near San Luis Obispo - are sending data with “anomalies” to the agency’s laboratory in Montgomery, Alabama, said the EPA’s radiation program manager. The problem delays from 30 minutes to several hours the updating of a database critical for warning the federal RadNet system "designed to protect the public by notifying scientists, in action is required," EPA said. Without immediate information from RadNet, state and local emergency managers would be dependent on the private owners of nuclear power source. At the outset of the Japanese crisis, environmentalists noticed a map on EPA’s half were “running.” Most of the others were producing data “undergoing quality review.” The Web site has since been updated to say data from the problematic monitors "is being reviewed at EPA’s National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory" and that sensors are still collecting data. A spokesman said the data, transmitted via satellite to the Alabama lab every hour, arrive with problems that mean it cannot be added to the database automatically. Instead, a staff member has to manually review the information, a process that can take up to several hours.

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first published week of:   03/28/2011

GOP Energy Plan Takes Shape
EnergyBiz Leadership Forum 2011 Keynoter calls for 200 Nuclear Plants by 2050

An emerging group of Republican leaders in Congress are putting together the elements of a new energy plan to help define a new national energy policy.

Rep. Devin Nunes is emerging as one of the key architects of new Republican thinking on energy. His energy plan is getting attention, having been profiled in various national media outlets. With Washington in gridlock on energy, as on many other issues, the Obama administration and Democrats are waiting for the Republican positions to clarify so negotiations may begin, Nunes will speak about the Republican energy principles in a keynote address at the EnergyBiz Leadership Forum in Washington, Feb. 28 - March 1. He recently outlined his approach to energy in a commentary written for the current issue of EnergyBiz magazine. An edited version follows:

For more than half a century, the United States has had access to abundant, reliable and affordable energy needed for America to create the largest and most dynamic economy in the world. However, our great legacy and the promise of future achievements cannot be taken for granted. With half of our annual trade deficit related to energy and 70 percent of our oil coming from foreign sources, we have become dangerously dependent on unstable foreign governments.  This tenuous situation must end and it is time for Congress to enact major reforms.

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first published week of:   01/24/2011

Grand Canyon uranium mining ban proposed

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has recommended a 20–year ban on new uranium mining claims on federal land near the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Published October 27, the recommendation would allow mining to continue on any existing claim in the region, but would stop all new claims on more than 1 million acres of federal land, Cronkite News reported. While the bureau said the ban is necessary so it can study the impact of uranium mining bids on the Grand Canyon watershed, opponents denounced it, saying it was based on politics. “There is nothing in the draft that would support the withdrawal,” said a representative of the Northern Arizona Uranium Project, a uranium exploration company. Supporters called the ban a benefit for Arizona and its residents. A raw–mining ban would reduce the possibility of contamination of ground and surface water, which would benefit agriculture and the general public, the owner of the High Castle Ranch in Wilhoit said. The recommendation is subject to a 30–day public comment period after which the U.S. Interior Secretary will make a final decision.

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first published week of:   10/31/2011

Greenwich, Connecticut to pay penalty and fix wastewater infrastructure

Under a settlement between the United States, state of Connecticut, and the town of Greenwich, the town will pay a $200,000 penalty and rehabilitate a critical wastewater collection system that serves three of the town's major wastewater pump stations. The agreement settles allegations of Clean Water Act violations by the town stemming from two major ruptures of the sewage system. On October 14, 2005, the town's Old Greenwich Common Force Main ruptured and released 14.5 million gallons of raw sewage into the Cos Cob Harbor, a tributary to the Long Island Sound. The same force main ruptured again December 16, 2008, releasing 28 million gallons of raw sewage into Cos Cob Harbor. Under the settlement lodged in federal district court in Hartford April 27, in addition to paying a $200,000 penalty to be split equally between the federal and state governments, the town will replace the section of the force main which previously failed. The town will also evaluate the need to replace other sections of the force main that have not been replaced in the past. In the event another rupture to the force main occurs, the agreement requires the town to pay additional penalties and replace some or all of the older sections of the force main — depending on the circumstances of the rupture.

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first published week of:   05/02/2011

Hackers Worming Way into Utilities

As electric power companies are modernizing their products and processes they will want to turn more of their attention to protecting their vital assets from cyber attacks. The folks who track such things are saying that while the threats are rising, the defenses to prevent them are not.

Most cyber attacks are going unnoticed because they are only affecting a small number of companies that must deal with the fallout. It is only those widespread assaults that are making the news — such as the Stuxnet virus allegedly sent by the United States and Israeli governments that is reported to have to have set back the Iranian nuclear program. Governments using those worms and viruses to go after their adversaries are one thing. But criminals using them to extort money from businesses such as utilities are another.

“The right questions that an executive needs to be asking are what is being done to lock down the critical assets and what is being done to lock down the control system environment,” says Pamela Warren, McAfee’s cybercrime strategist, in a telephone interview.

Cyber criminals are after data, or proprietary corporate information. That includes intellectual property, potential acquisitions and business intelligence, adds Dave Marcus, director of McAfee’s security research, in the same phone call. ““t’’s done for financial reasons or to get an edge up on competitors.”

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first published week of:   11/07/2011

High Court Hearing Global Warming Case

For the second time in four years, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case involving global warming. The question before those justices now is whether the states can sue utilities to reduce their carbon emissions or whether that is a matter that should be left solely to policymakers. 

Utilities are arguing that such environmental matters should be decided those who craft laws -- not those who decide them. Environmentalists, on the other hand, counter that the courts are routinely used to determine whether a “public nuisance” is created under current pollution laws.   

Those activists also point out that if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should act by requiring true reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, then there would be no need to seek any relief through the court system. When the suit was filed in 2004, there was little chance of a political resolution. Even during the Obama years, the movement has been inconsequential, they say. 

For its part, the Obama administration is put in the awkward position of siding with the utilities. It, too, wants elected officials and regulatory bodies to choose how best to reduce carbon emissions. Still, Obama’s team knows that either way, utilities are under more heat to reduce their carbon emissions. 

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first published week of:   04/25/2011

Volume 31

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