ECA open sessions at WMS to feature productive discussions on priority topics, spotlight DOE and community leadership

On Tuesday March 8 and Wednesday March 9, the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) will hold meeting sessions open to attendees of the Waste Management Symposium (WMS) in Phoenix, AZ.

The five, 100-minute panels will cover a range of priority topics for ECA communities and feature Department of Energy (DOE), contractor, and local community leadership perspectives.

On Tuesday, ECA's Director of Nuclear Energy Programs Kara Colton will kick off ECA's meetings as the moderator of a session on "The Path Forward for Consent-Based Siting of Nuclear Waste Facilities," which will discuss DOE's recent Request for Information on siting federal waste facilities using a consent-based model and the potential impacts to sites.

Rick McLeod, President/CEO of the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization and ECA member, will moderate the panel "Will it Save Billions? Defining High-Level Waste Based on Composition." This session will highlight what communities need to know about DOE’s interpretation of High-Level Waste and the practical implications for its application at sites.

Attendees of "The Future of Workforce Training: A Whole of DOE Approach" panel will hear from moderator Kristen Ellis, Senior Advisor for STEM and Talent Acquisition for DOE's Office of Environmental Management, and other panelists on the future of workforce training with a focus on STEM education.

Wednesday's meetings will start with a joint session hosted by ECA and the Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) on "Meeting Shared Goals on DOE Site Infrastructure and Resilience." ECA's Executive Director Seth Kirshenberg will lead the conversation between contractors, DOE, and local governments on how parties can best collaborate on shared infrastructure and resilience projects related to the cleanup mission. 

The last ECA session will be on "Agreeing on Risk in Cleanup in Frontline Communities: Challenges and Opportunities." Dylan Kama, ECA's Program Director, will moderate the discussion on how successful community engagement occurs in the cleanup program, including discussion on on-site vs. off-site storage, how cleanup levels are developed and the role various parties play (DOE, state, EPA, tribes, local governments, and communities), incorporating community vision for future use, and successes and lessons learned.

All WMS participants are invited and encouraged to attend ECA's sessions, and can look forward to productive discussions on the subjects described.