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Creation of nuclear clean up body
24/06/2003
An agency is to be established to oversee the clean up of
civil nuclear sites.
Environment Minister Ross Finnie today confirmed that the
Scottish Executive would work with Westminster to establish the
UK wide body.
The creation of a Nuclear Decommissioning Agency (NDA) is
provided for in draft legislation published today.
The NDA will own and be responsible for the clean up of
installations currently managed by British Nuclear Fuels
Limited (BNFL) at Hunterston A and Chapelcross, and the United
Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) at Dounreay.
In addition to establishing the statutory framework for the
NDA, the draft Nuclear Sites And Radioactive Substance
Bill:
- facilitates the introduction of competition in order to
ensure the best possible skills are brought to bear on the
task and are being used to best effect;
- provides for the transfer of assets and liabilities to
the NDA;
- sets out a list of statutory consultees;
- provides the necessary authority for the NDA to carry
out functions that support the clean up programme
including;
- Carrying out research
- Education and training
- Supporting the social and economic development
of local communities
- Raising the profile of clean up; and
- delivers statutory means for protecting the pensions
position of employees
Confirming the Executive's role in establishing the new
body, Mr Finnie said:
"The clean up of our nuclear legacy is one of the most
important challenges we face. Following our collaboration on
the White Paper,
Managing the Nuclear Legacy, we have been working
closely with the UK Government to take forward proposals on
creating a body to deal safely, securely and cost effectively
with that legacy.
"The scale of work, estimated at £48 billion across the UK,
requires a single strategic body that can draw on the expertise
of Britain's civil nuclear engineering sector. Its work will
cover both reserved issues (the management of nuclear sites)
and devolved functions (management of nuclear waste).
"The NDA will not be responsible for reviewing options on
waste management. That work will be carried out by the
Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, currently being
established.
"The Scottish Executive will continue to work closely with
Westminster colleagues to ensure full accountability. The
agency will operate openly and transparently and we will ensure
that it consults with a wide range of stakeholders in the
operation of its work.
"We want to see a body that can draw on and bring together
decades of expertise generated through the operation of and
research at nuclear sites - whether that is through the public
sector in the shape of UKAEA and BNFL or elsewhere.
"The NDA will be the first decommissioning authority of its
kind in Europe and as such is well placed to become a world
leader in the processes and technologies of
decommissioning."
Introducing the draft bill, Energy Minister Stephen Timms,
said:
"The completion of the clean up programme may well take over
a hundred years but we have to grasp the nettle now and this
draft legislation is a major step towards dealing with the
challenges ahead."
The draft bill is published in conjunction with explanatory
notes, a draft Memorandum of Understanding between the NDA and
the Regulators and a draft Management Statement. The closing
date for comments on the draft documents is Tuesday 16
September 2003.
If, following the consultation process, Scottish provisions
on devolved matters, (covering the accountability of the NDA to
Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament and amendments
to radioactive substances legislation),are included in the Bill
which is introduced at Westminster, a further Memorandum will
be submitted and the Scottish Parliament will be invited to
agree by means of a Sewel motion that the UK Parliament should
consider these provisions.
The UK Government announced its intention to radically
change its arrangements for nuclear clean up in the White Paper
Managing the Nuclear Legacy - a strategy for action,
published in July 2002. The white paper, prepared with the full
involvement of the Scottish Executive and the other devolved
administrations, set out proposals for a new authority to deal
initially with the historic liabilities already funded by the
taxpayer, which represent 85% of the total UK nuclear
liabilities.
Subject to the agreement of the Scottish Parliament, the NDA
will have functions which relate to both reserved and devolved
matters and so will be similar to cross border authorities
designated under the terms of the Scotland Act 1998. Amendments
will be made to the draft Bill prior to introduction to reflect
this and the responsibilities which the Scottish Ministers will
have in relation to the operation of the NDA. Amendments will
also be made to ensure accountability, where appropriate, to
the Scottish Parliament as well as to Westminster. The draft
bill and accompanying documents should be read against this
background.
The NDA will be responsible for the clean up of the nuclear
installations currently managed by BNFL and the UK Atomic
Energy Authority (UKAEA). Those managed by UKAEA include:
Dounreay, Windscale, Harwell and Winfrith. The installations
managed by BNFL - the Magnox stations - are: Wylfa, Oldbury,
Sizewell A, Dungeness A, Hinkley Point A, Bradwell, Hunterston
A, Trawsfynydd, Berkeley and Chapelcross.
It is anticipated the NDA will be operational by April
2005.
At 31 March 2002 the total estimated undiscounted cost was
£47.9 billion. This expenditure will cover the decommissioning
and eventual demolition of irradiated plant and buildings; the
processing, storage and final disposal of nuclear wastes; and
carrying out any necessary environmental restoration. Annual
expenditure is expected to be well over £1 billion in each of
the next 10-15 years.
Once the NDA is operational, it will put site management
responsibilities on a proper contractual basis, with
appropriate performance targets and incentives. Contracts will
be placed initially with BNFL and UKAEA but, over time,
contracts could be placed with third parties following
competitive tenders. Any change in site management arrangements
would be made only after full consultation with the nuclear
regulators and local stakeholders.