Cumbria County Council : Communications : MRWS : Managing Radioactive Waste Safely

Should Cumbria County Council ‘express an interest’ in the Government’s programme to develop a facility for geological disposal of higher level radioactive wastes?

The County Council is considering whether it should make a without commitment ‘expression of interest’ in the Government’s Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) programme to site a facility for the deep geological disposal of higher level radioactive wastes.

A short summary of the MRWS programme is available below together with a copy of a slide presentation about the programme. Full details can be found at: www.defra.gov.uk/mrws (external link)

To inform a decision about whether to make an ‘expression of interest’ the County Council has circulated a letter to local partners and key stakeholders. This letter is copied below. It contains an annex listing all the organisations that have been contacted. By contacting key stakeholders and local partners the County Council is following the Government advice for Stage 1 of MRWS. A summary of the 6 Stages of MRWS is copied below.

The County Council will consider responses to the ‘partners’ letter and summarise these in a report to the County Cabinet meeting on 4 November 2008. From there a report will go to the full County Council meeting on 20 November where a decision about any further engagement with the MRWS programme will be made.

This is not a formal consultation. A formal consultation on whether to participate in the MRWS programme will follow if the County Council decides to ‘express interest’ and progresses to stages 2 and 3 of MRWS. Before the formal consultation (Stage 3) the British Geological Survey would carry out an initial (Stage 2) ‘screening’ of areas that might be considered in a geological disposal facility site selection process. This ‘high level’ screening is designed to rule out unsuitable geologies at a very early stage. The DEFRA website says much more about this.

Whilst contacting key stakeholders and local partners the County Council welcomes views from all quarters on this important matter. If you have views that you would like the County Council to take into account at this stage then please forward them to the address below by 14 October 2008. All views will be summarised and reported to the County Council’s Cabinet and Full Council in November.

Stewart Kemp
Nuclear Issues Manager
CumbriaCounty Council
County Offices
Kendal LA9 4RQ