The Department issued an Invitation for Public Comment on December 23, 2015 and held a kickoff meeting in January 2016 requesting feedback from communities, states, Tribal Nations, and other interested stakeholders on elements to consider in the design of a consent-based siting process. From March through July, the Department hosted a series of eight public meetings across the United States in order to engage with citizens at a national level and discuss the development of a consent-based approach to siting nuclear waste facilities. Comments received through the Invitation for Public Comment and eight public meetings are summarized in the report below, titled Designing a Consent-Based Siting Process: Summary of Public Input.
The purpose of this report is to summarize the major themes that emerged from the regional public meetings, from other interactions with stakeholders at meetings and conferences, and from responses to the Invitation for Public Comment. The report also attempts to reflect the breadth and diversity of views expressed and topics identified to date by meeting participants and commenters.
The Department previously issued this report in draft form (also included below) and invited the public to provide comments on the draft report. To finalize the report, the Department considered all comments received on the draft. The comment period ended on October 30, 2016. The responses we received are also included below.
Ideas captured in this report and through other forms of engagement with the public and interested stakeholders will aid DOE in developing a draft consent-based siting process.
