Clinch River MRS Task Force: Position on the Proposed Monitored Retrievable Storage Facility

The Clinch River MRS Task Force was appointed in July 1985 by the Roane County Executive and the Oak Ridge City Council to evaluate the Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) facility proposed by the Department of Energy to be constructed in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge. After several months of study, numerous public meetings, site visits to relevant facilities, and careful evaluation of the integrated MRS concept, it is the considered opinion of the Task Force that the facility could be safely built and operated in Roane County/Oak Ridge. However, a MRS facility constructed in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge could not be generally perceived as being safe by the citizens of Roane County and Oak Ridge unless the recommendations of the Task Force are prescribed to be implemented by the MRS authorizing legislation. Moreover, unless the listed concerns are addressed and impacts mitigated, the MRS would not be seen as providing net economic benefit to the local communities, region, and state. Provided DOE is required by Congress to comply with stringent, but reasonable, conditions recommended by the Task Force, the group finds that the HRS facility could be made acceptable to the communities of Roane County and Oak Ridge. The Roane County Commission, Oak Ridge City Council, State of Tennessee, United States Department of Energy, and Congress of the United States are requested to adopt the recommendations of the Clinch River MRS Task Force.