Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Tue, Mar 24 1992 Date: Tue, 24 Mar 92 05:43:45 EST Message-ID: 03-24 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update March 24, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network FERNALD CLEANUP TO COST $10B: Energy Secretary James Watkins said Monday cleaning up the former uranium plant at Fernald may top $10 billion during the next 20 to 30 years, the highest and longest range estimate to date. The figure was included in a press release in which he announced he has established a new field office at the plant 20 miles northwest of Cincinnati. The office will report directly to Washington. (For more, see special Fernald package below.) OIL PRICES UP: Crude oil futures prices settled higher in slack trading as the market recovered somewhat after last week's selloff. Light sweet crude for delivery in May rose 4 cents to settle at $19.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Lower-grade sour crude for delivery in May settled at $16.38 a barrel, up 9 cents. REFINED PRODUCTS ADVANCE: Contracts for refined products settled higher at the New York Merc Monday. Home heating oil for delivery in April settled at 53.54 cents a gallon, up 0.25 cent on the Merc. Unleaded gasoline for April delivery settled at 57.76 cents, a gain of 0.28 cent a gallon. Natural gas for delivery in April settled at $1.346 per 1,000 cubic feet, up 7.8 cents from the previous session. ATTEMPT TO BLOCK WASTE REJECTED: Idaho's attempt to use its clean-air laws to block shipment of nuclear waste from a closed power plant in Colorado was rejected Monday by 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The court ruled 3-0 that Idaho pollution laws only cover pollutants accessible to the general public, but don't include wastes contained in buildings. NPRC LOBBIES AGAINST MINING LAW: Activists from the Northern Plains Resources Council, Billings, Mont., trudged Capitol Hill hallways Monday, asking lawmakers to change the 1872 Mining Law that gives mining companies low-cost access to public lands. The group seeks to expand the public's role in reviewing mining applications involving public lands, and to integrate the restrictions of modern environmental laws. CHRYSLER TO SELL NAT. GAS VANS: Chrysler Corp. this month will begin selling full-sized vans that run exclusively on compressed natural gas, the automaker says. The first 50 vans will be delivered to a California fleet March 31, and Chrysler said it plans to sell 2,500 of them annually. The company also asked energy suppliers to prepare infrastructures to make methanol, natural gas and electricity more accessible. AGENCY RUNNING OUT OF CASH: Tougher smog rules are helping clean the air in Southern California but they are reducing revenues for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Officials are expecting $6 million less than last year in emission fees, which make up 35% of the District's budget. The California Clean Air Act mandates a 5% cut in emissions yearly. By 1997, fees will have fallen 50% since 1987. RUSSIANS TO VIEW NUKE BLAST: U.S. officials said Monday that Russian scientists will be on hand Wednesday for detonation of a U.S. nuclear weapon - classified among the biggest allowed under existing treaties - at a test range near Las Vegas. SALT RIVER CALLS IN BONDS: The Salt River Project is looking for owners of its electric system revenue bonds that were called on March 5. The bonds are being redeemed prior to their maturity date because SRP has taken advantage of low interest rates to refinance some of its debt. The bonds stopped accruing interest March 5. Mark B. Bonsall of SRP said owners should redeem their bonds immediately. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON FERNALD: CONTRACT UNDER REVIEW: The establishment of a field office at Fernald signals its unique status in the network of 17 nuclear weapons plants in 13 states. Fernald is the first of them to be converted completely to environmental restoration. The Department of Energy will hire a firm to solely manage cleanup. DOE is reviewing bids for the five-year, $3 billion to $5 billion contract it hopes to award by June. SOIL, GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATED: From 1953 to 1989, Fernald produced uranium metal for use in reactors at other DOE plants that made plutonium and tritium. It also generated tons of hazardous waste and enough radioactive waste to fill a 16-story building with the dimensions of a football field, DOE said. The wastes, which have contaminated the ground water, soil and buildings, are stored in 55-gallon drums and silos. ESTIMATE HAS DOUBLED IN 4 YEARS: The $10 billion cleanup figure out Monday is the first time since 1988 that DOE has provided a total cost estimate for Fernald. And it is double the $5 billion that the department said four years ago it would need to cleanup the site. In 1989, DOE began issuing a five-year cleanup plan every year. The latest plan, made public last September, said Fernald needed $2.9 billion just through 1997. (End of package.) Energy Editor: William Snoddy. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM