FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kellyn Harrison, Press Secretary
kellyn.harrison@iga.in.gov
317-232-9498
STATEHOUSE (Dec. 8, 2022) — State Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford) has been appointed by the Chair of the Midwestern Legislative Conference (MLC), Kansas State Sen. Carolyn McGinn, to The Council of State Governments (CSG) Midwestern Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (MRMTC).
Since 1990, the MRMTC has brought states together to identify and work to resolve regional issues related to shipments of radioactive waste and material conducted by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The MRMTC works closely with the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy on planning for the integrated waste management system to safely and securely transport, store and dispose of commercially spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste.
The committee’s goal is to ensure that DOE’s shipments of radioactive waste and materials are conducted safely and securely, following all state and federal requirements while also adhering to what the states have recommended as “best practices.” To achieve this goal, the MRMTC works closely with the DOE offices that ship and receive the material, other federal agencies with regulatory authority over shipments, and states in other regions affected by shipment.
The MRMTC originally focused on shipments planned by the DOE Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management; however, since 1998, MRMTC has also worked with the DOE Office of Environmental Management on waste shipments related to the cleanup of facilities used to research and manufacture nuclear weapons during the Cold War era.
The committee is composed of 24 members representing 12 Midwestern states including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Twelve seats are for executive agency officials appointed by Midwestern governors and 12 are for legislators appointed by the chair of the MLC.
For more information about the MRMTC visit csgmidwest.org/about-us/mrmtp/mrmtc/.
Koch, chairman of the Senate Committee on Utilities, serves as co-chairman of the Energy Supply Task Force of the National Conference of State Legislatures, serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Council on Electricity Policy and holds a graduate certificate in Energy Policy Planning from the University of Idaho. He serves Senate District 44, which includes all or parts of Brown, Jackson, Lawrence, Orange and Monroe counties. He also serves on the Senate Committees on Commerce and Technology, Corrections and Criminal Law, and Judiciary. Koch can be reached via email at Senator.Koch@iga.in.gov or by phone at 800-382-9467.
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