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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Getting back to yes: A local perspective on decommissioning, restart, and responsibility
For 45 years, Duane Arnold Energy Center operated in Linn County, Ia., near the town of Palo and just northwest of Cedar Rapids. The facility, owned by NextEra Energy, was the only nuclear power plant in the state.
In August 2020, a historic derecho swept across eastern Iowa with winds approaching 140 miles per hour. Damage to the plant’s cooling towers accelerated a shutdown that had already been planned, and the facility entered decommissioning soon after, with its fuel removed in October of that year. Iowa’s only nuclear plant had gone off line.
Today the national energy landscape looks very different than it did just six short years ago. Electricity demand is rising rapidly as data centers, artificial intelligence infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and electrification expand across the country. Reliable, carbon-free baseload power has become increasingly valuable. In that context, Linn County has approved the rezoning necessary to support the recommissioning and restart of Duane Arnold and is actively supporting NextEra’s efforts to secure the remaining state and federal approvals.
Technical Session|Panel|Sponsored by DESD
Wednesday, November 15, 2023|10:00–11:45AM EST|Georgetown East
Session Chair:
Mark Campagna (Consultant)
Alternate Chair:
Dustin Miller (Terranear PMC)
Session Organizer:
Leah Parks
This panel will examine new technologies being explored to address the impacts of uranium contamination on former mining and mill tailing sites in the southwest. The panel will cover the research and efforts to use technologies such as evapotranspiration covers, permeable reactive barriers, and in situ remediation. The panel will also provide updates and lessons learned on major sites undergoing remediation, including outreach efforts to inform Navajo communities about the risks that uranium mines pose, such as the recent Uranium 101 Workshop in Arizona.
Stephen Cohen
Environmental Restoration Group
Dariel Yazzie
Navajo Nation
Greyson Buckingham
Disa Technologies, Inc.
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Presentation Slides (Visible to Attendees) — Greyson Buckingham
Presentation Slides (Visible to Attendees) — Stephen Cohen
Presentation Slides (Visible to Attendees) — Dariel Yazzie
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