NO NEW NUKES! GET RID OF THE OLD!

Submit your comments to the Department of Energy (DoE)before April 10!

In 2007 Congress refused to fund Complex 2030, which would have rebuilt the entire U.S. nuclear weapons production complex in preparation for developing the so called Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). Congress also refused the requested funding for research and development of the RRW.

Now it is all back in new form as Complex Transformation. Required public hearings on environmental impact (SPEIS)are now underway. Read the WILPF statement here, submitted to the DoE on March 25 at the Public Hearing in Washington D.C.

Then send your own comments by mail or email to the Department of Energy before April 10! (Details on background and where to send comments are below)

And send your comments as well to your own Congressional delegation. We need Congress to again reject this dangerous multi-billion dollar boondoggle for military contractors that defies the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and can only lead to further global destabilization, a renewed nuclear arms race and actual use of nuclear weapons. It is past time for abolition and we must continue pressing for practical steps in that direction, like ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

BACKGROUND and talking points:

This is not only a multi-billion boondoggle for major military contractors. It defies the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty It is time to work toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, not build more! You can use the WILPF statement, if you wish, for background and talking points, or explore other sources before composing your own.The WILPF statement cites some of the environmental hazards, and emphasizes nuclear weapons abolition as the only sane alternative. It emphasizes our obligations under the NPT to work for nuclear weapons abolition and outlines the thirteen practical steps toward abolition (which 187 nations, including the U.S., agreed to take in 2000). It caslls for a return to these stepsFeel free to draw on the statement for talking points, or use others of your own. And why not send a copy of your comments to your Congressional delegation?

You can find a basic fact sheet on Complex Transformation on FCNL web pages. You can draw from the WILPF statement , if you wish, for talking points, or refer to other sources before composing your own. The WILPF statement notes some of the many environmental hazards (especially its reliance on the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership [GNEP] which would bring transport large quantities of additional waste to already dangerously contaminated sites, and on the continuing illegal use of Native American lands). The major emphasis, however, is on the sane alternative to more nuclear weapons production: return to compliance with the NPT and progress toward abolition as promised in the 13 practical steps agreed to by 187 nations (including the U.S.) in 2000. These thirteen steps, beginning with ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, have been too little publicized or discussed in Congress or our media and have not figured in the election debates.

Find more information on web pages of Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) including additional talking points and where to your comments, as well as the complete DoE report to the Environmental Protection Agency on impact of the project on the environment. We'd like to see you write your own letters fromt he heart, but you can also find background information and facilties for sending emailed or faxed comments on both WAND and FCNL. In any case, encourage your Branch and everyone you know to send comments before April 10. (Some Branches have also been tabling with post cards from Tri Valley Cares.)

COMMENTS:

Send your comments by letter or email before April 10 to:

Mr. Theodore A. Wyka
Complex Transformation SPEIS Document Manager
Office of Transformation, NA-10.1
Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington DC 20585

Email address: ComplexTransformation@nnsa.doe.gov