Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced a bill late last week that would require the president to certify that Yucca Mountain remains the designated site for a high-level radioactive waste repository. The bill, cosponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), would amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to require the president within 30 days of the bill’s passage to publish a notice stating that the Yucca Mountain site is the official nuclear waste and spent fuel repository. If the president fails to publish such a certification, the Department of Energy would need to return the money that utilities have paid into the Nuclear Waste Fund. The bill would also require the Department to begin transporting defense waste to Yucca Mountain by the start of 2017. Graham’s legislation was referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
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