Nevada lawmakers and a Republican congressman have introduced dueling bills concerning federal plans for permanent storage of U.S. nuclear waste.
The Obama administration in 2009 canceled the planned Yucca Mountain geologic repository in Nevada, pursuing instead a plan for separate storage facilities for commercial and defense waste. The administration in December unveiled a draft plan for the defense waste repository.
Congress, particularly members of the House of Representatives, have continued to favor reviving the Yucca Mountain project — though that enthusiasm largely did not extend to the Nevada delegation.
Reps. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) on Wednesday introduced the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act, which would allow NRC authorization of a nuclear waste repository only if the government secures written consent from the governor of the host state, along with affected governments and tribes. The bill also was introduced in the 114th Congress, and Sens. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.) have introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
“Today we send a clear message to the next administration and those in Congress who have long-championed the Yucca Mountain project that the State of Nevada remains opposed to nuclear waste storage within our borders,” Titus said in a statement. “No state or community should have a nuclear waste dump forced upon them. This bipartisan, bicameral, commonsense legislation gives voice to those most affected while creating a process to address the nation’s nuclear waste concerns.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) introduced the Sensible Nuclear Waste Disposition Act, which would bar the Energy Department from building a new defense waste repository until the NRC has issued a licensing decision on Yucca Mountain.
Wilson said in a statement Wednesday: “The federal government has dedicated enormous resources to completing the nuclear storage facility at Yucca Mountain. However, the Obama Administration has tried to do everything in its power to stall the completion of the facility, holding up construction under political red tape—the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s own safety evaluation has found that Yucca Mountain far exceeds the regulatory standards and would not be a threat to the local population of Nevada.”