Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee reiterated their support for a major nuclear-waste policy bill Tuesday, despite misgivings that the measure might delay the day spent reactor fuel is moved away from the power plants that generated it.
If the the 45-page Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 became law, it would smooth the way for the Department of Energy to build a permanent nuclear waste disposal site at Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev. The bill — spearheaded by Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) — would also allow DOE to contract with a private company to build an interim waste-storage site where spent nuclear fuel from commercial power plants could be consolidated while awaiting final disposal at Yucca.
However, the bill would forbid DOE from actually storing waste in an interim facility until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approves or disapproves DOE’s application to build Yucca — something experts estimate could take two to five years.
“[W]e remain concerned that any provisions addressing Yucca Mountain greatly narrow the legislation’s path to enactment, thus hindering efforts to address more immediate and pressing needs for interim storage,” committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and environment subcommittee Ranking Member Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) wrote in a 117-page report published Tuesday and appended to the Shimkus legislation.
Still, the two lawmakers said the bill was overall “a balanced step in the right direction that will benefit ratepayers, taxpayers and those living near nuclear facilities housing nuclear waste.”
The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 sailed through the Energy and Commerce Committee on a broadly bipartisan vote of 49-4 on June 28.
Shimkus’ bill has not yet been scheduled for a floor vote in the House, but it has crept steadily closer to an up-or-down decision throughout October. With the bill report released, the underlying proposal could make it to the floor as soon as the House Rules Committee sets the rules for debate.
The Senate, meanwhile, is hesitant to fund the project, despite the departure this year from the upper chamber of anti-Yucca crusader-in-chief Harry Reid (D-Nev.). A 2018 DOE funding bill that passed the Senate Appropriations Committee in July contained no funding for Yucca. The Donald Trump administration has requested $150 million for licensing in its fiscal 2018 budget, which a House appropriations bill would provide.
Nevada’s entire congressional delegation, like the government of its members’ home state, is bitterly opposed to Yucca Mountain generally, and to Shimkus’ bill in particular.
Meanwhile, the nuclear industry this week issued a clear reminder of its priorities, trumpeting full-throated endorsement for Yucca Mountain in letters to the leaders of the House and Senate.
In the letters, dated Oct. 23 and published online by the ad-hoc Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition, six executives representing utilities and nuclear industry interest groups insisted that Congress in 2018 fund completion of the Yucca Mountain licensing review; implementation of pilot consolidated interim storage with priority for stranded reactor fuel; and preparation for transportation of spent nuclear fuel and defense high-level waste.
“DOE has consistently failed to meet these obligations, harming electric consumers served by nuclear-generating utilities as well as all U.S. taxpayers,” the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition wrote.
Those who signed the letter are:
- Robert Coward, president of the American Nuclear Society and principal officer of MPR Associates.
- Wayne Norton, chair of the Decommissioning Plant Coalition Steering Committee and president and chief executive officer of Yankee Atomic Electric Co.
- John Betkoski, president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and vice chairman of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
- Maria Korsnick, president and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute.
- David Blee, executive director of the U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council.
- Sarah Hofmann, chair of the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition and commissioner of the Vermont Public Utility Commission.
In a telephone interview Friday, Bob Capstick, director of government affairs for Yankee Atomic Electric Co., said Shimkus’ bill is a start, and that the company supports its passage. However, “we’d like to see some further changes” he added.
For one thing, Capstick said, Yankee is concerned the bill would not let DOE move waste to an interim storage facility until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules on Yucca. Yankee would rather see DOE start work on an interim storage site immediately.
“We would be able to see provisions more along the lines of the Senate bill,” Capstick said, referring to the DOE budget the Senate Appropriations Committee approved this summer. If signed into law, the measure would direct DOE to partner with a private company and start work on an interim storage site somewhere where locals consented to host nuclear waste.
