JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: NRC FUNDS NOT ENOUGH TO COMPLETE YUCCA LICENSING

The Department of Justice is supporting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s position in a petition to force the NRC to restart the Yucca Mountain licensing process. A DOJ filing released Friday argues that the $10 million NRC currently has for licensing is not enough for the agency to complete its review, and that general appropriations cannot be used to fund Yucca Mountain licensing. “Although it is theoretically possible that Congress could appropriate additional funds to allow the licensing proceeding to continue after the $10 million is expended, the theoretical possibility of that deus ex machina ending is insufficient reason to compel the NRC to throw good money after bad,” the filing states. Judges in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit deciding the mandamus opinion requested DOJ’s opinion following oral arguments in the case in April. Judges are expected to decide whether to grant the petition by this fall.