The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has about $1.7 million in remaining unobligated funds from the Nuclear Waste Fund, according to the agency’s most recent numbers.
This money represents NRC funding for the license application review of the national repository planned at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The numbers were included in a March 17 letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), which was released publicly late last week. The $1.7 million amount represents the remaining balance as of Feb. 29.
In August 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit directed NRC to “promptly continue with the legally mandated licensing process” for the Department of Energy’s application to construct a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. According to the latest financial report, NRC has spent $11.3 million on the effort since the court decision. The agency is expected to spend the remaining funds on the supplemental environmental impact statement for a groundwater study at Yucca, expected this spring, and the publication of Yucca licensing documents.
