NRC Moves Forward With Yucca Supplemental EIS

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission officially will move forward with the supplemental Environmental Impact Statement needed for the Yucca Mountain license review, according to the Staff Related Memorandum released yesterday. NRC Chair Steven Burns had said last month the NRC would complete the EIS in the Department of Energy’s stead, but this SRM gives the Staff clear direction to move forward with completing the report. “The Commission has approved the staff’s recommendation to: (1) develop and issue the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) supplement; and (2) proceed with proposed safety evaluation report (SER) wrap-up activities,” the SRM said. “The Commission also approves the lessons learned activities for the SER, but as a lower priority than the other items.”

 

The Department of Energy originally said it would complete the EIS on groundwater issues early last year, but it later decided against completing the report, choosing to give the NRC all the technical information needed to complete it instead. DOE felt it needed to only provide the information to satisfy its legal responsibilities under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. It had originally been unclear if the NRC would complete the EIS instead. But Burns said last month that with the NRC’s approximately $4 million in Nuclear Waste Fund appropriations that are still unspent following the completion of the Yucca Safety Evaluation Report, the Commission should have enough funding to complete the report.