NRC Plans Yucca SER Volume Three Release This Week

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to release as early as Thursday the highly anticipated third volume of the Yucca Mountain Safety Evaluation Report, Weapons Complex Morning Briefing has learned. Volume Three, which is a review of repository safety after closure, has been the focus of pro-Yucca lawmakers since the project was deemed “unworkable” by the Department of Energy in 2010. Republicans have argued that this report would prove the robustness of the site and its ability to safely store waste for millions of years. Although the findings of the SER are not known at this time, it is expected, according to industry officials, to correspond with the original Volume Three findings that the NRC provided to Senate and House Energy Committee leadership. Those copies were complete, but did not go through a final review before then-Chairman Gregory Jackzo ended all NRC licensing activities related to Yucca Mountain. The NRC will brief Senate staff on the findings of the report on Thursday, Morning Briefing has learned. The NRC did not respond to calls for comment.

 

The NRC issued an Order last November setting the path forward on re-starting the Yucca Mountain licensing review in order to comply with the writ of mandamus from the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that compelled the Commission to use the existing funds appropriated for the licensing review. A major part of the Order included the completion of the SERs as well as the need for another supplemental environmental impact statement from the Department of Energy concerning groundwater issues. According to NRC Chair Allison Macfarlane, all five volumes of the SER are anticipated to be completed by January 2015.