The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in July spent another $5,861 from its Nuclear Waste Fund balance, according to its latest report to Congress.
The spending was similar in both amount and type to costs listed in agency reports filed in recent months. That was topped by $4,315 for a February meeting of the Licensing Support Network Advisory Review Panel and data collection for locations for hearings in the potential resumption of the adjudication of the Department of Energy license application for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.
The remaining $1,546 was listed for unidentified support costs chargeable to the Nuclear Waste Fund, specifically $825 for program planning and support and $721 for support and advice in NRC proceedings.
The Nuclear Waste Fund was established under the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act to pay for licensing and eventual construction and operation of a permanent repository for spent reactor fuel from U.S. commercial nuclear power reactors and high-level federal defense waste. Nuclear utilities to 2013 paid into the fund, which as of fiscal 2017 held just shy of $38 billion, according to a recent DOE accounting.
The Obama administration halted licensing for Yucca Mountain in 2010, but a federal appeals court in 2013 ordered the NRC to resume the proceeding. As of July, it had spent nearly $13.1 million of the $13.5 million available from the fund as of August 2013. The largest chunk of that, $8.4 million, was spent on completion of a safety evaluation report for the project. That was followed by $1.6 million for a supplement to the environmental impact statement for the license application.]
The NRC’s total unspent balance from the fund was $479,123. Its unexpended, unobligated balance was $449,202.
Agency leaders have acknowledged they would need congressional appropriations to actually resume adjudication of the DOE application. While the Trump administration has tried to restart the process, with backing from the House, the Senate has blocked every attempt to fund the project.
