NRC STAFF TO MEET WITH DOE ON YUCCA EIS

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff announced that it will meet with the Department of Energy on April 7 to discuss DOE’s recent announcement that it would not complete the Yucca Mountain supplemental Environmental Impact Statement requested by the NRC to complete the licensing review. DOE is arguing that since it submitted a groundwater EIS in 2008, it does not have to update the EIS to fulfill its Nuclear Waste Policy Act legal obligations. The NRC issued an Order in November setting forth a pathway to re-start the Yucca Mountain licensing review, including the request for a supplemental EIS from DOE on groundwater issues to satisfy requirements set forth in the National Environmental Policy Act. The planned meeting is open to the public and will include a public comment period.