Yucca Mountain Repository

Nuclear waste management startup Deep Isolation intends to seal its first contract before the end of 2019, executives said recently. The deal is likely to be significantly more limited in scope than the Berkeley, Calif.-based company’s ultimate goal of drilling deep holes for storage or disposal of radioactive waste, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in May spent just $639 of its remaining balance from the federal fund for development, construction, and operation of a repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. “While there are no significant actions to report for the month, the NRC provided limited program planning and support activities that resulted in nominal […]

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) wants to give state governors a firm voice in the Department of Energy’s reinterpretation of the federal definition of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). In an amendment submitted to the lower chamber’s version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the House Armed Services Committee chairman proposed prohibiting any DOE […]

Leaders in the Nevada county where the federal government wants to build a nuclear waste repository on Wednesday criticized several key elements of legislation aimed at resolving the longstanding impasse over management of the radioactive material. “The Nye County Commission remains in support of the proposition that the Yucca Mountain licensing proceeding should be completed […]

By John Stang More than eight months after she was first nominated, Rita Baranwal was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday to lead the Department of Energy’s nuclear power and waste activities. There was no discussion ahead of the 86-5 vote on the Senate floor. Opposing Baranwal’s confirmation as assistant energy secretary for nuclear […]

The Democrat-led House of Representatives on Wednesday further cemented its newfound rejection of funding licensing for a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. In a 226-203 vote, the House approved a nearly $1 trillion “minibus” appropriations bill that would fund the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, respectively the applicant and adjudicator for […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in April spent $939 of its remaining balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a federal repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. The spending left the agency on April 30 with a $409,861 unspent, undedicated balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund, according to the latest report to Congress. […]

A House of Representatives committee on Tuesday turned back the latest legislative attempt to appropriate funds for licensing the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. A bipartisan group of five lawmakers proposed to provide $15 million via an amendment to H.R. 2740, a “minibus” funding bill for the upcoming 2020 federal fiscal year […]

By John Stang Discussion on whether a state’s consent is needed for it to host a major nuclear waste repository flared up and then went unresolved at a Thursday hearing in Congress. The session of the House Energy and Commerce environment and climate change subcommittee, called to discuss three bills on radioactive waste storage and […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in April spent $939 of its remaining balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a federal repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. The spending left the agency on April 30 with a $409,861 unspent, undedicated balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund, according to the latest report to Congress. […]

The draft version of the House of Representatives’ National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2020 would allow none of the $26 million the Department of Energy requested for defense nuclear waste disposal. The measure is in keeping with the lower chamber’s opposition, under the Democratic Party majority installed following the November 2018 midterm elections, to […]

The House Rules Committee on Tuesday turned back the latest legislative attempt to appropriate funds for licensing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. A bipartisan group of five lawmakers proposed to provide $15 million via an amendment to H.R. 2740, a “minibus” funding bill for fiscal 2020 encompassing several smaller measures already approved […]

A legal fight is considered likely over the Energy Department’s new interpretation of what material should be treated high-level radioactive waste, sources suggested this week. Not all waste resulting from reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel should be considered high-level, the DOE reaffirmed Wednesday. Going forward, the key question will be “how radioactive it is,” Undersecretary […]

Despite another burst of activity in Congress, it could be years or even decades more before the United States settles on a final strategy for disposal of its growing stockpile of nuclear waste, according to issue watchers. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are in 2019 again debating whether to restart the frozen licensing for the planned […]

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) on Wednesday placed blame squarely on Democrats for the ongoing freeze in licensing and then building a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. “The project boasts support in Nye County, where Yucca Mountain is located. So why hasn’t it moved forward? Politics,” Barrasso wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. […]

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) on Wednesday placed blame squarely on Democrats for the ongoing freeze in licensing and then building a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. “The project boasts support in Nye County, where Yucca Mountain is located. So why hasn’t it moved forward? Politics,” Barrasso wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. […]

The U.S. Senate is lining up a confirmation vote on the Trump administration’s nominee to lead the Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy. Rita Baranwal’s confirmation as assistant energy secretary for nuclear energy was listed on the Senate’s executive calendar for Friday. “That at a time to be determined by the Majority Leader in consultation […]

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is among a growing list of presidential candidates voicing clear opposition to disposal of nuclear waste under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “Trump is proposing to send our nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain,” Sanders tweeted on May 16. “That would be a disaster. We must stop building new nuclear power plants, and […]

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday turned back an effort to resume licensing of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository as it approved legislation to fund the Department of Energy and other agencies for fiscal 2020. In the late minutes of a seven-hour markup of two appropriations bills, the Democrat-led panel voted 25-27 against approving […]

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday turned back a proposal to resume licensing of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository as it approved legislation to fund the Department of Energy and other agencies for fiscal 2020. The panel voted 31-21 to report the $46.6 billion energy and water development appropriations bill to the full House. […]

The House Appropriations Committee this morning will resume the debate over funding licensing of a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. The fiscal 2020 energy and water development bill scheduled to be marked up in committee starting at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time zeroes out the White House request for roughly $150 million for licensing […]

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is among a growing list of presidential candidates voicing opposition to disposal of nuclear waste under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “Trump is proposing to send our nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain,” Sanders tweeted on May 16. “That would be a disaster. We must stop building new nuclear power plants, and find […]

The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled Tuesday to consider an energy and water funding bill that, for the first time in years, provides no money to resume federal licensing of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Instead, the legislation would offer an unspecified appropriation for initial interim storage operations for spent reactor fuel […]

A bipartisan duo on Tuesday reintroduced legislation in the House of Representatives intended to help the federal government finally build a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019 is a slightly updated version of legislation introduced in 2017 by Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.). That bill advanced out […]

WASHINGTON — Plans for consolidated interim storage of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power reactors leave questions about the ultimate disposition of that radioactive material once a facility’s federal license expires, former Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko said Monday. Speaking at a Capitol Hill event on nuclear decommissioning, Jaczko posited a scenario in which […]

Despite complaints from two senior Republicans, the House Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee on Wednesday signed off on a new spending bill that would provide no money for licensing the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev. The $46.4 billion energy and water appropriations legislation for fiscal 2020, filed Tuesday, includes funding for the […]

The House Appropriations Committee’s draft fiscal 2020 energy and water bill provides no money to resume federal licensing of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Instead, the legislation would provide an unspecified appropriation for initial interim storage operations for spent reactor fuel from commercial nuclear power plants, according to a press release from […]

A bipartisan duo of House lawmakers on Tuesday introduced legislation intended to help the federal government finally build a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019 is a slightly updated version of legislation introduced in 2017 by Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.). That bill made it out of the […]

WASHINGTON — Plans for consolidated interim storage of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power reactors raise questions about the ultimate disposition of that radioactive material once a facility’s federal license expires, former Nuclear Regulatory Chairman Gregory Jaczko said Monday. Speaking at a Capitol Hill event on nuclear decommissioning, Jaczko posited a scenario in which the […]

By John Stang The proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada could conceivably end up receiving 150,000 metric tons of radioactive waste by the second half of this century, according to a Nevada state government analysis of a proposed U.S. Senate bill intended to advance the disposal project. The April 29 memo from […]