nuclear-news

Nuke regulators bring Yucca Mountain waste plan closer to death, THE HILL, By Ben Geman – 09/09/11  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) acted Friday to end review of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, handing a victory to the Obama administration in its ongoing effort to kill the project.

The NRC split 2-2 in failing to decide whether to uphold or reject a decision by its Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB), which last year rejected the Energy Department’s attempt to withdraw the license application for the Nevada project.

But the NRC, citing funding constraints, instructed the ASLB to close out its work on the project by the end of this fiscal year, which is the end of the month.

The Energy Department, while seeking to shut down the Yucca project, said it’s committed to finding a long-term solution to disposing of nuclear waste that’s piling up at the nation’s nuclear reactors.

“Today’s decision by the NRC brings the Yucca Mountain saga closer to its final conclusion,” Reid said in a statement, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I am pleased that the commission is ready to wrap up all work on Yucca licensing by the end of this month.”

But the NRC decision drew a quick rebuke from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, which represents state regulators.

“Given the billions of dollars taxpayers and consumers have paid for this project, the NRC at the very least owes the public a thorough explanation of today’s action,” the group’s president, Tony Clark, said in a statement….