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How Trump budget would boost Yucca project, cut Nevadans’ safety net

How Trump budget would boost Yucca project, cut Nevadans’ safety net  Las Vegas Sun, By Yvonne Gonzalez (contact), Feb. 14, 2018 “…….Yucca Mountain. The administration is also again seeking money for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, though not nearly the amount that would be required to see the project through. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing $48 million for work related to Yucca Mountain, and the Department of Energy is asking for $120 million for the project and interim storage.

Robert Halstead, executive director of the state’s Agency for Nuclear Projects, says both agencies are pursuing licensing using leftover funds from the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The commission has about a half-million dollars and DOE has more than $10 million that they were court-ordered in 2013 to use to continue the licensing process. The commission expects the process to cost $330 million, but the state pegs the pricetag at about $1.6 billion.

Lawmakers say the whole process would cost at least $96 million, and the requested appropriations are just a small fraction of that total.

“That sum would be a tiny down payment on a project that will cost $100 billion and ship nuclear waste through hundreds of congressional districts across the country,” said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev……….

It has now been 20 years since the federal government was mandated by law to start accepting nuclear waste for safe long-term storage in a deep geological repository,” Nye County Commission Vice Chairman Dan Schinhofen said in a statement. “Not only is the repository not complete, but we haven’t been allowed to see if the proposed site, at Yucca Mountain, is even safe for its construction.”

Nevada’s Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval said the state will fight the proposal. Nevada has committed millions of dollars over the years to lawsuits and efforts related to stopping the project.

“Yucca Mountain is incapable of safely storing the world’s most toxic substance and Nevada will continue to oppose any efforts to dump nuclear waste in our state,” Sandoval said in a statement. “I am disappointed that the administration’s budget appears to resurrect this dormant project and we will leave no stone unturned in fighting any attempt to revive this failed idea.”……..https://lasvegassun.com/news/2018/feb/14/how-trump-budget-would-boost-yucca-project-cut-nev/

February 16, 2018 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general