GOP SENATORS CALL FOR RELEASE OF YUCCA SERS

By ExchangeMonitor

A group of Republican U.S. senators late last week joined the list of stakeholders calling on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to release the Safety Evaluation Reports for Yucca Mountain in a letter to NRC Chairman Allison Macfarlane. The group was signed by Jeff Sessions (R- Ala.), David Vitter (R- La.), John Barrasso (R- Wyo.), Mike Crapo (R- Idaho), Roger Wicker (R- Miss.), and John Boozman (R- Ark.). “Proceeding with the SERs is consistent with the D.C. Circuit’s mandate and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, and would evidence the NRC’s commitment to study and evaluate a safe, permanent repository for this country’s nuclear waste,” the letter said. “Thus, it seems clear that next step in this legally mandated licensing process is for the NRC to complete the SERs. We urge the NRC to move promptly to that end.”

The NRC is currently evaluating the most efficient way to restart the shuttered review process. A three judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit voted 2-1 to issue a writ of mandamus on Aug. 13 compelling the Commission to finish the licensing review. The petition for a writ of mandamus was filed by parties that included the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners; Nye County, Nev.; the states of South Carolina and Washington; and Aiken County, S.C. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act requires a decision by the NRC on the Yucca Mountain license application within three years of its submission, a deadline that passed in 2011. Meanwhile, the NRC shut down its repository licensing process in 2010, citing several justifications such as lack of funds to complete licensing.

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