Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
6/19/2015
Two draft bills emerged this week that would amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to allow for the consolidation of spent nuclear fuel at interim storage facilities. Rep. Michael Conaway (R-Texas), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, plans to introduce a bill in the near future that would enable the Department of Energy to enter into contracts with private interim storage facilities using Nuclear Waste Fund appropriations to do so, RW Monitor has learned. “The Secretary may enter into contracts for the storage of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel with any person that holds a license for an interim consolidated storage facility,” according to the draft bill’s language, obtained by RW Monitor this week.
The bill would also call for DOE to take title of the spent nuclear fuel, fulfilling its obligations and ending its breach of contracts with utilities. To pay for these efforts, Conaway’s bill would open the Nuclear Waste Fund. The bill, though, does put a limit to how much can be spent. “The Secretary shall not expend, on fees for dry modes of storage of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel, amounts totaling more than the cumulative amount of interest generated by the Waste Fund each fiscal year, beginning in fiscal year 2016,” the draft bill said. At last estimate, DOE reported a Nuclear Waste Fund balance of $37 billion, and with interest growth over a year, Conaway’s bill could provide funds in the billion dollar range for interim storage.
WCS in Conway’s District
Conaway’s draft bill comes after Waste Control Specialists’ announced its proposal to construct an interim storage facility at its Andrews, Texas facility, located within his district. WCS earlier this year announced its intentions to construct a private, consent-based interim storage facility pending the approval of a license application by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and an indication from Congress that DOE could move forward with shipping waste to a location other than Yucca Mountain. During a press conference announcing its plans, WCS said that according to the company’s understanding, it could accept waste under the current legislation, but WCS would like confirmation from Congress on this interpretation.
Other House Bill Ties Interim Storage to Yucca Mountain License Review
Another draft bill, meanwhile, emerged in the House this week that would tie any progress on interim storage to the completion of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Yucca Mountain license review, according to the draft language of a planned bill obtained by E&E News this week. The bill, titled the “Nuclear Waste Policy Act Amendment of 2015,” would enable the Department of Energy to construct or contract out the consolidation of spent fuel to an interim storage facility, so long as the NRC makes a final decision on the suitability of Yucca Mountain. “Before DOE enters into a contract with a non-Federal entity for interim storage, or the NRC license a DOE-owned interim storage facility, NRC must reach a final decision on (i.e., approve or disapprove) the Yucca Mountain license application,” the draft bill said.
The bill is believed to be sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Chair Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-N.J). According to officials, the Energy Committee plans on having a hearing on the issue within the next three weeks, with the week following the July 4 holiday the most likely timeframe. According to a statement from Upton, nuclear waste remains a top priority for the Energy Committee. “Getting Yucca Mountain operating and improving the overall nuclear waste management system is a top priority,” Upton said. “We are soliciting feedback from all stakeholders on thoughtful solutions to address used fuel management issues, which could be incorporated into potential draft legislation. We are doing our due diligence and have no set timetable for introducing a bill or committee action.”
The draft bill also includes a provision that the land and water rights for Yucca Mountain would go to DOE, but only if the NRC gives the go ahead on the project. Questions still remain about Congress’s ability to grant the rights, though. While the land rights belong to many different agencies throughout the federal government, most of the water rights are held by the state of Nevada, a staunch opponent to the project. The draft bill also provides provisions that direct DOE to take title of the waste once it is accepted for transport to an interim storage facility as well as a section that increases benefits for host communities willing to site a repository or interim storage facility.
House lawmakers have led the push to re-start the shuttered Yucca Mountain project. The House Energy and Water Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2016, which passed last month, included $175 million reserved for Yucca Mountain, of which $150 million would go to the Department of Energy and $25 million to the NRC. On the Senate side, Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) has voiced his support for Yucca Mountain, and has said that in conjunction with interim storage, funding for the project could make the Senate’s final appropriations legislation for next year. However, no funding for Yucca Mountain was included in the Senate version of the bill, which still needs a floor vote.
WCS License Review Could Take Longer Than Three Years, NRC Official Says
While these bills would pave the way for WCS and others to take spent fuel, issues still linger that could delay the facility entering operation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission may not meet Waste Control Specialists’ planned three year review of its proposed spent nuclear fuel consolidated interim storage facility license application, the NRC’s Deputy Director for the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguard Scott Moore said this week at the EPRI Low-Level Waste Conference in Orlando.
WCS plans to submit a license application sometime next year, and under its schedule laid out earlier this year, the NRC would take three years to review application, paving the way for a start date in late 2020. “WCS is asking that once it gets submitted, and I think they are planning to submit it sometime next year under their schedule, that it be completed within three years,” Moore said. “I don’t know that that is realistic under our current budget timeframe. It will depend, of course, on the quality of the application, what their model is, and how much they’re planning.”
