HOUSE SEEKS TO FUND NRC’S YUCCA MOUNTAIN REVIEW

The House passed an amendment yesterday to the Energy and Water spending bill to provide an additional $10 million to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue the review of the Yucca Mountain license application. The amendment, which passed 326 to 81, would add that funding to the $25 million already provided in the bill. Though the NRC closed out its review of the repository’s application before releasing regulatory conclusions, there is a case pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that could force the agency to restart the licensing process. The passage of the amendment was lauded yesterday by leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “This vote reaffirms bipartisan determination to proceed with Yucca Mountain,” Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich) said in a statement. “I applaud Mr. Shimkus for offering this amendment to ensure the future of Yucca Mountain is no longer held captive to political games by allowing the NRC, as the independent objective federal agency, to finish its technical review.”