Disposal of spent fuel is crucial to the domestic nuclear industry and will be among the Trump administration’s priorities when it comes to nuclear energy, acting Assistant Energy Secretary for Nuclear Energy Edward McGinnis said Tuesday.
“The back end is a key pillar of our nuclear sector,” McGinnis said in the opening plenary to the ExchangeMonitor’s RadWaste Summit in Summerlin, Nev.
Spent fuel disposal is the last leg of the nuclear life cycle that include uranium mining and electricity generation, McGinnis said later on the sidelines of the conference. The government is obligated by federal legislation to dispose of this waste, the DOE official noted.
A 26-year department veteran, McGinnis described the Trump administration as committed to nuclear energy and restarting the licensing process for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. “This is our moment for decisive action” to find a permanent solution for the nation’s stockpile of spent reactor fuel and high-level radioactive waste, he said.
“We must stop kicking the can on the back end,” rather than leaving the issue to the next generation, according to McGinnis.
The administration for fiscal 2018 has requested $120 million for the Department of Energy and $30 million for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to resume licensing activities on Yucca Mountain. The House of Representatives has effectively backed the request, while Senate appropriators have zeroed out all funding for the project for the budget year starting Oct. 1.
While waiting for Congress to resolve the dispute, DOE is continuing to work on means to improve the storage, transportation, and ultimate disposal of spent fuel, McGinnis said: “There is quite a bit that we can do now.”
During the question-and-answer session, Washington, D.C.-based energy attorney Jeff Merrifield, a former NRC commissioner, said that it will also be important for NRC to reassemble a new team of support staff for the Yucca Mountain license process.
