Two Democratic lawmakers from Nevada said Wednesday they directly called on President Donald Trump to follow through on his seeming pledge to reconsider federal efforts to send tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste to their state.
In its first two budget proposals, the Trump administration has unsuccessfully sought congressional appropriations to resume licensing of the Yucca Mountain repository by the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But, while traveling in Nevada on Saturday, Trump said he would be “very inclined” to oppose the disposal site and that his administration would evaluate the matter in coming weeks.
The White House, DOE, and NRC this week have not said what this potential reconsideration might involve.
“The majority of Nevadans agree that storing nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain is not a viable or sustainable solution. Therefore, it is encouraging to hear you say that, with regard to waste storage, the federal government ‘should do things where people want them to happen’ and that you ‘agree with the people of Nevada.’ However, these statements are merely empty promises if you continue to include funding for Yucca Mountain in your annual budget request to Congress,” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Rep. Jacky Rosen (both D-Nev.) wrote in an Oct. 23 letter to Trump.
Striking all funding for Yucca Mountain from the fiscal 2020 budget proposal would demonstrate Trump’s commitment to following the will of the people of Nevada, the lawmakers added.
Federal agencies’ funding requests are expected in February. The administration to date has not said whether it will seek mondy for Yucca Mountain in the next budget year, which begins Oct. 1.
Congress in 1987 designated Yucca Mountain as the location for permanent disposal of spent reactor fuel from nuclear power plants and high-level radioactive waste from defense operations. The Energy Department submitted its license application to the NRC in 2008, but then-President Barack Obama defunded the proceeding in 2010. That is where the situation stands today.
