Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner William Ostendorff, who is leaving office this summer, said Tuesday that he’s disappointed the U.S. still does not have a permanent repository for nuclear waste.
“I think that’s a significant shortcoming of government,” Ostendorff said during the commission’s annual Regulatory Information Conference. “I don’t think it’s been handled, quite frankly, with enough urgency.”
The Obama administration in 2011 ceased funding for the Yucca Mountain repository planned in Nevada. NRC estimates that it needs about $330 million to finish the licensing process. When asked whether the NRC would seek that funding, Ostendorff pointed to the NRC fiscal 2017 budget request, which does not include any amount for Yucca licensing. Personally, he said, he has supported resuming funding in past votes.
Commissioner Kristine Svinicki was asked whether potential NRC approval of interim storage sites for nuclear waste will be contingent on approval of the Yucca Mountain repository. NRC is expecting two license applications this year from companies seeking to build interim storage facilities: Waste Control Specialists in Texas and Holtec International in New Mexico. Congress would need to amend the law to allow the Department of Energy to contract private companies in order for the projects to move forward.
From the NRC standpoint, Svinicki said there isn’t any “existing regulatory nexus” between interim storage and disposal.
