Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
7/10/2015
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission remains on-schedule to complete the Yucca Mountain supplemental Environment Impact Statement within the estimated timeframe of 12-15 months, according to the NRC’s monthly update to congressional leaders on Nuclear Waste Fund expenditures. “The Commission has approved the staff’s schedule and revised cost estimate for completing the EIS supplement that the staff has determined is needed for the review of DOE’s application under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act,” NRC Chair Steven Burns said in a letter to congressional leaders. “The staff estimates that it will take a period of 12-15 months at an approximate cost of $2 million to complete the EIS supplement.” According to the NRC’s timeline, it would expend all Nuclear Waste Fund appropriations by July of next year.
The NRC Staff intends to issue the draft supplement in the late summer of 2015 for public comment, and complete the document in early 2016. The Department of Energy originally said it would complete the EIS on groundwater issues early last year, but it later decided against completing the report, choosing to give the NRC all the technical information needed to complete it instead. DOE felt it needed to only provide the information to satisfy its legal responsibilities under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The NRC, though, has taken over the responsibilities following the completion of the Yucca Mountain Safety Evaluation Report earlier this year. The Commission estimates the EIS will cost an estimated $2 million to complete.
