The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday formalized plans to spend $700,000 of $1.27 million in its remaining Yucca Mountain funding to update certain reports on repository plans, so the agency can be in a better position should project licensing activities resume.
The Obama administration canceled the Nevada repository in 2011, opting instead for a plan that prioritizes interim nuclear waste storage prior to building one or more final storage sites. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in August 2013 ordered the NRC to resume its review of the Department of Energy’s Yucca Mountain licensing application. The agency has since spent $12.1 million of the available $13.37 in Nuclear Waste Fund money.
All three commissioners signed off on the $700,000 expense, which will cover nine months of work expected to be completed in 2017. NRC staff will collaborate with the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses in updating reports on pre-closure and post-closure safety assessments at Yucca Mountain, as well as climate and hydrology analyses, according to NRC documents made public Tuesday.
NRC staff has suggested that “capturing this information now would position the agency well in the event that the Yucca Mountain repository adjudication is resumed or for potential NRC licensing of another geologic repository for high-level waste.” The remaining $570,000 would be reserved for unanticipated expenses, according to the NRC documents.
