Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, President Donald Trump’s pick for energy secretary, did not rule out the prospect of Nevada storing high-level radioactive waste during his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, but he said he would explore alternatives.
The Obama administration in 2009 cancelled plans to bury high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel at a repository to be developed at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, facing stiff opposition from the state with Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) leading the charge. The president later opted for a consent-based-siting approach that requires permission from the host state in siting nuclear waste facilities. The Trump administration has signaled the possibility of resuming the Yucca Mountain licensing process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“I will not sit here in front of you, in a committee hearing, and tell you absolutely no way is Nevada going to be the recipient of any high-level waste, but what I will tell you is that we’ll work with you every day, and as I think a number of the other senators have said, there’s other places in this country that are willing to have this conversation, and I think that we need to have an open conversation,” Perry told Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.).
Perry, who famously suggested eliminating DOE during his 2012 presidential bid, only to blank on the agency’s name during a nationally televised debate, addressed the issue of nuclear waste several times during the hearing.
“I suspect you know what the first question is going to be right out of the gate,” Cortez Masto said in her opening remarks to Perry Thursday, noting a recent poll that shows 58 percent of Nevadans are against storing the waste in the state.
She pointed out that during a presidential debate in 2011, Perry voiced support for a consent-based siting approach to Yucca Mountain, arguing that if Nevadans do not want the repository, the government won’t develop it. She asked Perry if he still supports that approach.
“(In 2011), I was a sitting governor, and I made a statement about federalism,” he said. “I still believe in it strongly. I believe that it’s important for the secretary of energy, in my role if I’m so fortunate to be confirmed, to have that good working relationship with as many governors that I can, the citizens of those states. I happen to also be a great believer of following the statutes and laws, so if you pass such, not only will I salute it, I will happily salute it.”
Cortez Masto cited comments from Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, who has said that any attempt to revive Yucca Mountain will be met with relentless opposition from the state. She also cited Perry’s comments on Meet the Press, in which he criticized a one-size-fits-all strategy to managing nuclear waste. She asked Perry to commit to working with Sandoval and the people of Nevada.
“I understand where you all are coming from,” Perry said. “I am going to work closely with you and the members of this committee to find the answers to these challenges that we have and hopefully this is the beginning of seeing real movement, real management of an issue that I think no longer can sit and be used as a political football, one that must be addressed, and I think that we can find a solution, both in the interim and the long-term of our nuclear waste.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) cited the $5.3 billion in damages the federal government has paid to utilities for DOE’s failure to take title to the waste, stemming from the Yucca Mountain stalemate. DOE estimates the remaining liabilities at $23.7 billion. Lee asked Perry what his plan is to address those liabilities and move forward with Yucca Mountain.
“(My hope is) that we finally after 30 years of kicking the can down the road, for whatever reason, that we start seeing clear, definitive evidence of addressing this issue and moving to temporary and/or permanent siting of this nuclear waste,” Perry said without addressing Yucca Mountain directly.
Toward the end of the hearing, Cortez Masto again grilled Perry on Yucca Mountain, asking him directly if he will defend Nevada.
“Senator, I’m not going to have a definitive answer,” Perry said. “‘Absolutely no way in hell’ – I heard that from Sen. (Dean) Heller (R-Nev.), Gov. Sandoval, and you pretty loud and clear, but I think what you need to hear from me is I’m going to be looking at the alternative ways to be able to address this issue. We have not for 30 years been able to address it, and if there are legitimate alternatives that keep the people of Nevada happy, well that’s even better. … I was for bringing high-level waste into Texas when I was the governor. I seem to have gotten re-elected every time I ran, so the issue is one that if we’re wise, if we’re thoughtful, if we’re respectful, that we use good science, we can find a solution to this senator.”
