President Donald Trump on Friday reaffirmed his administration’s new opposition to licensing a nuclear waste disposal facility under Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
“I also recently took action on an issue Nevada has been dealing with for over 30 years, Yucca Mountain, you know Yucca Mountain?” Trump said during a rally in Las Vegas. “My budget stops funding for the licensing of waste storage at Yucca Mountain so that we can focus on positive solutions and for much better reasons and alternatives. Why should you have nuclear waste in your backyard?”
Trump did not reference his administration’s requests in three consecutive budgets for funding to resume licensing of the geologic repository at the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission. For the current fiscal 2020, the two agencies would have received about $150 million. Congress rejected each proposal.
The Obama administration defunded the Yucca Mountain licensing proceeding a decade ago. The program has received no new money since then.
For the upcoming fiscal 2021, the White House is instead seeking $27.5 million for a program emphasizing temporary storage of waste. That Interim Storage and Nuclear Waste Fund effort would involve a “robust” program for interim storage of radioactive waste, along with research and development of technologies for storage, transportation, and disposal, according to White House budget documents.
Nevada’s state leaders and members of Congress have for decades fought efforts to build the disposal site, worried about potential dangers to the economy, environment, and residents.
Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) tweeted Friday that Nevada residents “completely agree” with Trump’s comments. “While you’re in town, you should declare that you’ll veto any legislation that would undermine Nevada’s ability to stop nuclear waste from being dumped in our backyard.”
Trump spoke the day before the Nevada caucuses for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination contenders, handily won by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
