The Trump transition team is asking the Department of Energy for specifics on the potential for restarting the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site licensing process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to transition documents obtained by several media outlets.
In a questionnaire to the department, the transition team asked if there are any statutory restrictions to restarting the Nevada project, and if DOE has a plan to resume Yucca Mountain licensing proceedings.
Sources close to the transition team have said Trump’s still-developing administration is exploring a restart for Yucca Mountain, which the Obama administration canceled in 2010. A source familiar with the transition team said Monday that veteran Capitol Hill staffer Bill Greene has been added to the DOE transition. He served as Yucca Mountain director of communications for DOE from May 2005 to February 2007, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The current administration favors an approach that focuses on interim nuclear waste storage leading up to development of a long-term permanent repository. The department remains opposed to Yucca Mountain, describing the site as “unworkable” in briefing documents to Trump’s transition team. DOE has repeatedly used that term to describe the project, given that the agency does not hold the proper land and water rights to proceed.
The questionnaire also asks how DOE can help prevent premature closure of nuclear power plants, and how the department can support the continued operation of existing reactors as part of the nation’s infrastructure.
