Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) on Friday voiced support for consolidated interim storage for nuclear waste, while maintaining that Yucca Mountain needs to be part of the long-term solution.
Alexander, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, along with panel Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), introduced in the fiscal 2017 Senate energy and water budget bill language supporting the Energy Department’s interim storage efforts. Congress has yet to approve final funding for the current budget year that began Oct. 1, instead in September approving a continuing resolution through Dec. 9.
“The Department of Energy’s decision to proceed with interim storage for used nuclear fuel, which was recommended four years ago by the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, is an important step forward,” Alexander said in a statement. “I hope Congress will take the next step and pass bipartisan legislation I have introduced to create temporary and permanent facilities to store and dispose of our used nuclear fuel, and authorize a new pilot program for nuclear waste storage.”
The Obama administration canceled the Yucca Mountain geologic repository in Nevada in 2011, eventually opting instead for a consent-based siting initiative for nuclear waste storage. DOE’s plans call for operation of a pilot storage facility by 2021; one or more larger, interim facilities by 2025; and at least one permanent geologic repository by 2048.
“We need to move on all tracks at the same time to solve the nuclear waste stalemate to help ensure that carbon-free nuclear power has a strong future in this country,” Alexander added. “Yucca Mountain can and should be part of the solution, but we have more than enough waste to fill Yucca Mountain to its legal capacity (of about 77,000 tons).”
