March 17, 2014

WYDEN PLANS FOR JAN. MARKUP UP OF SENATE NUCLEAR WASTE BILL

By ExchangeMonitor

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said yesterday that he plans on moving the Nuclear Waste Administration Act to markup in January when the Senate reconvenes after the holiday break. Previously, Wyden had said he wanted to mark up the bill in December, but a tight legislative schedule bumped the markup until the next year. “He said that it is his hope that when we get back in January we can mark this up,” Committee spokesman Keith Chu said. Chu also mentioned that Wyden has discussed this next step with the Nevada Senators.

The Nuclear Waste Administration Act was introduced earlier this year by Wyden along with several other senators. Among its provisions, the bill would create a new independent agency to handle the nation’s high level radioactive waste as well as create a consent-based siting approach for interim storage. Both Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the ranking member on the Senate Energy committee, co-authored the bill drawing from some of the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future.

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