Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
10/17/2014
The Yucca Mountain repository design adequately addresses Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulatory requirements, according to Volume Three of the NRC’s Yucca Mountain Safety Evaluation Report, released this week. Volume Three, which is a review of repository safety after closure, has been the focus of pro-Yucca lawmakers since the project was deemed “unworkable” by the Department of Energy in 2010. “The NRC staff finds, with reasonable expectation, that DOE has demonstrated compliance with the NRC regulatory requirements for postclosure safety, including, but not limited to, ‘Performance objectives for the geologic repository after permanent closure’ in 10 CFR 63.113, ‘Requirements for performance assessment’ in 10 CFR 63.114, ‘Requirements for multiple barriers’ in 10 CFR 63.115, and ‘Postclosure Public Health and Environmental Standards’ in 10 CFR Part 63, Subpart L,” the Volume 3 SER said. “In particular, the NRC staff finds that the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain (1) is comprised of multiple barriers and (2) based on performance assessment evaluations that are in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, meets the 10 CFR Part 63, Subpart L limits for individual protection, human intrusion, and separate standards for protection of groundwater.”
The NRC issued an Order last November setting the path forward on re-starting the Yucca Mountain licensing review in order to comply with the writ of mandamus from the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that compelled the Commission to use the existing funds appropriated for the review. The Commission, under then-Chairman Gregory Jackzo, shuttered the license review in 2011 after DOE canceled the project. A major part of the re-start Order included the completion of the SERs as well as the need for another supplemental environmental impact statement from the Department of Energy concerning groundwater issues. According to NRC Chair Allison Macfarlane, all five volumes of the SER are anticipated to be completed by January 2015.
NRC Findings Do Not Equate to Construction Authorization
While the NRC determined the Yucca design met the limits for individual protection, human intrusion, and separate standards for protection of groundwater for the million-year compliance period, the Commission made clear that the conclusions of the SERs do not represent an authorization from NRC to move forward. The SERs only make a safety case for the repository. An adjudication period is still needed, along with a Commission review. “Publication of Volume 3 does not signal whether the NRC might authorize construction of the repository,” NRC spokesman David McIntyre said in a release. “A final licensing decision, should funds beyond those currently available be appropriated, could come only after completion of the safety evaluation report, a supplement to the Department of Energy’s environmental impact statement, hearings on contentions in the adjudication, and Commission review.”
The major hurdle facing the NRC licensing review reaching these next steps for construction authorization is a lack of funding. The court’s writ of mandamus requires the Commission to spend its remaining appropriated Nuclear Waste Fund funding, approximately $11 million in unexpended, unobligated dollars, of which a majority will go toward the completion of the five volumes of the SER. The court, however, did not require the NRC to request additional funding to complete the review, and Congress has not appropriated additional funds in years for the review, although the House did include in its Fiscal Year 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations bill $55 million for the NRC’s review. However, the Senate bill did not include any money for Yucca Mountain and the issue won’t be settled until Congress takes up a likely omnibus appropriations bill after the November elections.
NRC Findings a ‘Game Changer,’ House Republicans Say
House Republicans, who have been the most vocal supporters of Yucca Mountain, celebrated the findings. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) praised what he called the objective, scientific findings of the report. “The release of this game-changing report marks a critical milestone in restoring America’s nuclear leadership,” Upton said in a statement. “Science, not politics, should determine Yucca’s course, and this report confirms that Yucca Mountain has met the safety requirements. After a four-year delay, the public now has the benefit of the first independent safety assessment of Yucca Mountain, and can now have confidence that the repository would be in fact ‘safe for a million years.’ This safety evaluation embodies the objective, technical conclusions of our nation’s independent nuclear safety regulator, and it represents the culmination of thirty years and $15 billion worth of scientific work by DOE and seven of our national scientific labs.”
House Environment and the Economy Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-Ill.) echoed Upton’s sentiments. “Yucca Mountain is one of the most studied geological formations on the planet and today’s report confirms what we’ve expected all along: nuclear waste stored under that mountain, in that desert, surrounded by federal land will be safe and secure for at least a million years,” Shimkus said in a statement. “I want to commend the NRC technical staff for all their hard work in completing and publishing this milestone achievement. Their work to complete this national asset is a testament to their commitment to public service, one that I admire and greatly appreciate. The conclusions in this report should only add to the bipartisan support the repository has consistently received in both the House and Senate.”
Reid: ‘Yucca Fails in Every Way’
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), however, promised to do everything in his power to keep Yucca Mountain from moving forward. Reid’s long-time opposition to the project, combined with his influence in the Senate, has been credited with the project’s initial downfall in 2010. “Taking the NRC staff’s conclusions in the Safety Evaluation Report at face value is like reading one side of a lawsuit without hearing the opposing party’s evidence,” Reid said in a statement. “But in this case, neither party is even in the room: The Energy Department will not pursue licensing Yucca, and Nevada has persistently opposed the dump. It is utterly useless to have wasted millions of dollars on this report.”
He added, “Dumping nuclear waste at Yucca is a failed policy, and that’s why the project was terminated over 5 years ago. I will continue doing everything in my power to ensure that the project is never resurrected and doesn’t receive another dime. Americans want to see nuclear waste dealt with in a safe and responsible way that gives states and communities a meaningful voice, and Yucca fails in every way.”
Industry Looking To Next Steps
While industry organizations celebrated the findings, they immediately called for action from Congress and DOE to move forward in the process. The Nuclear Energy Institute called for additional appropriations and DOE compliance with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, in light of the NRC findings. “We strongly urge Congress to appropriate, in fiscal 2015 and future years, the necessary funding for the NRC and the DOE to complete the Yucca Mountain licensing proceeding,” NEI President and CEO Marvin Fertel said in a statement. “We also strongly urge the Obama administration to direct the Department of Energy to comply with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act by fully participating in the licensing process and defending the application that it submitted to the NRC in 2008.” Fertel pointed to the re-establishing of a program like the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management as a way for DOE to aid the licensing process.
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Subcommittee on Nuclear Issues-Waste Disposal Chair Greg White offered similar calls to action, mainly due to the public’s billion dollar investment in the job. “It is time for Congress and the Administration to assure the NRC can complete its statutorily obligated review of the license application and that the Department of Energy actively support the license application as required by law,” White said in a statement. “After all, consumers of nuclear power have contributed billions for this program over the last 30 years; our government owes it to them to finish the job. Whether or not Yucca Mountain is ultimately approved, the analysis will inform our nation’s nuclear-waste policies going forward. We look forward to working with Congress, the White House, and the NRC as the license review progresses.”
