Bet on Logic Leaves Yucca Mountain Short

Jun 14 - Albuquerque Journal

Poor Yucca Mountain. Located 90 miles from Las Vegas, Nev., the designated storage site for highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants is about as popular as a skunk at a casino.

But at budget time in Washington, it has to compete for funding with highly popular programs, like Western water projects.

Attempting to get out of that political rat-race, the Department of Energy made a logical proposal: Congress should use the money collected from consumers specifically for the purpose of disposing of spent nuclear fuel.

Utility ratepayers are nicked a penny for every 10 kilowatts of power attributable to a nuclear plant. It's been on electric bills since 1983. There's nearly $15 billion in the fund, which hasn't been used for anything except trying to make deficits look a little smaller. Meanwhile, the government missed its deadline for taking spent fuel off the hands of utilities. It was Jan. 31, 1998.

DOE this year wagered $750 million of the $880 million Yucca Mountain budget request on the logic of spending this levy for the intended purpose. That proposal is stuck in committee, leaving Yucca Mountain $750 million short.

If the situation isn't remedied, the secure, permanent waste repository will be delayed. Highly radioactive fuel rods will continue to be stored in temporary facilities at power plants around the country.

Congress should free up the money from 21 years of taxes on electricity, put it to use for the designated purpose, set a new deadline for taking the radioactive waste -- and meet it.

For far more extensive news on the energy/power visit: http://www.energycentral.com .