Yucca Mt bill excludes interim storage language: DOE

Washington (Platts)--4Apr2006

The Department of Energy left interim storage language out of a draft
bill on a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, it plans to send
to Congress early Wednesday, Bush administration officials confirmed Tuesday.

The bill, Deputy Secretary Clay Sell said during a press conference
Tuesday, seeks to provide the department with "stability, clarity, and
predictability" in moving the repository program at Yucca Mountain, Nevada
forward. Earlier Tuesday, sources told Platts the interim storage language
would be left out of the draft bill.

BILL WOULD REPEAL 70,000 MT DISPOSAL LIMIT

Provisions in the draft bill would repeal an existing statutory
requirement limiting Yucca Mountain's disposal capacity to 70,000 metric tons,
allowing the repository to be licensed up to its full technical capacity,
which some officials have said is at least double the current cap.

It retains the current three- to four-year statutory requirement for a
Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision on whether to give DOE authorization to
construct a repository, but adds a requirement giving NRC up to 18 months
extra to act on a license amendment to allow DOE to receive and possess waste
at the disposal site.

Under the DOE proposal, non-nuclear facilities associated with the
repository, such as a planned rail spur to Yucca Mountain, could be built
before NRC authorizes construction of the repository, DOE acting waste program
director Paul Golan said.

The draft bill also would deem that the US will have adequate disposal
capacity for utility spent nuclear fuel, eliminating the need for periodic NRC
waste confidence reviews.

REID SLAMS BILL; SAYS IS 'DEAD WHEN IT GETS HERE'

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat-Nevada, predicted
Tuesday the legislation will fail. He said the proposal would add billions of
dollars to the cost of handling nuclear waste.

DOE has indicated the repository may not open before 2020, 22 years later
than lawmakers originally intended to start storing waste there. "They know
that it is not even on a life support system," he told reporters. "It is dead
when it gets here."

For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at
http://nucweek.platts.com.


 

Copyright © 2005 - Platts

Please visit:  www.platts.com

Their coverage of energy matters is extensive!!.