Hastings concerned by Yucca license review halt

Oct 15 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Annette Cary Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash.

Reports that the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is halting review of the license application for the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository have drawn the concern of Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., and three other GOP representatives.

"This is a level of arrogance and disregard for the law that I've rarely encountered, but when it comes to Yucca Mountain, the Obama administration seems content to simply make up its own rules," Hastings said in a statement.

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko is a former staffer of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., an opponent of Yucca Mountain who is running for re-election.

Yucca Mountain was the planned repository for Hanford's high-level radioactive waste, including unprocessed reactor fuel that was irradiated to produce plutonium, as well as radioactive tank waste after it is turned into a stable glass form at the vitrification plant now under construction.

However, President Obama opposed opening Yucca Mountain during his campaign and the Department of Energy has moved to withdraw the license application.

The proposed budget for fiscal 2011, which began this month, provides for termination of the licensing review. However, the budget has not passed and instead the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is operating under a continuing resolution.

The halt to the licensing review has been justified by a guidance memo on the continuing resolution, Hastings said in a letter to Jaczko.

The letter also was signed by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., the ranking member of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming; Joe Barton, R-Texas, the ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Committee; and Ralph Hall, R-Texas, the ranking member on the Science and Technology Committee.

The guidance memo said since the continuing resolution gave no specific restriction on spending money, the staff should base its activities on the budget request, which calls for terminating the licensing review.

"Basing funding and operational decisions on submitted budget requests, not appropriations bills signed into law, is suspect," the letter said.

The Department of Energy moved to withdraw the license application on June 29, but the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board rejected the motion. It found DOE lacked authority to overrule a congressional decision to designate Yucca Mountain as the nation's repository, according to Hastings.

The NRC has yet to rule on an appeal of the licensing board decision, so the NRC must consider the license application, according to the letter. The delay in an appeal decision is pure politics, according to Hastings.

"Your unilateral decision silences the opinions of the other commissioners on the pending appeal," the letter to Jaczko said. "Further legal challenges in federal court are imminent, pending final action from the NRC. Your directive gives the appearance of coordinated action between you and DOE, which suggests an additional level of impropriety."

The representatives are asking for a response from Jaczko by Oct. 27 citing his legal authority for ending the license review and how he is ensuring the NRC is prepared to resume consideration of the license application if the commission and courts uphold the licensing review decision.

-- Annette Cary: 509-582-1533; acary@tricityherald.com; More Hanford news at hanfordnews.com.