Court Tells NRC to Resume Review of Yucca Mountain Proposal
A federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has violated a federal energy statute and directed it to restart its review of a proposed nuclear waste disposal site beneath Nevada’s Yucca Mountain.
But NRC has limited funds on hand to deal with the Dept. of Energy’s application for the waste repository—let alone to build a storage facility at the Nevada site or in another location—leaving the next chapter uncertain in what already has been a 30-year saga.
In a 2-1 decision issued on Aug. 13, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said NRC failed to comply with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. That 1983 statute gave the commission a three-year deadline to review and decide on an application to build a repository for spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain.
David McIntyre, an NRC spokesman, said in an Aug. 14 emailed statement, “We are reviewing the decision.”
Niketa Kumar, a DOE spokesperson, said via email, “While the Energy Dept. is not a party to this case, we are carefully reviewing the D.C. Circuit decision and will respond appropriately to whatever steps the NRC takes in response to the decision.”
If the NRC decides to appeal, it could seek a decision by the full D.C. Circuit or ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, writing for the appellate court’s majority, said, “As things stand…the commission is simply flouting the law.”
Kavanaugh added: "No law states that the commission should decline to spend previously appropriated funds on the licensing process. No law states that the commission should shut down the licensing process." He noted that the NRC has $11.1 million in appropriated money for the licensing review.
Following the court’s ruling, two industry groups—the Nuclear Energy Institute and the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition—said in a statement, “The nuclear energy industry fully expects the NRC to take all necessary steps to immediately resume its independent scientific evaluation of the Yucca Mountain license application, as directed by the court.”
In June 2008, DOE filed an application to the NRC seeking approval to build the repository at Yucca Mountain, which is about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
But in early 2010, DOE’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year had no funds for Yucca Mountain, a clear sign from the Obama administration that it planned to end the project.
In early October 2010, then-NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko directed staffers to end work on one volume of the multi-volume Yucca Mountain report and to proceed to close the review, according to a June 2011 report from NRC’s inspector general.
Looking ahead, Keith Chu, a spokesman for Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said it is clear the $11.1 million NRC has in appropriations for the Yucca Mountain review “will not be sufficient to finish processing that application, which means the ball is still in Congress’s court when it comes to deciding the direction of U.S. nuclear waste policy.”
Chu added, “This ruling only increases the urgency to break the gridlock over disposing of radioactive nuclear waste.” He said Wyden will work to push a bipartisan bill dealing with waste storage.
The amount of nuclear fuel stored around the country continues to grow. According to NEI, more than 69,000 metric tons of spent fuel stored at sites around the country, as of the end of 2012.
That bill, which Wyden introduced in June with support from senators from both parties, would implement recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future’s January 2012 report. Among other things, the bill calls for a new federal agency, independent of DOE, to oversee nuclear-waste issues. It also calls for building a pilot storage facility for spent fuel from decommissioned nuclear powerplants.
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), the Environment and Public Works Committee’s top GOP member, praised the court decision, saying, “Even after years of dragging their feet in a pathetic attempt to kill the Yucca Mountain project, former NRC leadership and the administration are forced to follow the correct licensing process.”
A 2008 DOE report said the project had incurred costs of more than $13.5 billion from 1983-2006 and estimated its total life-cycle costs, including design, construction, operation and waste transportation, at $96.2 billion.
Story corrected Aug. 15 to reflect that Sen. Wyden is the nuclear-waste bill's sponsor.
