President Trump signaled his administration might be backing off a proposal to store nuclear waste at a proposed repository in Yucca Mountain, a move that has long been opposed by Nevada politicians.
“Nevada, I hear you on Yucca Mountain and my Administration will RESPECT you!” Trump tweeted on Thursday. “Congress and previous Administrations have long failed to find lasting solutions — my Administration is committed to exploring innovative approaches — I’m confident we can get it done!”
Nevada, I hear you on Yucca Mountain and my Administration will RESPECT you! Congress and previous Administrations have long failed to find lasting solutions – my Administration is committed to exploring innovative approaches – I’m confident we can get it done!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2020
Trump didn’t elaborate on any new approaches his administration might be considering, but his comments come as the White House prepares to release its latest budget request next week. Previous administration budget requests have sought to reboot funding for nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain over objections from Nevada lawmakers and constituents.
Congress and the White House in 2002 approved Yucca Mountain, 90 miles west of Las Vegas, as the site for a repository for all of the nation’s spent commercial nuclear waste, but Nevada lawmakers have long stalled its development, and the Department of Energy shut down the project in 2010.
“This continues to be a frustrating point for us. This is very much a political issue, not a technical issue for us,” said Mary Love, senior media relations manager for the Nuclear Energy Institute.
The nuclear energy industry already stores used fuel across the country safely but has also been pushing lawmakers to find a permanent solution, Love said.
The federal government has neglected to meet its legal obligation to take possession and store the spent fuel for more than two decades, she said, adding that its failure to take action costs taxpayers about $2 million a day in damages, or $800 million annually.
There have been multiple efforts on Capitol Hill to advance the Yucca Mountain project in recent years. The House in 2018 passed overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation, authored by Illinois Republican John Shimkus, to authorize land transfers and licensing decisions for the project and to set up an interim storage program until Yucca Mountain is approved. Some communities, including in New Mexico, have already suggested they’d be willing to be interim storage sites.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming introduced his own version of that legislation late last year.
“If we’re serious about reducing carbon emissions in a meaningful way, we need to get serious about dealing with nuclear waste,” Barrasso said in a statement when he introduced the bill. “Nuclear power is America’s largest source of carbon-free energy, but it leaves leftover spent fuel. Right now, that nuclear waste and high-level radioactive material is being stored in 39 different states.”
