Legislators urge use of Yucca Mtn.

In the wake of a decision by a panel of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) judges, both Democrat and Republican legislators have again urged the Department of Energy to stop its plans to halt the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository.

More than 90 members of both houses have put their name to a letter sent to United States Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu asking that he halt, or at very least delay, what they see as illegal actions to single-handedly shut down the repository named in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.

"As you know, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act designated Yucca Mountain as the only candidate for the national repository," the letter states. "Congressional intent is clear - Congress has voted several times to retain Yucca Mountain as the national repository. We are deeply disappointed that DOE has overstepped its bounds and ignored congressional intent without peer review or proper scientific documentation in its actions."

South Carolina's entire Washington delegation signed the letter including Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Jim DeMint and Majority House Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn. In total, 14 Democrats and 77 Republicans signed the letter.

"We write today to request that the Department of Energy immediately halt all actions to dismantle operations at Yucca Mountain at least until legal action regarding the withdrawal of the application is resolved by the D.C. Circuit Court and Nuclear Regulatory Commission," the letter to Chu said.

On March 3, DOE filed a motion with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to withdraw its license application for Yucca Mountain.

Aiken County, as well as the State of Washington, the State of South Carolina, and Tri-Cities community leaders (located near the Hanford site in Washington) filed suit in the D.C. Circuit Court challenging DOE's ability to withdraw the Yucca Mountain license application. The court has since agreed to combine all of these cases into one and fast-track a decision.

Underfunded and delayed for years, the Yucca Mountain project was officially mothballed when the 2011 fiscal year budget offered no funding. Soon after, DOE sought to end it altogether when it filed to have the license application for the proposed depository removed.

On June 29, the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board denied DOE's request, stating that Chu's department does not have the authority to unilaterally act to terminate its license application.

Contact Mike Gellatly at mgellatly@aikenstandard.com.