NEWS - Lowcountry News

JULY 5 - Wilson Praises Ruling to Preserve Yucca Mountain Plans

By Lou Phelps

SBJ Staff

July 5, 2010 - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission legal panel ruled late last week that the U.S. Energy Department cannot withdraw its licensing application for Yucca Mountain to be a permanent nuclear waste repository. It’s a decision that is important for South Carolina and the Greater Savannah area, as nuclear waste is now being sent by rail from around the U.S. to the Savannah River nuclear plant site and storage facility.

More than 25 years ago, Yucca Mountain was originally proposed to receive the country’s nuclear waste, but then ran into strong opposition from environmentalists. Federal legislative efforts in opposition to the site have been led for years by California’s Senator Barbara Boxer (D). Yucca Mountain sits on the Nevada/California state border.

In a 47-page order last week, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled Energy Secretary Steven Chu, an appointee of the Obama Administration, doesn't have the authority to pull the plug on a process that Congress started when it passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act in 1982.

Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02) praised this decision last Friday, stating, “Politics have been at play when it comes to nuclear waste disposal, and I’m pleased that a legal panel has finally ruled based on realities and practicalities.”  The Savannah River site is in Wilson’s House district.

“Thousands of studies and billions of dollars are invested in this repository, including over $1 billion from South Carolina.  If we are to be serious about an energy future in America, we must get serious about nuclear power and move forward with Yucca Mountain.”

Editorials across South Carolina have highlighted the administration’s reckless decision to abandon Yucca Mountain, according to Wilson. He says that the Charleston The Post and Courier called President Obama’s decision “breathtakingly irresponsible.” And, the Aiken Standard said, “It is time for the president and Department of Energy to listen to the Congressional mandates and the scientific studies and prepare Yucca Mountain for its mission to hold this legacy waste.”

“For more than 25 years, the Energy Department has pursued plans to bury at least 77,000 tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel in tunnels bored beneath an ancient volcanic ridge 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The NRC panel noted Tuesday that $10 billion had been spent on the project to date,” said Wilson.

The states of Washington and South Carolina, plus Aiken County, S.C., the Prairie Island Indian Community of Minnesota and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners have filed challenges to the NRC against the licensing removal of Yucca Mountain.