Posted on 04/27/2017 1:46:47 AM PDT by blueplum
Lawmakers faced off in a Wednesday hearing on proposed legislation to approve a nuclear waste storage facility in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Many lawmakers at the hearing were concerned about the federal government defaulting on its legal obligations to dispose of used nuclear fuel. Even House Democrats acknowledged the sheer scale of this problem. Courts have determined that DOE has breached contractual obligations under this statute, New York Democrat Paul Tonko, ranking member of the subcommittee, said in the hearing. DOE estimated that if it could begin to accept waste in the next 10 years, liabilities would total $29 billion dollars. Nevada lawmakers strongly objected to the bill, since it would approve a project theyve been fighting for decades.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
I'd agree with Yucca as a temporary storage solution while developing the infrastructure to recycle the useable 'waste' with more passes through suitable reactors. The current fall back of onsite storage can be the worst of all 'American' options the old Soviet choice of just dumping the raw waste in the nearest lake, ocean or river was worse! Some of our anti-nuke agitators need some personal experience at those old Soviet sites to recalibrate their outrage. Better to have waste of suitable vintage in Yucca or in transit to Yucca than sitting around our reactors. But do so with a plan to take it back out of Yucca, on a much faster timeline than has been used for Yucca to date.
IIRC, Carter’s ban on reprocessing fuel was just an executive order, not a law. It can and should be Trumped.
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