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“APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Senate section on pages S10585 on July 25, 1995.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY AT
YUCCA MOUNTAIN
Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise today to address an issue of great national concern--this country's nuclear waste policy. In 1982, Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which directed the Department of Energy to develop a permanent repository for highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and defense facilities. Congress passed amendments to that act in 1987, which limited DOE's repository development activities to a single site at Yucca Mountain, NV. Since 1983, electric consumers have contributed $11 billion to finance the development of a permanent storage site. Despite DOE's obligation to take title to spent nuclear fuel in 1998, a permanent repository at Yucca Mountain will not be ready to accept this waste until the year 2010, at the earliest.
Mr. President, the House of Representatives recently passed the energy and water development appropriations bill for 1996. This bill recommends that $425 million be made available for DOE's spent fuel disposal program, $200 million below the level needed to continue developing a permanent site. Furthermore, the committee report to this bill directs DOE to ``concentrate available resources on the development and implementation of a national interim storage program,'' and to ``downgrade, suspend or terminate its activities at Yucca Mountain.''
Mr. President, I am greatly concerned by the action of the House. We have already spent 12 years and $4.2 billion to find a permanent repository site and conduct development activities at Yucca Mountain. No other viable site for permanent storage has been considered since 1987. If we terminate or suspend activities at Yucca Mountain now, we will be wasting the time and money invested since 1982 toward finding a suitable location. As I have already stated, the electric consumers of this Nation have contributed $11 billion, and we are still behind schedule. How can we, in good conscience, discontinue our efforts at Yucca Mountain when so much time and money has been invested there. To do so would eradicate the progress we have made and abolish any hope of developing a permanent site in the near future. It is our obligation to the American people to develop a permanent repository as quickly as possible and, therefore, we must persist with the efforts at Yucca Mountain. It is our only alternative.
Mr. President, I realize that continuing development of the permanent site at Yucca Mountain will not completely solve the spent fuel problem. In 1998, 23 nuclear reactors will run out of space to store spent fuel. At that time, storage will become DOE's responsibility. Therefore, we need to designate an interim storage site to use until the permanent facility at Yucca Mountain is available. The most logical location for an interim site is Yucca Mountain. Transportation of spent nuclear fuel is a delicate undertaking, so it is sensible to locate an interim facility as near to the permanent facility as is possible. Likewise, the proximity of an interim site to the permanent site would save money on transportation costs between the two sites. Comprehensive legislation has been introduced in both the Senate and House that offers a solution to the spent fuel problem, including the construction of an interim facility at Yucca Mountain.
Building a central interim storage facility at Yucca Mountain by 1998 and continuing to develop a permanent repository at Yucca Mountain by 2010 is our most reasonable course of action. Too much time and money has been invested to change directions now. As my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee consider funding for the project at Yucca Mountain, I urge them to remember the commitment we have made to the citizens of this Nation. Any efforts to abandon this program will deprive this country of a long-term solution to our nuclear waste storage dilemma.
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