Domenici on Used Nuclear Fuel

In an opinion piece in today's edition of Roll Call, U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, laid out four areas of focus in energy policy in 2006 (subscription required), and he included the following passage of interest to our industry:

Spent Nuclear Fuel: Our work to foster new, clean nuclear power has added urgency to an old question: What should the U.S. fuel cycle be to support long-term, sustainable nuclear power? Next year, I intend to examine existing spent fuel management policies, identify where these policies have failed and explore a legislative fix. Yucca Mountain remains a necessary part of the solution but is no longer the sole solution. I believe, as do many others, that we inevitably will move forward on a recycling policy.

In addition, Domenici also said that climate change, drilling for oil and natural gas on the outer continental shelf and fuel efficiency standards for automobiles will also be on the agenda.

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