Energy Department Submits Legislation to Enhance Yucca Mountain Program

The Department of Energy today submitted legislation to Congress to facilitate implementation of the federal government’s used nuclear fuel management program.

Here's what NEI President and CEO Skip Bowman had to say in a press release:

"The Nuclear Fuel Management and Disposal Act is a logical next step to Congress’s bipartisan approval in 2002 of the joint resolution that designated Yucca Mountain as the site for a state-of-the-art repository. The bill will help achieve the opening of the Yucca Mountain repository and maximize the myriad benefits that the nation receives from nuclear energy for the long term. Nuclear energy strengthens U.S. energy security by reliably providing electricity to one of every five homes and businesses."

And here's what Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said in a DOE press release yesterday:

"We need to ensure a strong and diversified energy mix to fuel our nation’s economy, and nuclear power is an important component of that mix. In order to expand our nuclear generating capacity, we need a safe, permanent, geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain. This proposed legislation will help provide stability, clarity, and predictability to the Yucca Mountain Project and will help lay a solid foundation for America’s future energy security."

The full text of the legislation is posted on NEI's Web site in the Public Policy Issues section.