Proposal by Nevada senators explores alternatives with Yucca Mountain no longer an option

March 12, 2009

Washington, D.C. –Nevada Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign today introduced a bill to create a national commission on high level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel to study alternatives for managing nuclear waste in the United States. The legislation comes on the heels of a major slashing of Yucca Mountain’s federal budget by President Obama and the statement of Energy Secretary Steven Chu that Yucca Mountain is no longer a viable option for dealing permanently with the country’s nuclear waste issues. Under Reid and Ensign’s legislation, the commission will have two years to study the issue and report its findings to Congress.

“The Obama Administration recently confirmed what we’ve known from day one: Yucca Mountain is not an option for solving our nuclear waste issues in this country,” Reid said. “It would have posed entirely too great a danger to Nevadans and to all Americans. We recognize the great need for viable permanent alternatives, though, and believe this commission is the right first step away from Yucca Mountain and toward safe and feasible answers to the nuclear waste problems we face as a nation.”

“After decades of fighting, our nation is turning away from Yucca Mountain and moving toward innovative solutions that are good for our country, our energy security and the safety of residents of Nevada,” Ensign said.  “I’m pleased that this commission will rely on scientific experts and the facts, as opposed to the politics that created Yucca Mountain, which is the wrong policy for America. I look forward to the findings of this commission and the future of recycling, dry cask storage and other solutions for nuclear waste.”