Representatives Rally For Yucca Mountain

A coalition of congressmen has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to compel the Department of Energy to continue work on the controversial nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, in Nevada. The resolution of disapproval, sponsored by seven House members, argues that the Administration cannot pull the plug on Yucca Mountain without an alternative to the $10 billion site and before any decision is made on the facility’s license application. “I have serious concerns about DOE’s decision to ignore current law and move forward with what amounts to a de facto termination of Yucca Mountain,” Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) said in support of the resolution. The congressional action was in response to DOE’s filing earlier this month of a motion with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to withdraw the Yucca Mountain repository license application.