Court Orders Yucca Restart

A federal appeals court last week ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to restart work processing the Department of Energy’s application for a licensing permit for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The facility was canceled by President Barack Obama when he took office in 2009, while a construction permit application was pending before NRC. Obama’s decision angered nuclear power advocates and garnered criticism from many in Congress, mostly Republicans. He then created an expert panel to develop a new process to determine the fate of U.S. high-level radioactive waste, most of which is stored at more than 100 nuclear power plants across the U.S. With Obama’s cancellation, NRC stopped considering the permit application. NRC’s decision to halt its review was challenged by two states and other entities. Two appellate judges, both Republican appointees, ruled that NRC’s decision “flouted the law” and violated the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. However, the third panel judge, a Democratic appointee, said the majority decision was a “useless thing” because NRC lacks sufficient congressionally appropriated funds to restart the permit review process.