Will Yucca licensing still continue if dump dies?

By Lisa Mascaro

Thursday, May 21, 2009 | 12:10 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- The paper of record weighs in today on the Yucca Mountain debate, insisting the licensing process must go forward even if the dump is to be killed.

In an editorial in today's editions, the New York Times worries that President Barack Obama's proposed steep budget cuts to the nuclear waste repository project may leave the Energy Department unable to fully defend its application before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to license the facility.

Even with Obama's stated intention to terminate the Yucca Mountain endeavor and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying the dump is dead, the paper reasons licensing should continue -- and Congress should make sure adequate funding is there to do so.

Here's the NYT's bottom line:

"Before approving this truncated budget, Congress needs to ensure that it contains enough money to sustain a genuine licensing effort.

"We have no idea whether Yucca Mountain would be a suitable burial ground for nuclear wastes.

"But after the government has labored for more than two decades and spent almost $10 billion to get the site ready for licensing hearings, it would be foolish not to complete the process with a good-faith evaluation.

"Are Mr. Obama and Mr. Reid afraid of what the science might tell them?"

Presumably that also means adequate funding for Nevada and the counties to fight the dump?

As we reported earlier this week, the proposed Obama budget also cuts funds Energy provides to the state and several counties during licensing -- funds they are counting on to fight the project.