Tuesday, July 13, 2004 | 11:07 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- Work on the Yucca Mountain project can -- and will -- continue, an Energy Department official told a Senate committee today.
The Energy Department intends to submit its license application for the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in December as planned and opening the site in 2010, Kyle E. McSlarrow, the department's deputy secretary told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
On Friday The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to set a new standard for the length of time the repository has to hold radiation inside, but nothing in the court's opinion prohibits work from continuing.
"I know of no reason why we shouldn't continue," McSlarrow said.
McSlarrow said the department will file its license application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in December with the 10,000 year standard and then supplement it if needed.
"It is unlikely that anything that might occur would cause us to revisit the first 10,000 years," McSlarrow said.
Nevada officials, though, say the standard, which calls for 10,000 years, is key because the EPA ignored the National Academy of Science, which said the standard should be tied to the peak radiation dosage. By law, EPA was supposed to follow the academy recommendation.
Following that, the standard could be at least 200,000 years, which state officials say would doom the project because it would be impossible to build something to meet that.
Nevada Deputy Attorney General Marta Adams said the federal court issued a separate but "totally standard" ruling Friday holding its order until seven days after the outcome of any attempt to appeal the case.
Adams said the department has 45 days to ask for a rehearing. But she said the bottom line is the court vacated the rule, which is going to create serious problems for the project.
The department could ask Congress to change the law or the EPA could issue a new standard.
McSlarrow noted the department has projected out to 480,000 years and saw no reason the project could not proceed.
He told the committee it will open on time as long as it gets the funding from Congress to do so.
McSlarrow said the court ruling was a victory for the federal government, noting that the majority of Nevada's claims were thrown out.
McSlarrow said at each stage in the Yucca Mountain project, the department has overcome opposition.
"This is manageable," McSlarrow said.
Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said the court's decision was a "very, very, important ruling," and said it was important to find a solution.
Domenici doubted Congress would able to fix anything quickly.
"Passing something that applies to Yucca Mountain in the United States Senate is not very easy," Domenici said, adding that Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has a lot of "persuasion with the Democrats."
Domenici also heads the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, is struggling now to give the department the $880 million it wants for the project next year.
Reid is the top Democrat on that committee and works to cut the budget each year.
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