Letter: NRC neutral, not advocate, in Yucca decision

Friday, Dec. 7, 2007 | 7:30 a.m.

Wednesday's letter from Kevin Kamps, who represents the group Beyond Nuclear, did your readers a disservice by mischaracterizing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's role in deciding whether to issue the Energy Department a license for the proposed high-level waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

The NRC is neither for nor against the proposed repository. This agency will evaluate the Energy Department's application - if and when we get it - according to a number of scientific disciplines and will issue the department a license if - and only if - the application meets the legal and technical requirements to dispose of the waste safely while protecting people and the environment.

As part of this process, the judges of the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will convene one or more hearings to evaluate challenges to the application by the state of Nevada and other parties. The NRC staff will be a party in these hearings, as will the Energy Department and the various challengers.

The staff will not be an advocate for either side. Rather, the staff's role will be to offer the judges a technical and legal evaluation of the issues in the proceeding and of whether the application meets the established standards in the law and the commission's regulations.

Stephen Burns, Rockville, Md.