YUCCA MOUNTAIN:

Once flatlining, now on life support

Without pulling license application, critics say plan could resurface

ENERGY DEPARTMENT FILE

Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 | 2 a.m.

When asked whether Obama would withdraw the Energy Department’s application to license the nuclear waste repository as president, a spokeswoman for the then-senator replied unequivocally in an e-mail: “Yes.” — As reported in the Sun, June 2008

“The position is Yucca Mountain is not going forward, that’s the president’s position. But it’s a very complicated issue because we still have to do things that allow that we can use nuclear as part of our energy mix.” — Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Thursday

If dump’s license application is allowed to proceed and is approved, some say, a future president might be able to open it without new approval process.

Yucca Mountain

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Yucca Mountain

Washington — The Obama administration remains steadfastly opposed to the Yucca Mountain project, but new Energy Secretary Steven Chu is leaving the door ajar for the government to continue seeking a license needed to open the nuclear waste dump site.

In remarks to the Las Vegas Sun on Thursday, Chu declined to say he was pulling the license application pending before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Critics of Yucca want the application killed because they fear that if it is approved, a future presidential administration could open the dump fairly quickly — avoiding a new, years-long application process.

President Barack Obama’s campaign pledged last year to kill the application, which is widely opposed in Nevada. When asked May 29 whether Obama would withdraw the application as president, a spokeswoman said unequivocally, “Yes.”

In comments Thursday, Chu gave assurances that Obama remains opposed to the nuclear dump site. “The position is Yucca Mountain is not going forward, that’s the president’s position,” Chu said following a talk in Washington. “But it’s a very complicated issue because we still have to do things that allow that we can use nuclear as part of our energy mix.”

Though quickly withdrawing the application is one sure way to kill the project, it may be easier said than done.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act requires the building of Yucca Mountain. That law remains in effect, which means the administration opens itself to potential legal action if it abruptly halts the process without an alternative.

Utility companies that operate nuclear power plants across the nation have sued the government for failing to open Yucca Mountain by the promised 1998 start date. The waste is piling up at their plant sites.

Obama has repeatedly said that he will not pursue Yucca Mountain to store spent fuel. Discussions are under way for a national Blue Ribbon commission that could consider alternatives to Yucca Mountain that would be acceptable to both the industry as well as lawmakers in Washington.

Similarly, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry’s main lobbying arm, has been visiting communities across the United States to gauge interest in hosting waste dumps. Some proponents think there are economic benefits to housing such an operation.

Energy spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller said late Thursday that “charting a path forward on alternatives to Yucca Mountain is a key priority of Secretary Chu as he begins his tenure at the Department of Energy. Under an Obama administration, no license application will result in a nuclear waste storage site at Yucca Mountain.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, among the dump’s strongest opponents, is confident Obama and Chu will stop the dump, a spokesman said Thursday. Reid had vowed to try to block any nominee for energy secretary who didn’t oppose Yucca Mountain.

“We do want to pull the license application, though there are some steps that need to be taken to do that,” Reid spokesman Jon Summers said.

“Keep in mind that Obama has been in office all of a month,” Summers added. “President Obama and Secretary Chu made a promise to the people of Nevada and to Sen. Reid that they’re going to kill the dump. We have no doubt they’re going to do that. But we also realize there’s some groundwork that needs to be completed before you pull the license application.”

Bob Loux, the former head of the Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency, who fought the dump for more than 25 years, suggested that Chu’s inability to readily commit to pulling the application might mean he “is trying to forestall a wholesale revolt.”

Loux said Energy Department staff could also be interested in seeing the project through to completion as an exercise to understand what it would take to win licensing approval of a full-scale repository — the first of its kind.

The licensing process began last fall and is expected to take four years. The nuclear lobbying group has also promoted finishing the process to determine the project’s viability.

But Loux added that if Obama’s fiscal 2010 budget essentially zeroes out funding for Yucca Mountain, as Reid has indicated it would, there may not be resources to finish the licensing process anyway.

Estimates are it would take $200 million annually to support the work, he said.

Discussion: 32 comments so far…

By jfnance32

2/20/09 at 2:12 a.m.

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If Obama pulls the license application for political reasons then he would be breaking the law.

Does Obama want to become a law breaker?
By Fccfirstclass

2/20/09 at 4:47 a.m.

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Nance;

You are the only person I know that is in love with Yucca and Gibbons. You live in Reno, yes?

You would not dare to live in Vegas or Clark Co. and make these statements.

Re-read the article. Sound science says that Yucca leaks, will not do what it was supposed to do, which was hold high level waste.

Just like the supersite at Hanfod, WA. However, people living in Western Washington, including Seattle, are horrified at the mess left in the Eastern Washington desert. Hanford is years and Billions behind in the cleanup of the site. Do some research on the subject.

President Obama knows that unsound science pushed for 25 years have resulted in this mess in the Nevada desert.

BTW, as soon as I read the headline and saw that there was one comment, I knew that it was from you pushing your Rethug thinking on the rest of us.
By jhv

2/20/09 at 5:26 a.m.

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fcc, you are wrong about Nance being the only one....I too support the completion of Yucca. I read an article from the Las Vegas Review two days ago about Chu's favoring of moving towards licensing of Yucca and it seems about 9 out of 10 also favored Yucca....maybe you should do your homework first?? You actually seem to be one of few Harry Reid lovers.
By tannsummers

2/20/09 at 6:19 a.m.

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You DEMS are an interesting breed. You want jobs? Secure employment? YUCCA is the answer!! Make a deal with the FEDS to accept and embrace YUCCA in exchange for water assistance since Lake Mead is drying up.

Who is to say that scientists can't find a use for nuclear waste in the future ... maybe it fuels our cars or airplanes in the future.
By rusty57

2/20/09 at 6:22 a.m.

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I'd rather live next to Yucca than a windfarm...too noisy.
By pmmart

2/20/09 at 7:16 a.m.

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The positions of those who favor Yucca Mountain would be strenghtened ..IF .. they did not have a financial gain in its completion and use.

It is utterly impossible to give a 100% safety guarentee on a project of this magnitude, or to give an accurate senerio of the results of a cataclysmic event like an earthquake.

If the nuclear waste is safe to store it should be safe to recycle as it was in Pre Jimmy Carter daze.
By Sunlizard

2/20/09 at 7:17 a.m.

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Hmmm, politicians always seem to promise to kill yucca before they are elected, than things change...
By getalife

2/20/09 at 7:56 a.m.

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Yucca is a good and viable place to store waste. I think what is getting lost in the rhetoric is that Yucca is located next to the TEST SITE.

You anti-Yucca folks get that, TEST SITE.

Harry Reid wants to kill Yucca and send the jobs out of state. Nice going Harry.

pmmart, I disagree on the financial aspect of Yucca. Those of us living in Clark County who pay Republic Services criminal extortion fees to have our garbage dumped have insight into how much can be made in the dumping business.

I say let's get out in front of this and start making some cash.

California wouldn't be in the financial mess they are in if they could drill offshore for oil, but the enviro-nuts won't let them, so there you go.
By jfnance32

2/20/09 at 8:08 a.m.

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Obama does not need to break the law. He would if he withdrew the license application for political reason.

The Democrats control both houses. They could pass a new law that allowed them to shut down Yucca legally.

Why does Obama want to be a law breaker?
By Future2012

2/20/09 at 8:37 a.m.

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We have been telling the LV Sun for a long time that the NWPA is the key and they have refused to admit it.

They promoted Obama's election on the the bases that Obama would break the law.

Harry Reid is running in 2010 on breaking the NWPA and card check. Will the LV Sun support a loser like Harry Reid on the basis that he will get Obama and Chu to break the law?

Harry Reid's only option is to change the law.

Defunding will throw the control of the project into the courts where the Feds have lost every case.

The NEI will complete the project and get all the ratepayers money back which is billions that Obama and Reid can not spare.
By Bye

2/20/09 at 8:58 a.m.

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The Energy Secretary is in a tough spot - as director of the lab at Lawrence Berkley he signed off on a report supporting the licensing of Yucca and in a lecture Dr. Chu said the only realistic short term solution to our energy and climate crisis must include nuclear power. Now that's what his bright scientific knowledge tells him, now political pressure tells him he must follow a certain agenda. I agree with a previous comment - this shouldn't focus all on money for our state but on securing health and safety assurances. I say change the law to allow reprocessing here in Nevada and let's use this project to diversify our economy. In tough fiscal times let's not waste our tax dollars fighting this project in the courts, let's allow the NRC to make their decision in 3-4 years. Our leaders should be securing significant funds for the bright scientists at UNLV to accelerate their reprocessing research at the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies, I sometimes wonder why the good Senator opposes looking at reprocessing when that Center could be his lasting legacy.
By boftx

2/20/09 at 10:46 a.m.

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I also support Yucca. Even a causual risk/rewards analysis shows that Nevada would be stupid to pass this up. Being the cynic that I am, I have to ask, how does Reid profit by killing Yucca? Follow the money!
By Pug_nation

2/20/09 at 11:20 a.m.

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Hey JHV - are you reading the same article that everyone else is reading?? Perhaps the 9 out of 10 your referring to are people who are lacking a fully functional brain. Even this article stated that the project is "widely opposed in Nevada."
Sure! let them bring radioactive waste right through Las Vegas...what a wonderful idea...then when the first time happens that there is an accident during rainy weather involving a truck hauling the radioactive swill, you would mind the bleeding warts, teeth falling out or the six hairy lumps that start growing on your back from contaminated tap water.
If Yucca mountain is such a GREAT idea...why is it that John McCain made a point of not having a similar project anywhere in Arizona??
Oh wait wait wait...I know...its the liberal media...its those dam DEMS!!!Republican zealots are the same as their would be leaders...completely blind and ignorant to any opinion other than their own and willing to shoot down everyone else's ideas without providing any viable options of their own.
By Impeach_Harry_Reid

2/20/09 at 12:18 p.m.

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Pug Nation: A Recent Reno Gazette-Journal Poll shows 66% of Nevadans are IN FAVOR of Yucca Mountain!!!! So where's the story for the public to see???? Can you say "Media Bias"???? The 9 out of 10 people in Nevada that are brain dead are the non-thinking sheep that listen to the lies coming from Harry "We lost the War" Reid.

We need to campaign against Reid's fear mongering insanity that has this state completely hoodwinked. We need the Yucca Mountain for so many good reasons -- a primary one now is to help the Nevada economy and save jobs!!! Besides, IT IS THE LAW!!!

Dirty Harry has done NOTHING to help the Nevada economy and now he's trying to kill a $100 Billion income stream from the Yucca Mountain Project; some thousands of jobs now and in the future; the only job in Nevada for highly educated, highly trained workers; and put enough homes on the market in Summerlin to quickly turn it into Slummerlin...

If the public was properly informed about the Yucca Mountain Project, I'm sure more and more people would be for it. Let's put it on a Ballot for a vote!

Reid should have worked with the Government to make Yucca an advanced center for Nuclear Power, Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing, and even solar and wind farms.

But no, the monster ego of this truly little man is single handedly destroying Nevada while he lines his pockets from his shady dealings...

And then there are his infuriating recent commercials... Every word of them is a lie as he tries to gain our votes once again....

Just say "NO" to Harry in 2010 !!!!!

Ty Cobb is the ONLY Nevada politician with his head NOT firmed planted in Harry's butt! I hope he will challenge Harry in 2010!!!
By Impeach_Harry_Reid

2/20/09 at 12:25 p.m.

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All,

For information on how to fight Harry on his farcical "Don Quixote"-like quest to kill Yucca Mountain, please see:

www.yuccamatters.com
By jhv

2/20/09 at 12:25 p.m.

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Pug , I guess what you are saying is that 9 out of ten people that have good reasons for Yucca to succeed are total idiots except for the few including you....WOW..you are special. How bout that Nevadaians???
By jhv

2/20/09 at 12:29 p.m.

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Pug..also, I believe you are the one who is brainless and is in need of a real education. Have you even studied the route or even the type of casks used for transporting the SOLIDS. You act as though they are hauling contanminated water in a bucket, you really ought to educate yourself before inserting foot in the large pie hole you call a mouth!!
By jfnance32

2/20/09 at 3:37 p.m.

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Pug.....If Obama withdraws Yucca license application for political reasons then he will be breaking the law.

OMG....Obama the law breaker!!!!!!

He could ask his Democrat friends that control both houses to change the law so he would not be a law breaker.
By solarworker

2/20/09 at 4:07 p.m.

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I live in Vegas and I support Yucca.

To boot, I work in the solar industry and I wish we Obama would expand his views on nuclear energy!!!
By Pug_nation

2/20/09 at 9:34 p.m.

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Well, geez...of course readers in RENO are going to support a toxic landfill when its hundreds of miles away from them...JHV, i find your comments desperate, as I make generalized comments on the republican party and abou the issue and you feel the need to use personal insults. Of course somewhere like Reno or Carson city are going to be all for Yucca mountain as I'm sure alot of them could care less if Las Vegas sunk into a deep dark sinkhole. It doesn't matter how you transport radioactive waste. There always is a chance of an accident occurring and said contamination. I'm sure your probably from Reno and could give a crap. If your so hungry for a job, check out fatburger, i hear they need a driver thru person and with your intellectual capacity, sounds like you qualify!!
Jfnance, spouting out the same sentence over and over makes me wonder if you are not a real person and just some AI program spamming these comments.
Impeach, Sounds to me alot like more republican sour grapes. Its kind of sad whats become of the republican party and their followers. Completely unable to engage in a sensible discussion without resorting to personal attacks and the same old Karl Rove brand of BS. You accuse the sun of being media biased when your own Reno Gazette-Journal may as well be Fox News with the republican slant they put out.
I think Reno folks are just jealous...cause Las Vegas is ALOT more well known than reno. And we have alot warmer weather to boot. have fun shoveling that snow!!!!!
By Pug_nation

2/20/09 at 9:44 p.m.

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BTW, i wouldn't feel safe transporting one gram of radioactive waste near Las Vegas even if it was encased in a 10' by 10' solid steel cube. The way how most people here don't know how to drive in the rain, it would take one rainy day to bring about mass contamination.
Yuck on Yucca mountain...if your that desperate for a job, try changing to another field. Health care is doing pretty good. If nothing else, you can always get a job handing out those nudie swedish massage cards on the strip. LOL
By Metman

2/20/09 at 10:12 p.m.

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Harry Reid is running commercials on TV encouraging us to call Harry Reid, and tell him what a good job he's doing.

Harry, the War is not lost, Caroline Kennedy would have made a horrible senator, and you sir, are an idiot for opposing the Yucca Mountain Project. Keep up the good work. You are the next Dashle.
By getalife

2/20/09 at 11:17 p.m.

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Pug,

I am glad to see you are good at jumping to conclusions based on fear and not fact.

You need to be deprogrammed, Harry is not your savior.
By davelv

2/21/09 at 1:27 a.m.

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For those who think nuclear accidents are inevitable, based on this analysis planes will never fly, man will never go to the moon, organ transplants aren't possible, and a black man will never be president - so don't even try any of these things since their success is impossible.
Further, if you deem even one death from nuclear power as unacceptable then why not outlaw cars that kill 40000 people/year?
Life is impossible without some risk vs the reward gained therefrom. Las Vegas gained for at least a decade the most from nuclear power of any city in the world due to the resulting cheap energy for travel and leftover cash for tourism. Now that it is time to help dispose of the nuclear waste that made Nevada, some Nevadans are coming across as small town selfish self-centered NIMBYs for a small spot in the desert 100 miles away from the nearest population center.
As to pulling the license application, the NWPA has no such provision for DOE or the President to do so. Only the FULL Congress can authorize its withdrawal by passing a new law.
By Pug_nation

2/21/09 at 4:04 a.m.

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LOL, i notice that not a single one of you have answered my question. If the type of project they want to do in Yucca mountain is so awesome and s going to make so many jobs and is just going to make everyone smiles...THEN WHY....answer me why did John McCain not want to have the site in Arizona?? There was a spot in Arizona which was one of the original ten sites looked into...and Arizona didn't want any part of it. So my question is...why not if this is such a win/win situation??
By dapperdoog

2/21/09 at 7:25 a.m.

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Just a thought-I recently visited an old girlfriend who works at Washington Hanford in Richland, and she said the powers that be are petrified that radioactive material may be leaching into the Columbia river. Years of hell-bent production to produce weapons grade radioactive material is now becoming our worst nightmare. If you thought the salmon were declining before, wait until they can be seen underwater-at night. Your government at work, kids...
By MAGSNY1999

2/21/09 at 7:55 a.m.

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for all of you who actually think they wont be storing waste here think again... This is the ONLY SPOT IN THE COUNTRY THAT TESTED NUKES ON LAND. WHY WOULDNT THEY PUT THEM IN NEVADA?!?!?!? ITS THE PERFECT PLACE... YOU MOVED NEXT TO A TEST SITE AND NOW YOU DONT WANT WASTE STORED THERE?!?!? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
YUCCA WILL BE OPENED AND STORE WASTE! STOP WASTING TIME AND RESOURCES AND LETS START TO GET THEN TO NOT TRANSFER THE WASTE THRU LAS VEGAS AND MAKE THE D.O.E. BUILD A SEPERATE RAILWAY OR ROAD SYSTEM FOR THIS WASTE TO TRAVEL ON. BC ITS COMING AND IT SHOULD BE HELD AT YUCCA WE NEED TO FIGHT TO NOT LET IT TRAVEL THRU VEGAS HERSELF
By dengelhardt

2/24/09 at 9:27 a.m.

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THE REASON FOR SETTING ASIDE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS ABOUT YUCCA MOUNTAIN APPEAR TO CENTER AROUND THE NEED FOR NUCLEAR POWER (I AGREE) AND THE LACK OF A SUITABLE ALTERNATIVE (I DISAGREE).

THERE IS A SUITABLE (AND JUST-PATENTED) METHOD AND HARDWARE DESIGN TO ELIMINATE (NOT JUST STORE) NUCLEAR WASTE FROM OUR ENVIRONMENT WITH CURRENT TECHNOLOGY. IT IS SAFE, SECURE, ECONOMICAL, AND PERMANENT! CHECK IT OUT ON www.permanentradwastesolutions.com. THE WEB SITE ONLY SHOWS THE CONCEPT AND NOT THE HARDWARE.

IT HASN'T BECOME PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE BECAUSE IT IS UNFUNDED. THE FEW WORKING ON IT ARE DONATING THEIR TIME BECAUSE THEY SEE THE VALUE OF IT.

IT WILL WORK, AS ACKNOWLEDGED BY NUCLEAR SCIENTISTS, INCLUDING ONE OF THE ORIGINAL SCIENTISTS ON THE MANHATTEN PROJECT.
By ider55

2/24/09 at 11:35 a.m.

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I don't want to get into your debate; however, as I work for a company with nuclear waste waiting to be sent to Yucca I just want to clarify one point someone keeps making. None of the waste scheduled to be sent to Yucca is 'sludge.' It is all in solid form. All are shipped in casks that have been through rigorous tests from being dropped from tall heights to being struck dead on by fast moving trains. We recently shipped 125 spent fuel assemblies out west via rail without incident. I would feel safer with having nuclear waste being shipped through my town than I do having big rigs caring toxic chemicals and gasoline. Yes, places like Hanford are a mess because in the past people were extremely ignorant about the nuclear industry. Trust me, they have smartened up in the past decade. If the food industry had the strict standards the nuclear industry has we wouldn't have contaminated foods on our grocery shelves!
By gappel

2/24/09 at 10:06 p.m.

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The incredible Reid proponents neglect to point out the ending the Yucca project would add at least $50 BILLION to the National Debt. The Courts say the Federal government will have to pay to the utilities for violating the CONTRACT the government entered with the utilities. This is not nuclear waste fund money. It is TAX DOLLARS. OBTW, the utilities will want (and get) the nuclear waste fund money returned too.

I remain stunned at those who pretend to know more than knowledgeable scientists and engineers that despite the environmental lobby's histrionics have not prostituted themselves in their support of the Yucca Mountain proposal

It galls me to see them pretend to know more about nuclear waste generation, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal than the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission that is statutorily charged with evaluating the proposal Are they concerned that these highly qualified regulators might not agree with you? HMMmmmm
By shef

2/25/09 at 2:30 a.m.

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Opposition to Yucca is total insanity. It is based on fabrications, junk science, and irrational allegations made by anti-nuclear activists. While feigning to know all about radiation physics, reactors, and nuclear fuels, few anti-nuclears have ever designed, build, or operated a reactor. Should Yucca be stopped, Nevada will loose a unique opportunity to be involved with the advanced nuclear cycle which will be part of all future prime energy generation. It will support thousands of high-tech jobs. I can not understand why some politicians listen to a handful of biased anti-nuclear lobbyists instead of some 200,000 professionals worldwide who have diligently studied energy engineering and who see a clear solution to the pending energy crisis. In the USA it means expanding our present fleet of 104 nuclear power plants to some 500 units by mid-century, when oil field are exhausted. The motive is to save our children and grand-children from an economic catastrophe that will surely enfold if we don't carry out such a program soon. Nuclear fission waste amounts to one aspirin tablet per year per person using nuclear electricity, compared to tons of air pollutants and globe-warming gaseous CO2 emitted by coal or fossil-fuel combustion. Nuclear waste has been safely transported and stored by the US nuclear navy for half a century. Green nuclear power is the only practical solution to simultaneously (1) avoid dependence on foreign oil and gas, (2) overcome future oil and gas depletion, and (3) ameliorate global warming. Nevada's Yucca repository is essential for maintaining a successful nuclear power program. With proven fast breeder technology, uranium can provide global prime energy for 3000 years. Those obstructing nuclear power will be seen as irresponsible neo-luddites by future generations. Wind and solar are fine for small-quantity energy needs in selected locations but it costs three times more than nuclear energy per delivered kWh. They can not support heavy industry and feed the vast fleets of future electric plug-in automobiles. Expensive energy storage systems are needed to store energy when the sun does not shine or the wind does not blow. Wind- and sand-storms, millions of acres, miles of maintenance roads, electric interconnects, and enormous ecosystem destruction (naturalist nightmares) are also big problems for large wind and solar farms. Opposing a practical program to rescue the USA from future energy-deprivation and economic collapse coincides with Bin Laden's objective to destroy our civilization. Some may not care and want to live in caves again, but most of us prefer today's comforts which America's settlers worked very hard to attain.

Jeff Eerkens, PhD
Adjunct research professor,
Nuclear Science & Eng'ng Institute,
U of Missouri - Columbia
By rational_moderate

11/14/09 at 10 a.m.

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Thank goodness there's still a few rational and well-informed people like Jeff Eerkens out there.I think that BOTH radical right-wing extremist conservatives and radical left-wing extremist liberals have it all wrong when it comes to energy policy.

Solar energy is about the oldest,most conventional energy source there is(ignorant claims of so-called "exotic" by former president Ronald Reagan not withstanding).

And nuclear energy and nuclear waste is not a problem,either.....just pure ignorant and narrow-minded politics of the emotionally irrational....rather than knowlege of scientific facts.

Truth is,we need more of BOTH solar AND nuclear.Mass production of literally zillions of photovoltaic panels and windplants is extremely energy intensive during their initial manufacture(although a good long-term investment after they are built).This is where plentiful,cheap nuclear energy can come to the rescue in assisting the mass production of photovoltaics and windplants.And using nuclear energy can also assist in more economically viable renewable biofuels production.Many other energy sources could come "riding-in" on the back of nuclear energy.