WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2017 - Several organizations have joined to ask congressional leaders to appropriate funds this fiscal year for an effective nuclear waste management program. Their letter urges Congress to hold DOE to its commitments under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act requiring the department to “remove and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.” The joint letter was signed by the American Nuclear Society, the Decommissioned Plant Coalition, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, the U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council, the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition and Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). “It is the federal government’s obligation to fund and implement a solution for the nation’s used fuel,” NEI Vice President of Governmental Affairs Beverly Marshall said. “Acting now would save American taxpayers billions of dollars – while also solving one of the nation’s longstanding political challenges.” The coalition called upon the U.S. government to: complete the review of the Yucca Mountain licensing application; implement a pilot consolidated interim storage facility, with priority given to “stranded” used fuel at decommissioned nuclear power plant sites; and prepare for the transportation of used fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
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