I have blogged about the plan to build a permanent geological repository for spent nuclear fuel under Yucca Mountain in Nevada before. The U.S. began working on siting such a repository in 1982. A possible site under Yucca Mountain in Nevada was selected in 1987. For various reasons, the final decision to construct the repository at Yucca Mountain was only formally approved by the U.S. Congress in 2002 and money was appropriated.
Work proceeded on preparations for the repository such as environmental impact statements and licenses until 2011 when the project was officially canceled. Part of the reason for the cancellation was the furious opposition to the repository by the citizens and government officials of the state of Nevada as well as the opposition of Barack Obama, the U.S. President. At this point, it is estimated that there will not be a permanent repository for U.S. spent nuclear fuel until 2050 at the earliest.
The current Secretary of Energy who will resign on January 20th recently said in a speech that the effort by the federal government to dictate where the repository would be located had been a failure. He said that the only realistic approach to siting a repository would be to get support and signoff from federal, state and local governments as well as local citizens for a particular site to build a repository.
The DoE Secretary said that the DoE had been working with states and communities that had expressed an interest in hosting a repository but that there was no comprehensive plan at present. Some states including Texas and New Mexico have expressed an interest in hosting an interim repository where spent nuclear fuel could be temporarily stored in dry casks.
Now that a new U.S. President has been elected and will be inaugurated on January 20th, there are calls for reconsideration of the Yucca Mountain site to reduce the time necessary to site and build a permanent repository. Donald Trump, the new President, has pledged to ramp up domestic energy production and that include nuclear energy. However, he has not taken a formal position on Yucca Mountain. His pick for Secretary of Energy has also not voiced support for Yucca Mountain.
Although there has been no official position stated, the Trump transition team does have supporters for the restart of the Yucca Mountain repository. They have asked the U.S. Department of Energy if there are any legal barriers to moving ahead on a repository at Yucca Mountain. The DoE was also asked if it had any plans for restarting the proceedings necessary to obtain the needed licenses for the project.
Five members of the six member Nevada Congressional delegation have introduced legislation in the U.S. House and Senate to require that the DoE obtain written consent from a state's governor, local government and any relevant Indian tribes before a particular site for a spent nuclear fuel repository could be chosen. This move is a response to the Trump transition team support for proceeding to build a repository under Yucca Mountain.
Artist's concept of proposed Yucca Mountain repository:
