Resolution Urging the President and Congress to Abide by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to Establish a Permanent Geologic Repository for Used Nuclear Fuel and Defense-Related High-Level Radioactive Waste Exposed

Model Bill Info
Bill Title	Resolution Urging the President and Congress to Abide by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to Establish a Permanent Geologic Repository for Used Nuclear Fuel and Defense-Related High-Level Radioactive Waste
Date Introduced	December 2, 2016
Date Finalized	January 12, 2017
Date Accessed	April 26, 2018
Type	Model Resolution
Status	Final
Task Forces	Energy, Environment and Agriculture
Keywords	Environment, Energy, Nuclear

Summary

In 1982, the U.S. Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, directing the Department of Energy (DOE) to create a program for the safe and permanent disposal of used commercial fuel and defense-related high-level radioactive waste in a geological repository. In 2010, the Obama Administration suspended its review of the Yucca Mountain license application and halted any further funding for the project. This resolution calls upon the President and Congress to work together to encourage the federal government to complete the review of this license and to proceed with the construction of the facility. Furthermore, the resolution calls for Nevada and the communities surrounding Yucca Mountain to be eligible for benefits and for a new management and disposal organization outside of DOE to have access to the Nuclear Waste Fund with appropriate Congressional oversight.

Resolution Urging the President and Congress to Abide by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to Establish a Permanent Geologic Repository for Used Nuclear Fuel and Defense-Related High-Level Radioactive Waste

WHEREAS, America’s 99 commercial nuclear plants generate 20 percent of the Nation’s electricity with remarkably high levels of efficiency and reliability while producing zero emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a program for the safe, permanent disposal of the Nation’s used commercial fuel and defense-related high-level radioactive waste in a geologic repository; and

WHEREAS, the President of the United States approved the recommendation of the U.S. DOE Secretary of the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada as fully suitable for use as a national used fuel repository and the Congress concurred by passing the Yucca Mountain Development Act of 2002; and

WHEREAS, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act created the Nuclear Waste Fund to pay for the development of a waste management program financed through fees collected by nuclear utilities from their ratepayers; and

WHEREAS, the Nuclear Waste Fund balance exceeds $35 billion and more than $11 billion has been expended on the Yucca Mountain project to date; and

WHEREAS, the Obama Administration stopped review of the DOE Yucca Mountain license application and halted funding for the project in 2010; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered that, due to cancellation of the Yucca Mountain project and the federal government’s continued failure to meet its obligation to dispose of used fuel, the fee assessed on nuclear electricity customers be suspended; and

WHEREAS, compelled by federal court, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission completed the Yucca Mountain safety evaluation report, demonstrating that the facility meets all commission requirements to protect long-term public health and safety, confirming a longstanding worldwide scientific consensus on the safety of the proposed deep geological repository; and

WHEREAS, the government’s failure to begin moving used fuel in 1998 has resulted in more than $5 billion in court-awarded damage settlements being paid from the taxpayer-funded Judgement Fund to compensate energy companies for storing the used fuel onsite.

NOW, THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED that the {state legislature} hereby urges the President and Congress to work together to encourage the federal government to complete the Nuclear Regulatory Commission review of the Yucca Mountain repository license application, followed by construction and operation of the repository; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government should create options for honoring its obligation to remove used fuel from reactor sites while the licensing and construction of Yucca Mountain is underway by deploying consolidated interim storage; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the communities and state hosting the Yucca Mountain repository as well as those hosting any consolidated interim storage facilities shall be eligible for benefits; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new management and disposal organization be established outside the Department of Energy and empowered to access to the Nuclear Waste Fund for its intended purpose, without reliance on the annual federal appropriations process but with appropriate Congressional oversight.