The Administration strongly supports enactment of H.J.Res. 87,
which approves the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, site as the scientifically-deemed
safe location for the Nation's permanent repository for high-level
radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The development of
a nuclear waste repository is critical for a number of important
national interests including energy security, homeland security,
and protection of the environment. Right now nuclear materials
are accumulating at 131 sites in 39 States, and these temporary
storage facilities are running out of room. It was never the
intent that these temporary storage arrangements become permanent
nuclear waste repositories. The Administration commends the
House for its prompt, bipartisan action on this important legislation.
The suitability of the Yucca Mountain site is based on a vast
body of scientific evidence developed over the past 24 years
at a cost of over $4 billion; and the enactment of H.J.Res.
87 will allow the required licensing process to move forward.
Under that process, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
will grant a license for the construction of the repository
only if the Department of Energy demonstrates that, in compliance
with NRC regulations, the material can be received, possessed,
and disposed of without unreasonable risk to public health
and safety. The NRC regulations include stringent public health
and environmental standards developed by the Environmental
Protection Agency. It is the Administration's expectation
that the Yucca Mountain site will meet the NRC's stringent
criteria and be licensed as the Nation's permanent nuclear
waste repository. Such action will ensure a permanent, safe,
and secure site for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel, which
will allow the Nation to continue to receive the benefits
of nuclear power -- an energy source that currently provides
20 percent of the Nation's electricity and emits no greenhouse
gases.
