Nuclear Industry Leader Voices Support for H.R. 5360, Urges DOE to Move Used Fuel From Reactor Sites
September 13 2006 - 5:10PM
PR Newswire (US)
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- A Bush Administration
legislative proposal to facilitate management of used nuclear fuel
is strongly supported by the nuclear energy industry and would be
"a major milestone" on the road to proper environmental stewardship
of this material, an industry leader told the U.S. House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality today. DTE Energy
Chairman and CEO Anthony Earley Jr. -- chairman of the Nuclear
Energy Institute's board of directors -- also said there are
additional provisions that Congress should consider in
comprehensive legislation that could be undertaken in parallel with
development of a federal government repository planned for Yucca
Mountain, Nev. "To realize fully the benefits that nuclear power
offers, the country must resolve outstanding issues related to the
ultimate disposal of used nuclear fuel," Earley said. The focus of
the House energy panel's hearing was nuclear waste storage and
disposal, including the administration's Nuclear Fuel Management
and Disposal Act (H.R. 5360). Key provisions of the bill would: *
articulate the government's confidence in the safe and secure
disposal of used nuclear fuel as a matter of national policy; this
would eliminate the need for a determination of "waste confidence"
by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as part of individual
plant licensing actions; * remove the artificial 70,000-metric ton
capacity limitation on the amount of commercial used nuclear fuel
and high-level radioactive waste from U.S. defense programs that
can be placed into the Yucca Mountain repository, and * assure that
there will be adequate funding for the Department of Energy's used
fuel management program by changing the budget treatment for the
federal Nuclear Waste Fund, yet maintaining congressional oversight
of the use of the fund. Billions of dollars from electricity
customers have been paid into the fund but only a fraction of that
money has been spent for its intended purpose. "Enactment of H.R.
5360, with the amendments we advocate, is the critical prerequisite
to implementing our national policy for used fuel management,"
Earley said. "A viable used fuel management strategy is necessary
to retain long-term public confidence in operating existing nuclear
power plants and in building new nuclear power plants to meet our
nation's growing electricity needs, and to fuel our economic
growth." The industry also supports movement of used nuclear fuel
on an expedited basis and guidance from Congress on prospective
Department of Energy contracts for used-fuel management at new
nuclear power plants. Developments that have occurred since the
contracts for existing power plants were executed in the 1980s
warrant this new guidance from federal lawmakers. Earley expressed
the industry's support for "an active and constructive role for
Nevada in the development of Yucca Mountain to help ensure the
safety of its citizens" and for compensation for the state to
address the program's socioeconomic impact. "The industry is
encouraged by the steps DOE has taken to work with affected local
governments in the state, and we further encourage DOE to expand
its interactions with Nevadans interested in constructive
engagement in the project," Earley said. One hundred and three
commercial reactors in 31 states provide electricity to one of
every five homes and businesses. The used nuclear fuel that results
from the production of nuclear power is housed in 12-foot-long fuel
assemblies that are stored in steel-lined concrete pools and,
increasingly, in dry storage containers at plant sites as fuel
pools reach their capacity. Federal law required the Department of
Energy to begin disposing of used nuclear fuel in 1998, but the
government has defaulted on its obligation, and dozens of utility
lawsuits against the government are pending in federal court. DOE's
revised schedule for the Yucca Mountain repository envisions the
facility opening in 2017 at the earliest. "The industry's top
priority is for the federal government to meet its statutory and
contractual obligation to move used fuel away from operating and
decommissioned reactor sites. Further delays in federal movement of
used nuclear fuel and defense waste products will only add to
utility damage claims," Earley said. The Nuclear Energy Institute
is the nuclear energy industry's policy organization. This news
release and additional information about nuclear energy are
available at http://www.nei.org/. DATASOURCE: Nuclear Energy
Institute CONTACT: Nuclear Energy Institute media relations staff:
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