By Debra DeHaney-Howard
July 15, 2002

The Senate approved, July 9, S. J. Res. 34 _ a resolution to override Nevada's veto of the Energy Department's proposal to store the nation's high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada _ by voice vote, after a 60-39 vote on a motion to proceed to a final vote.

The approval of S. J. Res. 34 completes the selection of Yucca Mountain as the storage facility for nuclear waste and now clears the way for the Department of Energy to apply for a construction and operation license from the National Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the project. Among other things, the NRC must certify that Yucca Mountain will meet Environmental Protection Agency limits on water leakage over the years the nuclear waste remains radioactive. This process could take up to four years. The target date for opening the facility is 2010.

In February, President Bush, acting on the recommendation from the Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, designated Yucca Mountain as the final repository for the nation's nuclear waste.

Following procedures outlined in the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act (P.L. 97-425), Congress has 90 legislative days to override Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn's "notice of disapproval" that by law vetoed President Bush's decision to build a permanent nuclear waste facility under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Guinn's veto took effect on April 8, which gave Congress until July 25 to sustain or reverse Governor Guinn's veto. The House of Representatives voted 306-117 on H. J. Res. 87 in May to veto the project.

According to the Energy Department, nuclear waste is currently stored at 103 locations in 39 states. Currently, 20 percent of the nation's electricity is produced by nuclear power.

If the construction license is approved and barring any further delays, over 70,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel, a byproduct of nuclear energy production from nuclear power plants and military facilities, would be transported as early as 2010 by rail, trucks and barges to Nevada for disposal at Yucca Mountain.

Although transportation routes have yet to be determined, Secretary Abraham has indicated that the Energy Department would submit a transportation plan before the end of 2003. It is estimated that once shipping begins, it will take almost 30 years to fill up Yucca Mountain.

At the 70th Annual Meeting of the Conference of Mayors in Madison, members of the Conference adopted policy on the transportation of high-level nuclear waste. The policy, among other things, calls for all cities along proposed transportation routes to receive adequate funding for training and equipment to protect the public health and safety in the event of an accident beginning three years prior to the shipment of high-level waste. Full text of the resolution is available on our website usmayors.org.