Nuke regulators bring Yucca Mountain waste plan closer to death via The Hill

By Ben Geman – 09/09/11 03:14 PM ET

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) acted Friday to end review of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, handing a victory to the Obama administration in its ongoing effort to kill the project.

The NRC split 2-2 in failing to decide whether to uphold or reject a decision by its Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB), which last year rejected the Energy Department’s attempt to withdraw the license application for the Nevada project.

But the NRC, citing funding constraints, instructed the ASLB to close out its work on the project by the end of this fiscal year, which is the end of the month.

The Energy Department, while seeking to shut down the Yucca project, said it’s committed to finding a long-term solution to disposing of nuclear waste that’s piling up at the nation’s nuclear reactors.

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Republicans have slammed Obama administration efforts to scuttle the long-planned — and long-delayed — Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site in Nevada. House GOP spending legislation continues funding for the project and prevents use of funds for shutting it down.

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How Dead Is Yucca Mountain? via The New York Times

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