WASHINGTON (News 4 & Fox 11) — A subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a hearing next week to discuss legislation that would revive the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site.
Rep. John Shimkus, R-Illinois, announced the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on environment will discuss “practical reforms to the nation’s nuclear waste management policy” on Wednesday, April 26.
The legislation discussion draft, tentatively called the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017, would reserve about 147,000 acres in Nye County for the repository.
According to a press release, the discussion draft will “facilitate feedback from stakeholders” for updating nuclear waste policy, though a witness list was not available as of Wednesday afternoon.
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Yucca has become a hot-button issue for many of Nevada’s elected officials since President Donald Trump revealed he would ask for $120 million to revive the project in his proposed 2018 budget.
The House bill isn’t the only effort to revive Yucca. The state of Texas has filed a suit in federal court that would restart licensing, though Nevada has filed a motion to be included as a party.
Other members of Nevada’s Congressional delegation have joined them in opposition to the project, such as Sen. Dean Heller, who reiterated during a town hall in Reno and speech at the state Legislature that he would work to block the project.
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