Transportation of spent nuclear fuel was the topic raised most often
as senators heard several days of testimony on establishing a permanent
nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. As reported in FYI
#51, the governor of Nevada has vetoed President Bush's decision
to go forward with the project. Congress has 90 legislative days, till
July 25, to override Governor Kenny Guinn's veto, if it so chooses.
On May 8, the House voted to override the governor's veto, and the issue
then moved to the Senate. Congress's override of the veto would allow
DOE to submit a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC), which would then have four years to evaluate the technical merits
of DOE's case for siting a repository at Yucca Mountain.
In recent days, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) chaired three Senate
Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearings on Yucca
Mountain. Critics and proponents of the project alike had an
opportunity to present their viewpoints, objections, fears and
recommendations. Although he is the sponsor of Senate resolution
S.J. Res. 34 to override the Nevada governor's veto, Bingaman
asked balanced, thoughtful questions and ensured that both sides
were heard.
"It is not our job," Bingaman told the committee, "to
substitute
our judgment" for that of the NRC on the technical aspects of the
issue. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, as the first witness,
noted that in overriding the Nevada veto, Congress would not be
making a final decision on the site, but placing that decision in
the hands of the NRC's independent experts.
The second panel of witnesses, appearing at the request of the
State of Nevada, testified about the likely number of waste
shipments traveling across the country, the fear that vehicles
moving nuclear waste could be possible targets for terrorists,
the potential for trucking accidents, and the regulations
governing drivers. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson spoke
about the "monumental" task of preparing for terrorist attacks
during the Winter Olympic Games. James Hall, former chairman of
the National Transportation Safety Board, commented that "this
will be the biggest transportation safety decision made by this
Congress." While he emphasized that he was "not anti-nuclear"
and had no position on the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a
repository, Hall argued that Congress should not give its
approval to go forward with the project until DOE had developed,
and Congress had reviewed, an acceptable transportation plan.
Although Abraham was the first to testify, his statement included
responses to such concerns. He cited DOE's past track record of
safe waste transportation, and said that with waste now
temporarily stored at over 100 sites around the country, much of
it was likely to be moved to other locations sooner or later. He
thought a comprehensive federal plan, coordinated with the states
- as DOE intends to develop - was preferable to a number of
uncoordinated, "ad hoc" transportation activities. Senator
Chuck
Hagel (R-NE) pointed out that "we don't live in a risk-free
society." Senator. Larry Craig (R-ID) said he was glad the
Olympics had not been cancelled due to fears of terrorism. Mayor
Anderson agreed that fear should not drive such decisions, but
said that because no ultimate solution to the nuclear waste issue
has been found, the country should decommission all currently-
operating nuclear power reactors and take the time to find an
acceptable solution.
Timing was another issue that arose repeatedly. More than one
witness noted that DOE believes spent nuclear fuel is currently
safe for 50 to 100 years in temporary storage at existing NRC-
approved sites. It was suggested that alternatives such as
reprocessing and monitored, retrievable storage should be
investigated more thoroughly before deciding on permanent
underground geological storage at Yucca Mountain. Former NRC
commissioner Victor Gilinsky pointed out that the waste was safer
to move after cooling on-site for many years. Abraham, when
asked about on-site temporary storage, said that some existing
sites were running out of space, and while they were considered
safe, DOE had not researched seismic activity and other
considerations at these sites as it had at Yucca Mountain. He
added that Congress has given DOE neither the funding nor the
guidance to thoroughly pursue alternatives to deep geological
storage at Yucca Mountain.
At the final hearing, NRC Chairman Richard Meserve noted that
"the commission takes no position" on whether a permanent
repository should be located at Yucca Mountain. He said the
commission's views would be shaped by the results of the
licensing process, and "our decision will be based on the
information before us at that time." Asked by Bingaman if he saw
any reason why Congress should not vote to let DOE file the
license application, Meserve replied that he was "not aware of
anything that would foreclose either decision Congress would
make." Addressing the fact that DOE will not be ready to submit
its license application within the statutory 90-day period after
any congressional override, Meserve said he viewed the 90-day
provision as a "permissive, enabling provision," and added
that
the project would be best served if DOE took the time necessary
to submit "a high-quality application." He noted that assessing
the safety of transportation and the transportation casks would
be part of the NRC's evaluation: "We have an obligation to ensure
public health and safety." Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-
CO) remarked, "I don't think anybody can guarantee absolute
safety under any and all conditions."
Also testifying on the final day was Jerrod Cohon, chairman of
the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, which was established
by Congress for independent oversight of DOE's work on a
permanent repository. He reported that the Board finds the
technical basis for DOE's performance estimates of the site to
currently be "weak to moderate," but added that the Board
has
found "no individual technical or scientific factor" that
would
automatically rule out the project. "It is not possible to avoid
all technical uncertainty, at Yucca Mountain or any other site,"
he cautioned; "It is up to the policymakers to decide how much
uncertainty is acceptable."
DOE Under Secretary Robert Card declared his confidence that the
total costs of the project would not top DOE's current estimate
of $56 billion, and that the existing trust fund for this purpose
would be adequate. Gary Jones of GAO testified that there were
no contingencies built into the project's cost or schedule. "I
think that's very, very risky for a first-of-its-kind project,"
she said. It will be "the most expensive construction project in
the history of the world," Nevada Senator John Ensign (R) said,
"for something I believe is totally unnecessary." He urged
that
on-site, dry-cask waste storage continue to be used while DOE put
the money instead into finding alternatives to permanent storage
at Yucca Mountain.
A recent survey by National Journal's CongressDaily shows 48
Senators ready to vote for Bingaman's resolution to override
Guinn's veto, and 19 who have said they will oppose it. Bingaman
plans an Energy and Natural Resources Committee vote for June 5.
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