House OKs a study of nuclear sites

WASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday night to begin temporary storage of commercial nuclear waste at one or more federal facilities — none in Utah — fearing further delays in the proposed but long-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada.

The directive was included in a $29.7 billion measure funding the Energy Department and came over the objections of lawmakers from Washington and South Carolina, two states where the waste from commercial power reactors might be located.

An attempt by Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., to strip the bill of $10 million for the interim storage program failed 312-110. The House passed the spending measure by a 416-13 vote. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, voted against the measure; Reps. Rob Bishop and Chris Cannon, both R-Utah, voted for it. The legislation must still be considered by Senate.

The House bill also provides $661 million for continued development of the Yucca facility, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, which must still get a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

While the legislation leaves it up to the Energy Department to select one or more interim storage sites, a report accompanying the bill suggested the Energy Department's Savannah River weapons facility in South Carolina, the Hanford complex in Washington state and a facility in Idaho as possible locations. It also said the department should consider other federal sites, including closed defense bases for temporary storage.

It calls on the energy secretary to produce a plan for interim storage four months after the bill becomes law and begin accepting waste before the end of next year.

Earlier Tuesday, the chairman of a House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, in response to concerns expressed by Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, insisted that language inserted in the Yucca Mountain funding package is not intended to open the door for interim storage of nuclear waste on Goshute tribal lands in Utah — even if the wording makes it appear so.

"I do not see any reason for the secretary (of energy) to consider making a private site or a site on tribal land into a DOE site for interim storage," said Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio. "My intent is for the secretary to evaluate storage options at existing DOE sites."

Hobson's disclaimer came Tuesday in response to concerns expressed by Bishop, who sought the chairman's assurances on the record in the event the Department of Energy decides to utilize a private site similar to the one proposed by Private Fuel Storage in Tooele County's Skull Valley.

"The fact he said it on the record gives me a whole lot of comfort," Bishop told the Deseret Morning News. "Having him clarify his intent is powerful if push ever comes to shove."

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