Administration Cannot Drop Bid for Nuclear Waste Dump in Nevada, Panel Finds

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Related Environmental Issues / Environmental Impact - Cases, Nuclear Wastes (Used Fuel)

Date posted: 07/12/10

In a setback for the Obama administration, a panel of judges at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ruled on Tuesday that the Energy Department could not withdraw its application to open a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Making good on a campaign pledge by President Obama, the Energy Department had formally sought to drop its plan for Yucca Mountain, a volcanic structure about 100 miles from Las Vegas. But states with major accumulations of waste from nuclear weapons production had petitioned to prevent the department from doing so. In a 47-page decision, the three-member panel of administrative judges said the Energy Department lacked the authority to drop the petition because it would flout a law passed by Congress.