NRC Dockets Yucca Mountain Application

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has officially "docketed," or begun final consideration of the Department of Energy's (DOE) application to build the nation's high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In addition, NRC's staff has recommended that the DOE's Environmental Impact Statement for the project be accepted "with further supplementation."

NRC's action indicates that it has determined that the application is "sufficiently complete" to allow its staff to begin its full review. It is not an indication of final approval or denial. NRC is allowed up to three years to consider the application, a deadline which Congress can extend for an additional year if needed.

As to that "further supplementation" to the Environmental Impact Statement, NRC has asked DOE to supply some expanded details on the project's potential effects on area ground water. In March 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated an investigation into allegations by its own employees that water infiltration data used in its 1998-2000 Yucca Mountain suitability studies may have been falsified. The claims were never substantiated, and in 2003, federal prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges against the federal workers involved.

Also See:
DOE Ups Yucca Mountain Cost
Road to Yucca Mountain Enters Final Turn
"This decision stinks," says Nevada's Governor
U.S. Denies Request to Block NV Nuclear Waste Railroad