Yucca Mountain dump: Dead or undead?

WASHINGTON — There is a renewed push in Washington to reopen the debate on Yucca Mountain, with the Trump administration and some lawmakers seeing what they think is an opportunity this year to try to advance the project’s long-stalled licensing process.

“It does appear we are on the cusp of actually getting something through,” Rep. Fred Upton told lawmakers earlier this week. The Michigan Republican spoke at a House Appropriations Committee hearing, where he and several other members of Congress requested funding to move forward on Yucca Mountain.

“It is time to get [nuclear waste] off of sensitive environmental areas and into one safe place,” Upton said. “We have well over 300 votes on the House floor that would support this and it is time to actually deliver. We have a president that will sign this. We need to take action.”

But Nevada lawmakers are united to try to kill the effort.

“Nevada continues to oppose any and all attempts to fund Yucca Mountain,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) told Nevada Current in an interview. “Obviously, we have fought this battle for many decades and we will not give in or give up at this point.”

Read more: https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2019/04/12/yucca-mountain-dump-dead-or-undead/