What Happened?

Taxpayers have already paid power companies $10.6 billion because the federal government never hauled away their spent nuclear fuel. Now the Trump administration wants states to volunteer to take it.

Senators dug into that plan on Wednesday, Sept. 23, weighing whether to move on from Yucca Mountain in Nevada, the place current law still names as the nation's permanent home for nuclear waste. Under the administration's Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus plan, volunteer states would host facilities that handle nuclear fuel from start to finish. On July 28, the Department of Energy (DOE) picked five finalists from 28 applications submitted by 26 states: Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Idaho.

Why Does It Matter To Me?

The $10.6 billion, tallied by the Congressional Research Service through Sept. 30, 2023, covers court damages for the government missing its legal deadline to start taking utilities' spent fuel. Utility customers have also paid more than $50 billion into a federal fund meant to cover disposal, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said, but Congress never provided enough money to finish the job.

DOE says a single campus could draw up to $50 billion in investment, generate as much as $10 billion in state and local tax revenue and create nearly 25,000 jobs. Residents of the five finalist states stand to gain those benefits and take on the responsibility of hosting nuclear materials.

Both Sides, Now

Lake Barrett, chair of the American Nuclear Society Nuclear Waste Policy Task Force, told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, "We in America have sadly fallen well behind and have accomplished little for the past 16 years." Capito said the existing framework has "failed to achieve its goals."

Democrats focused on oversight. Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) said the administration "has fired members of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board," an independent panel that reviews the Energy Department's waste work, and accused it of undermining the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Sen. Angela D. Alsobrooks (D-MD) said, "The legitimacy of any nuclear waste policy and that of America's entire nuclear industry depend on the NRC being independent."

Concerns crossed party lines. Sen. John R. Curtis (R-UT) asked witnesses whether Utah, one of the five finalists, could be left "holding the bag" without adequate federal guarantees.

What Happens Next?

Because current law still names Yucca Mountain, Congress would have to pass a new law before the campus plan could fully take effect. The administration has circulated "legislative principles" for changing federal nuclear waste law, but no bill was tied to the hearing, according to the committee's hearing record. Capito said any bill should clarify which types of waste are covered and how they are regulated, build confidence among host states and find a steady source of funding.

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