News: Media Center

WASHINGTON (September 27, 2006) -- A bill introduced today by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) would allow the Energy Department to ship nuclear waste to the Yucca Mountain site before it is licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and would lift the limit on the amount of waste that could be disposed of in the repository.

Below is a statement by NRDC Nuclear Program Senior Project Attorney Geoffrey Fettus:

"The proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository is years overdue, way over budget, and burdened with unanswered technical questions. Worst of all, whenever the project seems in doubt, the government weakens the environmental standards. This bill is yet another misguided effort to short-circuit a meaningful environmental and technical review for the Yucca project."

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists nationwide, served from offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.