Nevada, National and International News

5 takeaways from Chris Wright’s Hill visit

The U.S. does not have a permanent facility to store nuclear waste, after years of opposition from Nevada politicians to the Yucca Mountain repository. Wright said DOE will take an “opt-in approach” for the siting of such a repository, a reference to support from local communities.

US Waste Agreement Clears Way For Critical Research Into Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage

In 1987, US Congress designated Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the only site for construction of a repository for spent nuclear fuel, but in 2009, the Obama administration ended work at the site after deeming the project unworkable.

U.S. Supreme Court Deliberates on Temporary Nuclear Waste Storage Amidst National Disposal Dilemma

An effort spanning decades has aimed to consolidate this waste at a single site, designated by a 1987 law as Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

How and where is nuclear waste stored in the US?

A 1987 federal law named Yucca Mountain, in Nevada, as a permanent disposal site for nuclear waste – but political and legal challenges led to construction delays. Work on the site had barely started before Congress ended the project’s funding altogether in 2011.

Permeability scaling relationships of volcanic tuff from core to field scale measurements

Extensive permeability and tracer transport tests have been performed to analyze the flow properties of welded and partially welded tuffs and to determine their suitability to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, NV23,24. Additional tuff testing related to the Yucca Mountain Project was performed at the Apache Leap Research Site, Arizona, USA (ALRS)25,26,27,28.

How and where is nuclear waste stored in the US?

For decades, the nation has been trying to send it all to one secure location.

A 1987 federal law named Yucca Mountain, in Nevada, as a permanent disposal site for nuclear waste—but political and legal challenges led to construction delays. Work on the site had barely started before Congress ended the project's funding altogether in 2011.

The U.S. Can Innovate on Nuclear Waste Storage Front

In concert with the NWPA, then-President Bush and Congress proposed the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada as a storage facility in 2002. The Obama administration’s DOE terminated the project despite no documented safety issues. A 2014 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) safety evaluation report confirmed it was safe to store nuclear waste at this site.

Biden-era Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm opposed Yucca Mountain, and the administration instead opted to prioritize nuclear waste education over spent fuel storage. Thanks to bad policymaking, taxpayers shoulder $400 million to $800 million annually due to inaction here. Now, with a second Trump administration, this issue is likely to be addressed across the board.

Is a nuclear renaissance coming?

Nevada
• In 2002, Congress approved the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository as the long-term home of the nation’s nuclear waste, or spent fuel, but in 2011, the project was canceled following intense local opposition. However, the Trump administration hinted at restarting construction.
• Project 2025, the Trump administration’s far-right playbook, wants to resume nuclear warhead testing at the Nevada Test Site.

The controversial nuclear mega-project that cost £13bn but lies abandoned

In 1987, Yucca Mountain - near the border between Nevada and California and about 100 miles from Las Vegas - was identified by US authorities as the best available option. It lies close to the country's most-used nuclear testing site and is far away from any population centres.

COLUMN: Addressing our waste with eyes wide open

Nobody wanted radioactive rods in their backyard, but they didn’t want to see them transported across Minnesota’s farmland to a possible destination in Nevada, the proposed Yucca Mountain federal storage facility.

Numerous local demonstrators pointed to the government’s lack of a good plan for dealing with spent nuclear fuel. And the idea that spent fuel rods from Prairie Island could be transported by old-fashioned rail to a far west destination like the planned facility at Yucca Mountain was a bit too dystopian for most. They believed the risk of a train derailment was just too high.

Next up for nuclear power: small, transportable and made in a factory near Pittsburgh

If the industry grows, the U.S. will have to figure out new ways to deal with waste. In 2002, the U.S. proposed a centralized nuclear waste storage facility in Nevada within Yucca Mountain. Instead of having nuclear waste spread out across dozens of sites across the country, it would be stored in a single place under Department of Energy oversight. The project faced strong opposition from people in Nevada and eventually fizzled out.

“If we see more of these plants being built, there’s going to be more waste,” Sioshansi said. “And we have to, as a nation, figure out — Do we want to just keep doing the status quo? Each of these facilities will keep waste on site. Or do we want to revisit some things like Yucca Mountain — where waste is being consolidated and stored at one or two places under close DOE supervision?”

Supreme Court to hear arguments over nuclear waste; Nevada bill prevents storage at Yucca

A plan to build a national storage facility northwest of Las Vegas at Yucca Mountain has been mothballed because of staunch opposition from most Nevada residents and officials.

High Court to Weigh Future of Nuclear Waste, Licensing Policy

But the Texas Attorney General’s Office argues administrative law doesn’t explicitly forbid them from filing a petition for review. The department also claims it has a major questions case, because Congress clearly designated spent nuclear fuel to be stored in Yucca Mountain, Nev., or at an interim federal facility, not a private facility.

Nobody wants to live near nuclear waste. The Supreme Court mulls where to put it

Congress passed a set of laws in the 1980s that laid out the country’s “Plan B” – burying high-level waste underground, said Will Yeatman of the Pacific Legal Foundation in a webinar hosted by the conservative-leaning Federalist Society. Lawmakers designated Nevada’s Yucca Mountain as the only authorized site for the Department of Energy to permanently store spent nuclear fuel despite opposition from the state.