Rep. Walters expresses support of funding to restart Yucca Mountain licensing process

Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA) released a statement Wednesday on the letter she signed in support of funding to restart the licensing process for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

Walters, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Ethics Committee, noted that the inactive San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) site south of her district currently contains 1,800 tons of spent nuclear fuel.

“Unfortunately, our Nation’s nuclear waste management system is broken and spent fuel sits at nuclear sites like SONGS with nowhere to go,” Walters said. “By law, the Federal government is obligated to take ownership of, and safely store, spent fuel at a permanent repository. Yucca Mountain is intended to be a permanent storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, but politics have gotten in the way of its development.”

Congress approved Yucca Mountain project as a permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel in 2002, but federal funding for the site was suspended in 2011. To restart the licensing process, Congress must provide funding for it. Walters said that California ratepayers have paid more than $2 billion toward the development of a permanent repository over 35 years.

“By providing the Department of Energy with the funds it needs to resume its review of the Yucca Mountain license, we can begin the process of moving spent nuclear fuel out of our communities and into interim and permanent storage sites,” Walters said. “I am hopeful the letter I signed will ensure funding to restart the Yucca Mountain license process will be included in the omnibus funding bill. I am committed to continuing my work to ensure the safety of Orange County residents by moving fuel out of our community and to a permanent storage site for spent nuclear fuel.”