House OKs Temporary U.S. Storage of Nuclear Waste

The House voted Tuesday to temporarily store commercial nuclear waste at one or more federal facilities, fearing further delays in a proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada.

The directive was included in a $29.7-billion measure funding the Energy Department, and came over the objections of lawmakers from Washington and South Carolina, two states where the waste from commercial power reactors might be located.

An attempt by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) to strip the bill of $10 million for the interim storage program failed 312-110. The House passed the spending measure Tuesday night, 416-13.

While the legislation leaves it up to the Energy Department to select one or more interim storage sites, a report accompanying the bill suggested the Energy Department’s Savannah River weapons facility in South Carolina, the Hanford complex in Washington state and a facility in Idaho as possible locations. The report also said the department should consider temporary storage at closed defense bases and other federal sites.

The bill, which must still be considered by the Senate, calls for a temporary facility to be accepting waste before the end of next year.

Washington and South Carolina lawmakers said they feared that any interim facilities in their states could end up being permanent. Establishing interim waste dumps might reduce pressure to open Yucca Mountain, they said.

Concerns continue about delays in the Yucca Mountain project, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Last year a federal court questioned its radiation protection plans. More recently, concerns surfaced over allegations that government workers on the project falsified data.