U.S. Senate EPW Committee Hearing on a Discussion Draft Bill, S. __, Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019

See the archived webcast, as well as the written testimony of U.S. Senators Cortez-Masto and Rosen (both Democrats from Nevada), opposing the Yucca Mountain dump, as well as the written testimony of NRDC's Geoff Fettus, opposing both the Yucca dump as well as consolidated interim storage facilities targeting New Mexico and Texas.

Although the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, Republican Barasso from Wyoming, called this hearing on short notice, opponents to his schemes embodied in the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019 dominated the session.

Update on November 21, 2019 by admin

After passage by the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee of H.R. 2699, Barrasso reintroduced the bill he had previously introduced way back on May 1st:

• Wyoming News - Barrasso introduces legislation to address nuclear waste storage

• U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works - Chairman Barrasso Introduces Legislation to Address Nuclear Waste

Nevada senators prepare for Yucca Mountain fight this week

As reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Democratic presidential hopeful Castro says country needs Yucca alternative, must re-commit to Paris climate deal during Las Vegas roundtable

As reported by the Nevada Independent on Chernobyl Day (April 26), 2019:

Democratic presidential hopeful Julian Castro told a panel of conservationists and political activists Friday that he wouldn’t seek to reopen the shuttered nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, adding to a growing list of Democratic contenders who have turned away from the project as a means to store high-level nuclear waste.

“I’m sure many of the other candidates are opposed to restarting that conversation,” Castro said. “Of course, we’re going to have to deal with the issue, the underlying issue of what you’re going to do with that nuclear waste, but I do think that there are better ways to approach it.”

The Trump Administration has tried multiple times to kickstart the facility through proposed budgets, though to no avail. There is, however, a contingent in Congress who have sought to reopen Yucca, and court filings revealed in January revealed the Department of Energy had secretly shipped plutonium to Nevada without first informing the state’s representatives.

Speaking to The Nevada Independent, Castro said he would like to see a process that accounts for communities that “may be interested in taking on that challenge.”.

“I know that there have been different processes that have been proposed, and I’m open to those different processes, but I don’t believe that we should restart the Yucca mountain conversation,” he said.

...He has also vocally supported the so-called Green New Deal, which provides a series of wide-ranging policy goals meant to deal with climate change.

[The Green New Deal, by the way, excludes nuclear power. So explicitly stated the youth-led Sunrise Movement in May 2019.]

Barrasso Revives Nuclear Waste Disposal Legislation

As reported by ExchangeMonitor.

Here is Barrasso's April 24th press release.

Senate Schedules Hearing On Restarting Yucca Mountain

As reported by Nevada Public Radio, KNPR.

Here is Barrasso's April 24th press release.