Licensing a Nuclear Waste Repository

In June of 2008, the Department of Energy submitted an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a Licensing application to consturct and operate a high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain Nevada.

This project has been controversial and fraught with delays attributed to short amounts of funding, complaints of inadequate scientific proof to support the geologic repository and strong opposition from the State of Nevada.

President Barrack Obama administration has said administration Yucca Mountain is unsuitable and new directions for nuclear waste disposal should be explored.

Senator Harry Reid has fought hard to stop the nuclear waste project in Nevada.

Proponents of the project have continued to argue for the safety of the proposed geologic radioactive waste site at Yucca Mountain. But conclusions to whether the site will continued to receive funding through the licensing process which could take up to 4 years is still uncertain.

Esmeralda County's Nuclear Waste Repository Program continues to support the public while these issues are sorted out and are activity maintaining oversight of the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Oversight Program.

Esmeralda County High Level Waste Hearing Motions and Pleadings

In December of 2008, Esmeralda County joined with 3 other Nevada Counties as well as Nye to submit jointly held challenges to the Licence Application. These contentions and all the contentions submitted to date as well as the answer to these contentions from both the DOE and the NRC staff can be found at our Track Hearings website.

Before the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) can construct and operate a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, it must first obtain a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), an independent agency of the federal government. The license application is the formal document an applicant submits to the NRC to present proposed activities. It also documents the safety analyses. The NRC evaluates an applicant's proposed activities and safety analyses by reviewing the license application.

The license is issued in two stages. The first is a construction authorization. The second phase is a license to receive and possess waste.

Website to track the hearings and schedule.

The license application will address the NRC’s Yucca Mountain Review Plan, which identifies areas of review, review methods, and acceptance criteria that the NRC will use in its review and evaluation of the application.

When the NRC accepts the license application for technical review, the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (Board) will initiate a proceeding that includes public hearings. During the proceeding, DOE will address contentions (points of disagreement with DOE’s license application) submitted to the Board by parties. Potential parties include the NRC, the DOE, the state of Nevada, and affected units of local government or parties whose interests may be affected by the proceeding.

If construction authorization is granted, DOE will begin initial construction of emplacement tunnels and surface facilities.

Before completing construction, DOE will update its application for a license to receive and possess waste, as required by NRC regulations.

On June 3, 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) submitted a license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), seeking authorization to construct a high-level waste geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. For details, see the following documents and correspondence from DOE:

• Transmittal Letter (June 3, 2008)
• General Information
• Safety Analysis Report (SAR)
• 2002 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
• 2008 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
• Letter to NRC re: Notification of Plan for Supplementing the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) (October 3, 2008)
  
  

  New information related to the Licensing Hearings

  DOE has decided not to complete the Environmental Impact Statement but rather has used the material prepared for the Supplement to develop the Analysis of Postclosure Groundwater Impacts for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada.

  Analysis of Postclosure Grandwater Impacts for a Gelogic Respository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca MOuntain, Nye County, Nevada

  
  On July 10, 2009, the NRC Staff responded to the Licensing Board’s July 2, 2009 order concerning scheduling. The Staff stated that it will not be able to issue its Safety Evaluation Report (SER) in accordance with the schedule in 10 C.F.R. Part 2, Appendix D. Rather, at present, the Staff intends to issue the SER serially. The Staff estimates that the SER will be issued as follows Newschedule:

  Contention submittals:

  The Nevada Counties of, Esmeralda, Churchill, Lander and Mineral (the Four Counties) filed joint contentions on December 19, 2008. On May 11, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Licensing Hearing Board (a panel of judges) issued a memo and order announcing the parties who have shown compliance with NRC board orders and have shown compliance with NRC guidelines and have standing and admitted contentions into the hearings. The Four Counties have 4 contentions admitted into the proceeding and will now be in the process of preparing depositions, expert witnesses and documents during the discovery period. The schedule for the hearings can be found here.

  Motions and Pleadings here

  Update 6/10/09 June 25 - Four Counties notice of adoption of contentions

  Update 5/11/09  Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Admits Eight Parties, 299 Contentions in Yucca Mountain Proceeding

  Update - 5/21/09 Summary of the four counties (Esmeralda, Lander, Churchill and Mineral) contentions accepted for hearing

  Our Trackhearings link has all the updates related to the ongoing Yucca Mountain High-Level Waste hearings.

  All petitions to intervene and the DOE responses can be viewed at trackhearings.com