According to the budget justification, the Trump administration remains “strongly committed” to fulfil its obligation to manage the US nuclear waste and “will not stand idly given the stalemate on Yucca Mountain.”
However, the document said the standstill around the Yucca Mountain project has “gone on too long.”
The budget said the government wants to begin a process to find alternative solutions and engage states in “developing an actionable path forward”.
Instead, the budget proposal is calling for $27.5m for the US Department of Energy (DOE) to fund the planning process for a near-term consolidation and storage of used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste until a long-term solution is chosen by Congress.
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a separate announcement that it is expecting to receive $125.6m in funding under the FY2021 budget proposal for its nuclear materials and waste safety program, but none of the funds will be for the Yucca Mountain project.
The government said its budget proposal includes support for the implementation of an interim storage programme and research on alternative technologies for the storage, transportation, and disposal nuclear waste, with a focus on “systems deployable where there is a willingness to host.”
“We’re going to look at new technologies that might allow us to address the spent fuel,” energy secretary Dan Brouillette told reporters.
“But more importantly we’re going to work with governors, we’re going to work with policy makers, we’re going to work with private industry to find solutions that may turn out to be on an interim basis”, he said.
Earlier this month, president Trump indicated that his government might be backing off from plans to support the long-delayed Yucca Mountain deep geological repository project in Nevada.
In a tweet on his official profile, president Trump said his administration is committed to “exploring innovative approaches” since Congress and previous administrations have been failing to “find lasting solutions.
“Nevada, I hear you on Yucca Mountain and my Administration will respect you,” Trump tweeted on Thursday. “Congress and previous Administrations have long failed to find lasting solutions – my Administration is committed to exploring innovative approaches – I’m confident we can get it done”, the tweet said.
The DOE has focused on developing a repository at Yucca Mountain since 1987, spending $10bn and submitting a licence application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2008.
In 2010, under the Obama administration, the DOE declared Yucca Mountain “unworkable” and the project was stopped.
In 2017, president Trump signalled renewed support for Yucca Mountain with the White House pledging $120m of funding in its 2018 federal budget proposal to restart licensing procedures at the site, but the proposal was ultimately dropped by Congress.
The administration’s next two budget plans for fiscal years 2019 and 2020 included similar funding proposals for Yucca Mountain, but neither received Congressional support in the end.
A schematic showing the Yucca Mountain project. Courtesy US Environmental Protection Agency.