• In 1982, Congress charged the U.S. Energy Department with building a disposal facility for used fuel from the nation’s nuclear power plants and high-level radioactive waste from U.S. defense programs. The law set a 1998 deadline for the federal government to begin accepting used fuel. However, the program continues to encounter delays.
• All three branches of government have endorsed DOE’s decision to move forward with the Yucca Mountain, Nev., repository after one of the most extensive scientific investigations in our nation’s history. DOE plans to submit a license application for Yucca Mountain by June 2008.
• DOE must move used fuel from nuclear plant sites at the earliest possible time. Simply assuming ownership of the used fuel at the plant sites is not sufficient. DOE must complete the Yucca Mountain repository for the long-term disposition of this material.
• Electricity consumer payments to the Nuclear Waste Fund, plus interest, total $30 billion. The fund is growing by about $1 billion per year. The fund, if used as intended, will pay for disposal of the nation’s commercial used nuclear fuel. The industry supports revisions to the Nuclear Waste Fund’s budgetary treatment to help DOE plan for the future.
• Congress should consider additional measures to facilitate the movement of used fuel away from reactors. This includes factors contributing to delays in the Yucca Mountain project, moving used fuel to federal storage facilities and developing guidance on used fuel management contracts with DOE for new plants.
  

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