Long moribund, President Donald Trump has put the final nail in the coffin known as the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. In a tweet Thursday, Trump wrote, “Nevada, I hear you on Yucca Mountain and my Administration will RESPECT you! 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!”
A senior administration confirmed to The Hill newspaper that the president’s budget submission for 2021, expected to be unveiled Monday, will not contain funds for the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to try to revive the long-delayed project to store the nation’s spent nuclear fuel.
The project, the result of the failed 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act and the 1987 “Screw Nevada” amendments, stumbled from the start, facing almost across-the-board political opposition in Nevada, and later, serious technical problems. It went into suspended animation when Nevada Democrat Harry Reid was Senate majority leader. President Obama pulled the plug on the licensing for the project in 2010.
Trump tried to reverse course when he occupied the White House, seeking more than $100 million for Yucca Mountain in each of his three previous budget requests. Congress did not appropriate the funds.
There surely was politics behind Trump’s reversal. Trump lost Nevada by a narrow 2.5% in the 2016 election. In the same election, Nevada elected Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto to the U.S. Senate. She is a strong opponent of Yucca Mountain. She tweeted a statement following Trump’s tweet, “I look forward to working with you on this critical issue for Nevada and ensuring your budget doesn’t include any funding to restart the failed Yucca Mountain project that a majority of Nevadans reject, regardless of party.”
The Nevada Independent asked Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma if Trump’s move “was an effort to curry favor with Nevada voters ahead of the November election.” He answered, “I think every decision on this is political to some extent. Even the decisions inside of Nevada are political. It’s not like there is a united feeling on this.”
From retirement, Reid tweeted, “Yucca Mountain is dead and will remain dead. This has been true for a long, long time. Donald Trump finally realizing this, changing his position and trying to take credit for its demise will not change that fact. I’m glad he has finally seen the light.”
There was some wariness about Trump’s announcement among project opponents. Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak said, “I welcome the President’s announced opposition to restarting the Yucca Mountain Project, & I look forward to seeing no funding for this project included in his budget next week.”
What’s next in the nation’s long record of failure to deal with nuclear waste? Stay tuned.
— Kennedy Maize