Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Official says sufficient Yucca funding crucial

DOE still plans to pursue request for record increase for project despite panel's OK of cuts

WASHINGTON -- Despite cuts approved last week in the Yucca Mountain program by a Senate committee, the Energy Department still plans to pursue its request for a record increase for the nuclear waste project in the 2005 budget, a key official said Monday.

Margaret Chu, the department's director of civilian nuclear waste management, said sufficient funding next year is "very critical" for the department to meet its goal of moving highly radioactive spent fuel to Yucca Mountain by 2010.

"You all know that, historically, this program has had a tremendous funding shortfall," Chu told the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

"Since 1995, accumulated shortfalls between the requested amount and what we actually got has exceeded $700 million," she said.

After next year, Chu said, the department expects to make annual budget requests for Yucca Mountain that will average more than $1 billion.

A nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, would cost $58 billion, according to department estimates. The government already has spent more than $6 billion on the project.

Chu reiterated the department's plan to seek congressional approval to fence off $749 million in ratepayer fees to be spent on Yucca Mountain without counting against federal budget limits.

Chu did not comment on a March 4 vote by the Senate Budget Committee that would slash the department's 2005 request of $880 million to $577 million. The Yucca Mountain budget this year is $580 million.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., a member of the committee, sought the cut, saying Yucca Mountain should not receive the requested 51.7 percent increase when the rest of the federal budget is tight.

The House has not yet acted on the Yucca Mountain budget request.

"The senator will continue to fight any efforts to increase funding in any way he can," said Ensign spokesman Jack Finn. "As far as calls for alarm about Yucca Mountain not meeting its schedule, he has very little sympathy since this is a misguided and dangerous program to begin with."

Chu said the department is still on track to submit a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by December.

Out of 293 technical agreements that must be negotiated between the two agencies regarding Yucca Mountain, the department has submitted 213 proposals, Chu said.

"Some are still under review," she said.