Thursday, September 16, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Yucca ruling appealed by DOE
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department is appealing a ruling that Yucca Mountain Project managers violated rules for an online database created to store millions of documents about the nuclear waste repository.
DOE attorneys said a review board at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission misapplied federal law and NRC regulations when it weighed the case.
A 16-page DOE appeal was filed on Sept. 10 with the three commissioners who oversee the nuclear regulatory agency.
A three-judge review board said on Aug. 31 that DOE failed to follow regulations when it posted 1.2 million documents related to the nuclear waste repository on an Energy Department Web site this summer.
The judges said the documents needed to be placed on "licensing support network" database at the NRC to be considered official.
The violation was one of several found against the Energy Department related to the online database. DOE was told to correct the problems, which could set back its bid to meet a year-end deadline to complete a Yucca license application.
