Energy chief says keep Yucca license on track — for now

WASHINGTON -- Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a group of state officials Wednesday he favors moving toward licensing a nuclear waste repository in Nevada, although whether it would ever be built is another thing altogether.

Nuclear waste was one of the topics on the agenda when Chu met with state public service leaders at an annual conference of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

Regarding the Yucca Mountain Project, "it sounds like what he said was positive in that (the Department of Energy) wants the process to continue. It made our guys happy," said Rob Thormeyer, the association's communications director.

But several people who were at the 20-minute session said Chu stressed that President Barack Obama doesn't want the Yucca repository, "and I work for the president."

"It sounded like the expectation is (nuclear waste) will be stored at sites for a long time," one participant said.

"The impression I got is (Chu) wants to learn from the (repository) license review," one person in the meeting said.

The proceedings would continue for the government to work through issues associated with licensing a first-of-its-kind nuclear waste site, according to this view.

The episode appeared to shed further light on the thinking of the new energy secretary and a possible Obama administration strategy on the Nevada project.

Chu's reported remarks to the utility group were consistent with his views as reported last week in an interview with The New York Times.

Some in Nevada and in the environmental community would like to see the Obama administration withdraw the repository application that the Energy Department sent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last summer.

Chu's remarks suggest there are no plans to do so immediately.

It could take four years or longer for the commission to review the application.

Energy Department spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller said that she could not confirm what Chu said behind closed doors.

"What I can confirm is that the secretary has made it clear that Yucca Mountain is not an option as a nuclear waste site, and he is committed to charting a path forward," Mueller said.

"No decision has been made on how the application would be handled."

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners monitors the nuclear waste program from the vantage of 39 states where nuclear waste is stored.

It also follows the status of the special ratepayer-funded account that was established to build the Nevada site.

The group was preparing to pass a resolution at its conference this week stating the Yucca Mountain review process "should be allowed to run its course."

The nuclear waste discussion was a small part of the meeting, at which the secretary also discussed electricity transmission, state portfolio standards for renewable energy, and carbon capture and sequestration technologies, Thormeyer said.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@ stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.