License hearings set for Yucca nuclear waste site

WASHINGTON -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission got the ball rolling Friday for license hearings on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

The commission voted to issue a formal notice for hearings on the Department of Energy's application to build out the Yucca site, including a waste-handling complex and tunnels that would hold 77,000 tons of radioactive material.

The notice is largely a formality that sets up a process for interested parties to intervene in the case.

But once it is published in the Federal Register in the next several days, the notice will start a 60-day clock ticking for the state of Nevada and other parties to file challenges to the project.

The challenges will be heard in courtroom-style sessions that could begin in March, according to a schedule the commission announced. Most of the sessions, which would be run by administrative judges, will be held in Las Vegas.

The NRC effort to dissect the DOE's 8,600-page construction application is scheduled to take three to four years.

Nevada officials have notified the NRC that they might file between 250 and 500 "contentions" to the DOE license application, challenging various aspects of the Yucca project.

While that could be the largest number ever filed in a government nuclear proceeding, it is expected that many of them will be pared back or rejected for formal arguments, with the focus limited to a smaller number of key issues.

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