DOE Official: Looking for a Path to Permanent Storage at Yucca Mountain, Then Backtracks

摘要

Mark Menezes, US Under Secretary of Energy, said during a House subcommittee hearing on February 12 that the Trump administration is considering a pathway to “permanent storage” at Yucca Mountain. The statement was made in response to a line of questioning by California Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) about President Trump’s fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget request that omitted all funding to continue licensing of the Yucca Mountain repository, but instead will explore “innovative approaches for long-term storage of nuclear waste” (SF No. 1298 February 14, 2020). The hearing was convened to discuss legislation to improve energy efficiency and storage but McMerney diverted from that topic to ask Menezes specifically for clarification about the Administration’s revised nuclear waste management policy.