Washington, D.C. – At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee hearing, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) secured a renewed commitment from U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm that the Biden Administration will continue to strongly oppose the failed Yucca Mountain project. Cortez Masto is pushing her legislation, the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act, to ensure that state, tribal, and local officials have a seat at the table when a permanent nuclear waste repository is proposed in their backyard.
The exchange is transcribed below:
Senator Cortez Masto: “I’ve heard a lot of talk this past week about Yucca Mountain. So, just want to set the record straight here, if you would, if you’re able to, with some ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers to my questions. Does the department’s FY25 budget include any funding to restart the Yucca Mountain project?”
Secretary Granholm: “No.”
Senator Cortez Masto: “Does the Biden administration have any intention to move forward with nuclear waste storage at the Yucca Mountain site?”
Secretary Granholm: “No.”
Senator Cortez Masto: “And, does your administration support consent-based siting?”
Secretary Granholm: “Yes.”
Secretary Granholm went on to outline the administration’s progress on their consent-based siting strategy and reiterated their commitment to the approach.
Senator Cortez Masto has repeatedly made it clear that any conversations of nuclear repositories should include the voice of states and local stakeholders. She has also led efforts to ensure Yucca Mountain, a scientifically and geologically unsuitable site, remains dead. Cortez Masto successfully fought the Trump administration’s early efforts to restart the Yucca Mountain licensing process and has prevented funds from being included for the failed site in every final appropriations bill since she was elected to the Senate. In 2021, she personally pressed Energy Secretary Granholm to acknowledge that Yucca Mountain is an unworkable site and express her support for a consent-based approach.
Cortez Masto also personally negotiated a deal with the Department of Energy (DOE) to remove the weapons-grade plutonium that was secretly shipped to Nevada. Following continued advocacy from the Senator, DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) recently completed the removal four years ahead of schedule.
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