Edolphus Towns: “let us put the facts on the table. In 1982 Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which placed responsibility for…”

“let us put the facts on the table. In 1982 Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which placed responsibility for the management of spent nuclear fuel, beginning in 1998 and for its ultimate disposal, with the Federal Government. Since 1982 Congress has watched as successive Departments of Energy have attempted to move Federal nuclear waste programs forward, without any success, for a variety of reasons. Progress in this crucial problem has been painstakingly slow. How long must we wait? Last year, this inaction resulted in a number of utilities suing the Department of Energy to fulfill their obligation to accept spent nuclear fuel beginning January 31, 1998. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the utilities on this issue. However, there is still no mechanism in place to establish an interim storage site that would enable the department to move forward with the acceptance of the waste. The establishment of an integrated spent fuel management system, as established by our bill, H.R. 1270, will permit the Secretary to realize safety, efficiency and the economic benefit of a comprehensive design. In short Mr. Chairman, a centralized interim storage facility would mean high-level waste would be consolidated at one site instead of 40 different sites throughout this country.”