Chris Dodd: “today, I am prepared to vote in support of S.J. Res. 34 which approves the site at Yucca Mountain for the development of…”

“today, I am prepared to vote in support of S.J. Res. 34 which approves the site at Yucca Mountain for the development of a repository for spent nuclear fuel, pursuant to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, but I do so with great caution. The vote we cast today does not give carte blanche to move this waste. Instead, it signals a continuation of a process begun in Congress more than two decades ago. The risks are not insignificant and in the coming months and years many steps must be satisfied and many scientific tests undertaken before a license is issued by the Nuclear Regulator Commission and a single shipment of waste is moved. In addition, there must be open dialogue among industry, organizations, transportation experts, and government entities at the Federal, State, and local level to determine a safe and workable transportation system. If the ongoing scientific, environmental, or public safety tests are not satisfactory, or a transportation system is deemed unworkable, then the site should not be licensed. For Congress to stop the process today with no viable, permanent alternative solution on the table is short-sighted and wrong.”