Mitch Landrieu: “As we have engaged in this debate on the nation's strategy to deal with temporary storage of high-level nuclear waste, I…”

“As we have engaged in this debate on the nation's strategy to deal with temporary storage of high-level nuclear waste, I have come to several conclusions. Certainly storage is a troublesome issue that has remained unresolved for the past 16 years. As time has gone by, it has become clearer and clearer that the Nation needs a more comprehensive strategy, not a piecemeal strategy, to handle all the issues associated with long-term storage of nuclear waste. Furthermore, given the vehemently strong opinions expressed by citizens, administrators, State and local officials, and others who would be affected by a centralized storage plan, I believe we need to have the utmost confidence in the way we choose to dispose of spent fuel. When we began to consider the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997, I was optimistic about our ability to work toward the common goal of providing guidance on this issue. Supporters of the bill made an extremely credible case to me that something needs to be done. The Nuclear Waste Act of 1982 set up a trust fund to help pay for the cost of a permanent geologic repository. As part of the deal, the Department of Energy was directed to contract with utilities to accept spent fuel at a permanent repository by 1998, but now it cannot. The Nation's nuclear reactors have begun to run out of space for spent fuel in pools at reactor sites. Soon, more and more utilities will have to build above ground storage casks.”