IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1209 

Expressing disapproval of the House of Representatives with respect to the 

Department of Energy’s motion with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

to withdraw the license application for a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain with prejudice. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 23, 2010 

Mr. INSLEE (for himself, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. 

DICKS, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. UPTON, and Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing disapproval of the House of Representatives with 

respect to the Department of Energy’s motion with the 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission to withdraw the license 

application for a high-level nuclear waste repository at 

Yucca Mountain with prejudice. 

Whereas the Department of Energy filed a motion with the 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission to withdraw their Yucca 

Mountain license application for a high-level nuclear 

waste repository with prejudice; 

Whereas Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 

1982 (NWPA) to centralize the long-term management 


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•HRES 1209 IH 

of nuclear waste, including construction of a safe and 

permanent nuclear waste repository; 

Whereas in 1987 Congress amended the NWPA by designating Yucca Mountain as the only option for a longterm storage site by a vote of 237–181 in the House of 

Representatives and 61–28 in the Senate; 

Whereas Congress reaffirmed Yucca Mountain’s designation 

as the only option for a long-term storage site in 2002 

by a vote of 306–117 in the House of Representatives 

and 60–39 in the Senate; 

Whereas in 2007 the House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected by a vote of 80–351 an attempt to eliminate funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal program; 

Whereas, since 1982, consumers of electricity produced at 

nuclear power plants have paid in excess of 

$33,000,000,000 into a fund for a waste repository program; 

Whereas the Department of Energy has not met the statutory and contractual deadline of January 31, 1998, to 

dispose of spent nuclear fuel, resulting in 72 breach of 

contract claims filed against the Department at an approximate liability cost of $1,300,000,000 to date; 

Whereas the Department of Energy predicts damages stemming from breach of contract claims will be approximately $12,300,000,000 if the Department is able to 

begin accepting spent nuclear fuel by 2020 under the 

current plan, with nuclear utilities estimating the Department’s total potential liability being closer to 

$50,000,000,000; 


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•HRES 1209 IH 

Whereas the Department of Justice has incurred 

$150,000,000 on litigation related expenses; 

Whereas the total spent for the preparation and construction 

of a permanent storage site at Yucca Mountain has exceeded $11,200,000,000; 

Whereas without the Yucca Mountain repository, current law 

provides for no other alternative for the permanent or 

temporary central storage of the Nation’s intensely radioactive reactor wastes; 

Whereas taxpayers will receive nothing for their substantial 

investment as a result of the decision to abandon the 

Yucca Mountain project; 

Whereas nuclear materials are stored at 121 locations in 39 

States across the country awaiting transport to a permanent repository; 

Whereas the Federal Government generated high-level nuclear waste as a part of its national defense program to 

help end World War II and the Cold War and is currently storing this waste at several sites across the Nation including the Hanford Site in Washington State, the 

Savannah River Site in South Carolina, and the Idaho 

National Laboratory; 

Whereas the records of decision for the disposal of waste associated with multiple defense related activities have 

Yucca Mountain as the ultimate disposition site, including waste at many locations across the country storing 

and processing various types of defense related waste; 

and 

Whereas plans underway to treat and process this waste are 

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•HRES 1209 IH 

tional repository at Yucca Mountain: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) strongly believes that the decision to aban3 don the 23-year bipartisan project establishing 

4 Yucca Mountain as the Nation’s primary permanent 

5 nuclear waste storage site— 

6 (A) breaks a commitment made to certain 

7 States nearly 3 decades ago; and 

8 (B) goes against the will and intent of 

9 Congress by extending the length of time States 

10 will be forced to store nuclear waste at signifi11 cant additional cost to the taxpayers; and 

12 (2) calls upon the Administration to uphold and 

13 comply with the bipartisan commitment passed by 

14 Congress and to— 

15 (A) cease and desist withdrawing the 

16 Yucca Mountain license application from the 

17 Nuclear Regulatory Commission with or with18 out prejudice; 

19 (B) cease and desist any action to move 

20 forward with terminating activities required to 

21 complete the Yucca Mountain license applica22 tion, including the termination of employees 

23 supporting the project and termination of any 

24 leases housing employees; 


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•HRES 1209 IH 

1 (C) halt reprogramming of fiscal year 2010 

2 funds appropriated by Congress for the Yucca 

3 Mountain license application; and 

4 (D) preserve all scientific and site-specific 

5 files and data related to Yucca Mountain in ac6 cordance with Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

7 document controls and quality assurance proce8 dures. 

Æ 


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