The 1982 act granted the affected states an overridable veto power. It acknowledged the West's reluctance to become the nuclear garbage dump for the East, where most of the waste is produced. It sought to base final decisions on sound science and engineering. It also provided a unique participatory partnership. The 1987 act took all of that away.
Government is a steward for public good.
The government agrees to put aside short-term interests and act properly. Government stewardship also assumes technical competence, and, at least in the case of the Yucca Mountain decision, public trust in government was essential, says Mushkatel. Another prime requisite for government stewardship is constancy. Mushkatel says that the problem of nuclear waste severely challenges that. High level nuclear waste will remain dangerously radioactive for 100 centuries.