The U.S. Nuclear Waste Impasse: Legal and Policy Updates

For several years there has been an impasse, in the political branches, over how to make progress on dealing with the intractable problem of nuclear waste disposal in the United States. With the potential for Congress to make progress on this issue during the current term, this article reviews the potential paths forward and considers possible implications for the nuclear energy, defense, and transportation sectors. This article chronicles the history of nuclear waste management in the United States, beginning with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and continuing to the present day, with an emphasis on the roles of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, federal and state political delegations, the federal, and the nuclear energy industry. It discusses the problems stemming from the lack of a permanent nuclear waste repository, and lack of interim storage facilities as well. Focusing on the results of the 2018 mid-term elections, the article asserts that “The Trouble with Harry” (referring to past opposition of former Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV) became “The Trouble with Mitch” (referring to </i>Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the current Senate Majority Leader). Leader McConnell reportedly did not allow the Project to come up for an appropriations vote in the run-up to the 2018 midterms in an effort to assist the reelection chances of Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), a long-time opponent of the Project by allowing him to continue to claim to block the Project. Despite these efforts, Senator Heller was defeated in the 2018 midterm elections by Congresswoman Jacky Rosen (D-NV), who also opposes the Project. Subsequently, in the lame-duck session, Congress did not appropriate money for the nuclear-waste program, apparently because Senator Feinstein did not want to appropriate money for the Yucca Mountain Project over the opposition of the two Nevada Senators, and so the House would not include funding, either. The article concludes by considering, with the 2018 elections now behind us, and Democrats now in control of the House - will Congress finally break the impasse? Or will it find another excuse to again avoid this nettlesome issue?