WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Nevada Senators oppose plans for a nuclear waste disposal site being considered for the state and called for a new spent nuclear fuel strategy.
Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Thursday the plans for Yucca Mountain in southwest Nevada are "flawed and dangerous."
He said the Nuclear Fuel Management and Disposal Act would unravel states' rights, as well as the Department of Defense's ability to regulate airspace of nearby Nellis Air Force Base.
Republican Sen. John Ensign said there will never be one central and safe location for all of the country's nuclear waste, and urged the nation to invest in recycling and improving on-site nuclear waste storage.
Edward Sproat, the head of civilian nuclear waste management at the Energy Department, said at the hearing Thursday that the Bush administration plan for Yucca Mountain is practical. He urged passage of the bill to ensure Yucca Mountain opens by 2017, though critics say that timeline isn't feasible and is unsafe.
Also supporting the bill at the hearing were representatives of the nuclear industry and public utility industry.
Both Robert Loux of the Nevada governor's office and Geoff Fettus of the Natural Resources Defense Council vehemently oppose the bill.
Martin Virgilio of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the bill "could adversely impact the NRC's ability to meet its statutory obligations with respect to radioactive high-level waste," and urged a longer statutory timeline for deciding on an application to open the site.
"We need Yucca Mountain. I want to fix this program and make it work," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., chair of the committee.
The bill isn't expected to make it out of the committee.
