WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- U.S. lawmakers claim a decision to scrap a nuclear waste site in Nevada was illegal, though Nevada lawmakers said it was the right move.
U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, said a decision by U.S. President Barack Obama to scrap the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository was illegal.
Lawmakers in 1987 picked the site for the nation's nuclear waste. After 10 years and $15 billion, Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu abandoned the idea.
Peter Lyons, assistant secretary for nuclear energy, told lawmakers the decision was based on technical issues and opposition from Nevada.
Shimkus, however, said the licensing for Yucca Mountain "must legally continue" to give the United States a safe storage site for spent nuclear fuel, the Platts news service reports.
U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., however, said her constituents have voiced their opposition to the site for decades.
"And we will continue shouting 'no' at the top of our lungs until this effort to shove nuclear waste down our throats is ended," she was quoted as saying.
