Project Operations
The Relationship Between DOE and Other Agencies

Four federal agencies are involved in the Project. Three make rules or recommendations that the fourth, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), must follow in running the Project: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB). The EPA sets the standards that DOE must meet to locate, build, and operate a repository for highly radioactive materials. The NRC judges whether DOE has met EPA standards and should receive a license for the repository. The NWTRB oversees DOE work, issues opinions, and makes recommendations. The NWTRB, and the senior managers of the EPA and the DOE are appointed by the U. S. president, as are the five commissioners of the NRC (one of whom serves as chairman).

The NRC must issue a license before construction begins for any nuclear facility, such as a power plant or repository. The EPA sets the standards that NRC puts in its licensing regulations. The DOE applies to NRC for a license.

The EPA also sets standards that apply to the state of Nevada, which enforces them. These are environmental standards for state permits. The Project must obtain permits to begin any work that creates dust.

The NRC was created to make sure that nuclear facilities run safely. The relationship between the Project and NRC is carefully defined through agreements, laws and policies. These tell each agency how to interact and require that an NRC representative observe the DOE's work. All DOE-NRC meetings on the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program are public meetings, held in accordance with the Sunshine Law (Open Meeting Law) and NRC's Openness Policy. These tell each agency how to plan meetings, what will be discussed at these meetings, and who to talk to about these meetings. These meetings are important ways for people who work on the program to get together and talk about questions they have and find ways to get the answers to these questions.

The Project's relationship with NRC is based on the premise that the Project must prove to NRC that all Yucca Mountain plans and research meet all pertinent standards.

The NRC has advisory committees -- high-level groups who advise and oversee NRC. One of these is the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste. These committees ask the tough questions about issues that NRC will consider. They also provide recommendations on work that should be done.

The NRC questions DOE's decisions, requests more information, and seeks to discover and understand all significant information about the Project. The NRC is especially interested in how the Project came to its conclusions. When NRC has evaluated a license application and approved it to go further in the process, NRC establishes an Administrative Safety Licensing Board. This board has one judge and two lawyers.

Once the evaluation has been made and the Board convenes a hearing, intervenors, like the state of Nevada, the affected units of local government, and Native American tribes, question both the Project and NRC.

Intervenors ask for extensive additional information as part of the legal discovery process. As such, the discovery process can become very long and difficult.

To shorten the discovery process, the Project identifies controversial issues before licensing. The Project also makes documents available, via the Internet, so that anyone may examine them before the discovery process.

Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board

The NWTRB is an independent group of technical experts who oversee the Project. Its 11 members are appointed by the U.S. president from a group of eminently qualified professionals, nominated by the National Academy of Sciences.

The Board evaluates the engineering and scientific validity of DOE activities that:

• study the site being proposed as a repository, and
• relate to the packaging or transportation of highly radioactive materials.

 

Additional Information:
Why Yucca Mountain?	History of nuclear waste program
Who's watching us?	Project Fact Sheets
Project Operations	Transportation
Project Databases	Employment Opportunities

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