Richardson testified that “[M]aking a decision now to put interim storage in Nevada is not the right approach.  It simply does not make sense to transport spent fuel across country to Yucca Mountain until we have completed the scientific work and know where a final repository will be.  Spent fuel is currently being stored safely at reactor sites, under U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight, and can continue to be stored safely until a repository is open.”

Although not a member of the Commerce Committee, U.S. Representative Jim Gibbons (R-Nevada) was invited to give opening remarks after requesting an opportunity to voice Nevada’s concerns in the hearing.

“I am encouraged by the Department of Energy and their proposal to solve one of the major problems with H.R. 45 -- the unnecessary transportation and creation of a centralized interim storage facility,” Gibbons testified before the Committee.  “It was Congress in their political know-with-all, not science, that created the current problem this country now faces.  I believe that [the Secretary] has come up with a way to ensure that our nation’s citizens and highways remain safe from the deadly reality of a nuclear waste accident.  I would ask this Committee, and Congress, to look past the emotional idea that ‘We have to do something with nuclear waste, and therefore the best solution is to send it to Nevada,’ and look at the reality because, as H.R. 45 states, ‘spent fuel can be safely stored at reactor sites.’”

“I continue to support Secretary Richardson’s call for the on-site of storage of nuclear waste. There is absolutely no justification to endanger the public by hauling this toxic garbage across the country to Nevada,” Senator Harry Reid said. “To date there has been no decision made about long term storage and many important safety questions still remain unanswered. The only option that makes sense is to leave the waste where it is right now.”

“Once again, Secretary Richardson was adamantly clear that the President will veto the so-called interim storage bill that would dump nuclear waste at the Nevada Test Site.  Just as importantly, the Secretary also outlined the Administration’s new alternative solution that would prevent the unprecedented and extremely dangerous scheme to ship nuclear waste through 43 different states to a final resting place in our backyard.  I have been urging the President and the Department of Energy (DOE) to consider viable alternatives to shipping millions of pounds of radio-active waste to Nevada, and I am encouraged by the DOE’s proposal to stop that plan dead in its tracks,” Senator Bryan stated.

Gibbons also submitted a letter from Governor Kenny Guinn to Subcommittee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX), stating, “It would appear that [Secretary Richardson’s] proposal would solve at least two of the utility concerns with the lack of a centralized interim storage facility or permanent repository.  First, the proposal would address concerns over liability, transferring responsibility from the utility to the federal government, and second, it would ensure that the ratepayers do not pay twice for the same service.  Based on these two issues alone, I believe the Secretary’s proposal deserves a thorough review and consideration as an alternative to H.R. 45.”

Under Richardson’s plan, the DOE would take title and responsibility for spent nuclear waste on-site at reactors.  The Richardson plans comes after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intercede in a lawsuit the nuclear utilities filed against the Energy Department over delays in opening a permanent nuclear repository.  That left intact a lower court ruling that the Energy Department has a legal obligation to store the nuclear wastes, but cannot be made to take possession without a safe place to put them.

Last month, the entire Nevada Congressional delegation participated in a Nuclear Waste Summit hosted by Governor Guinn in Carson City.