Copyright 1999 The Denver Post Corporation
The
Denver Post
November 16, 1999 Tuesday 2D EDITION
SECTION: DENVER & THE WEST; Pg. B-10
LENGTH: 435 words
HEADLINE:
EDITORIAL 12 years too late
BODY:
The Nuclear Waste
Policy Act of 1982 required the Department of Energy to provide a
repository for nuclear waste from nuclear power plants by January
1998. That deadline, barring some interim solution, will be missed by
at least 12 years; under the most optimistic forecasts, the
repository won't be ready until 2010.
Tomorrow DOE will hold two public
hearings in Denver as it prepares an Environmental Impact Statement
on the proposed Yucca Mountain storage site in
Nevada. Yucca Mountain is the only site still under
consideration as a long-term nuclear-waste storage facility.
Finishing the EIS is only one of many steps needed to assure that the
nation will have an operating storage facility sometime early in the
next century. The nuclear power industry has been caught in
a political squeeze. The lack of a storage facility means spent
fuel rods and other radioactive material must be stored on site at
more than 100 power plants in 34 states, including Colorado, which
had a nuclear power plant at Fort St. Vrain. The industry continues
to pay fees to pay for long-term storage, but the money
remains unspent because no storage is available.
Something
has to give. Nuclear plants furnish about 20 percent of the nation's
electrical power. Congress, in our view, has been much too slow to
respond to the need for long-term storage. And it doesn't look as
though Congress is going to act this year, either, on legislation
that's essential if the 2010 date is to be met. Among other things,
Senate Bill 1287 would establish firm deadlines for DOE and for the
president. It also would direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to
establish radiation standards for the Nevada site, standards that
would protect the public health.
Just as important, the bill
would help plants that are running out of temporary storage space by
allowing DOE to take title to the used nuclear fuel or to ship
material to approved short-term storage facilities.
Some
opponents of the nuclear power industry would like to simply stand
back and watch while the storage problem cripples or threatens to
shut down the power plants. That, we think, is a battle that
thankfully has been decided.
The move to provide responsible long-term
storage must go forward. What is needed is a redoubled effort by the
DOE and a boost from Congress, through passage of S. 1287. A promise
made is a debt unpaid. The promise of long-term storage was made 17
years ago. It isn't too much to ask that it finally be honored.
LOAD-DATE: November 16, 1999 
