Copyright 2000 Journal Sentinel Inc.
Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel
February 11, 2000 Friday FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 7A
LENGTH: 355 words
HEADLINE:
Legislation on nuclear waste passes, but still called 'dead';
Senate bill on
disposal site doesn't win enough votes to override possible veto
BYLINE: ART PINE Los Angeles Times
BODY:
Washington -- The Senate passed legislation
Thursday that would provide a permanent site for disposal of the nation's
nuclear waste, but the 64-34 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority that
Republicans would need to override a veto, apparently continuing a six-year
impasse.
The government already has proposed that the spent nuclear fuel
be deposited in a facility to be built at Yucca Mountain, Nev.,
but the White House and Republicans are at odds over how to go about it.
Voting "yes" on the bill Thursday were 12 Democrats, including Wisconsin
Sen. Herb Kohl, and 52 Republicans. Voting "no" were 32 Democrats, including
Wisconsin's Russ Feingold, and two Republicans. President Clinton opposes a GOP
provision that would limit the role of the Environmental Protection Agency in
setting standards for how much radiation the waste facility could emit and has
threatened to veto the legislation if the House approves similar language.
The provision would require the EPA to consult with the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission and National Academy of Sciences, which favor less
stringent standards, if it wants to issue such regulations before June 1, 2001.
After that, however, the EPA could act on its own.
Proponents said that
the legislation must be passed soon or the nation will face a crisis. Some
40,000 tons of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel already have piled up in
about 80 separate storage areas in 40 states, including Wisconsin. Some of the
facilities are almost filled to capacity.
The government was supposed to
have taken custody of the spent fuel by 1998, but Congress and the White House
have been unable to agree on how.
The bill now goes to the House, where
its fate is uncertain. The House Commerce Committee approved slightly different
legislation last year, but the measure never reached the floor.
Sen.
Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska), who said the bill is "dead until we get a new
administration," had tried to win more Democratic votes by abandoning a
provision that would have required the Energy Department to take title to the
spent fuel while it was in state storage areas.
LOAD-DATE: May 18, 2000 
