WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb.
10, 1999— The Clinton
Administration must demonstrate a strong commitment to work
with Congress to manage used nuclear fuel, a utility executive
told a congressional panel today.
David Joos,
president and chief executive officer of Michigan-based
Consumers Energy, called on Congress to pass comprehensive
reform legislation providing the Energy Department with a
clear timetable for meeting its legal obligation to store used
fuel from nuclear power plants and defense programs.
Joos told
Congress that despite "the President's clearly stated
commitment that Energy Secretary Bill Richardson would
actively engage Congress in a dialogue on nuclear waste
disposal issues, there has been no real commitment from the
White House or the Energy Department" to meet the government's
1998 legal obligation to begin managing used nuclear fuel.
"The Energy
Department has deflected and attempted to deny its legal
responsibilities and has missed its deadline for accepting
used fuel from nuclear power plants and defense facilities at
78 locations in 35 states," Joos told the House Commerce
Subcommittee on Energy and Power. "This is irresponsible
conduct unfitting of the federal government." In 1982,
Congress directed the government to begin storing used nuclear
fuel at a single federal facility by Jan. 31, 1998.
"The Energy
Department has excused its delays as the inevitable price of
bureaucracy," Joos explained. "Every year, we are confronted
with a new delay that pushes nuclear fuel disposal further
into the future—even though the science indicates promise for
fuel storage today." In December, Secretary Richardson
released a compilation of scientific research that he said
"reveals that no show-stoppers have been identified" at Yucca
Mountain, Nev., the proposed site for a permanent used fuel
repository.
"One thing is
clear: used fuel will have to be stored properly," Joos told
the subcommittee. "The question is, does it make more sense to
store it at dozens of locations across the country—including
my company's two sites near Lake Michigan—or at one location
in the Nevada desert?"
Joos said that
the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999 (H.R. 45)—introduced by
Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Ed Towns (D-N.Y.) and
cosponsored by 73 legislators—"sets concrete dates for the
Energy Department to start accepting fuel at both a federal
temporary storage facility and a disposal facility. The
integrated fuel management program also establishes a
blueprint for transportation of used fuel to those facilities
in a manner that protects public health and safety and the
environment."
The Upton-Towns
bill is virtually identical to legislation approved 307-120
during the previous Congress, Joos noted. "The legislation
builds upon sound technical and scientific assessments that
support a permanent repository for used fuel at Yucca
Mountain."
The
administration's lack of commitment and DOE's repeated delays
in managing used fuel, Joos said, threaten nuclear power's
long-term ability to meet 20 percent of the nation's
electricity needs. Nuclear energy produces electricity without
harmful emissions and at competitive costs.
"For these
reasons, Congress must tackle a significant national challenge
for the 21st century-beginning federal acceptance of used
nuclear fuel and providing certainty for safe disposal," Joos
concluded. "Only Congress can set a sure course, and I urge
the subcommittee to expedite a used fuel management and
disposal program through H.R. 45 and to begin a sustained
dialogue with the administration so that the two can work in
partnership."
