Yucca Mountain dump: zombie back from the dead?!

In addition to being scientifically unsuitable for high-level radioactive waste disposal, Yucca Mountain is sacred, and belongs, to the Western Shoshone Indian Nation by treaty rights. This photo by Gabriela Bulisova shows Yucca framed by a ceremonial sweat lodge.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the second highest court in the land just below the U.S. Supreme Court, indicated in a six page ruling on Friday, as reported by the New York Times, that, whether or not Congress appropriates the needed funds, it will order the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to resume the licensing proceeding for the proposed high-level radioactive waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

The Obama administration moved to cancel the Yucca Mountain dump proposal upon taking office, the fulfillment of a campaign pledge to Nevadans. Energy Secretary Chu moved to withdraw the license application from the proceeding already under way at NRC, and to zero out the budget for the project. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who has devoted his political career to stopping the dump ever since being on the receiving end of the "Screw Nevada Bill" in 1987 as a rookie Senator, has ensured that $0.00 has been appropriated toward the dump since 2010.

Another wild card in this high stakes poker game? The recently confirmed NRC chairwoman, Dr. Allison Macfarlane, a geologist, literally wrote (well, edited) the book on why Yucca is scientifically unsuitable as a geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. It is entitled Uncertainty Underground.

What can you do to help make sure the zombie that is the Yucca dump remains in the grave, rather than rising again? Contact the White House, Energy Secretary, and Senate Majority Leader Reid, thank them for their opposition to the Yucca dump, and encourage them to keep doing everything they can to block its coming back from the dead.

Want to learn more about the current state of affairs with high-level radioactive waste? Attend a telephone conference call briefing session, sponsored by NIRS, featuring NRDC's Geoff Fettus, Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force's Steve Frishman, and Southwest Research and Information Center's Don Hancock on August 23rd.