Today, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson spearheaded Republican efforts to examine the waste of taxpayer dollars by abandoning Yucca Mountain as our nation’s long-term disposal site for nuclear materials.  The hearing was largely bipartisan, as both Democrats and Republicans pushed Department of Energy (DOE) Under Secretary Kristina M. Johnson and other officials to justify their decision to close Yucca Mountain and look elsewhere after 25 years of planning at that site.

Simpson began his questioning by stating, “I honestly don’t believe that anybody within the Department of Energy or here (in the Committee) believes that a good decision was made by shutting down Yucca Mountain.” He would later add after the hearing, “The simple truth is a campaign promise made between Senator Reid (NV) and President Obama is what now dictates this county’s long-term nuclear waste storage policy.  Without a doubt, this Administration has chosen politics over science, and it has already cost billions of taxpayer dollars.  Sadly, we do not yet know, and cannot estimate, the amount of taxpayer dollars that will be wasted because of this decision.”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently reviewing the legality of the Administration’s attempt to withdraw the Yucca Mountain licensing application without the consent of Congress, and Congress has not included funding to continue the license application in as part of the relevant House and Senate appropriations bills. 

Simpson sought answers from the DOE on the issue of funding, asking, “Should the NRC rule, as I believe they correctly will, that the Administration cannot unilaterally withdraw the application, what will the DOE do in terms of the $100 or $200 million that will be necessary to proceed with the licensing application? Will they come in and ask for a reprogramming to do that or will they just ignore it and say ‘we don’t have any funds?”

Undersecretary Johnson answered broadly that they will follow the direction of Congress and the NRC should that happen.  As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water which funds DOE, Simpson supported an amendment offered during consideration of the FY2011 Energy and Water Development Act to provide funding to continue the licensing process, but it was ultimately defeated.

After the hearing Simpson said, “This is the most studied piece of land on earth, at the cost of billions of dollars, and is ideal for long term storage, but it is the ONLY site in the country that will not be considered for storage in the future.  I am still waiting for an answer to my simple question: why not Yucca?  I fear that I already know the answer, as do most Americans: Washington politics.” 

Simpson is a member of the House Budget Committee, which establishes broad guidelines for funding, and is a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development which oversees funding for the Department of Energy, including the Yucca Mountain Project.

To watch a video of Congressman Simpson from the hearing, visit his YouTube webpage.