Reid: Yucca Mountain court ruling a ‘great day for Nevada’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) took to Twitter Friday to applaud a federal court’s dismissal of litigation challenging the Energy Department’s effort to scuttle the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada.

“Great day for Nevada. Court decision marks imp. win in battle 2 put Yucca Mtn. project 2 rest,” tweeted Reid, a longtime Yucca foe, adding “#YuccaIsDead” for emphasis.

A federal appeals court on Friday tossed a lawsuit by the states of Washington and South Carolina, which oppose the Obama administration’s decison to abandon the long-planned high-level nuclear waste repository.

However, the decision is hardly the final word on the matter.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled only that the states’ case challenging the legality of the Energy Department’s (DOE) decision is premature, because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is still reviewing DOE’s effort to withdraw its license application for the Yucca project.

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, in a statement, said the court decision should light a fire under the NRC.

“While we are disappointed in this decision, the court makes it perfectly clear that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must act in this case. Consumers of nuclear power have contributed more than $30 billion for the development of a nuclear-waste repository and deserve prompt action by the NRC,” the group said.

Top House Republicans have strongly criticized the Obama administration effort to scuttle the Yucca project.

In a statement Friday, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) pointed to the Senate's Thursday confirmation of William Ostendorff to a second NRC term in calling for the NRC to force the project forward.

“The court’s decision underscores the urgency for the NRC to complete action on the Yucca repository licensing application. With Commissioner Ostendorff set for another term, the NRC must now come together and finalize its vote on the Atomic Safety Licensing Board’s ruling that DOE cannot withdraw Yucca’s application,” he said in a statement issued with Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), who heads the Environment and the Economy Subcommittee.

“The Obama administration has already chosen to squander $15 billion; decades of scientific research and bipartisan collaboration hang in the balance, and taxpayers remain on the hook for billions of dollars more in future liability claims,” they said.

This post was updated at 5:04 p.m.