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Wyden open to moving nuclear waste to interim storage sites
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) says he would be open to moving nuclear waste from high-risk reactors to interim storage sites.
The incoming Senate Energy and Natural Resources chairman’s stance, which differs from current Chairman Jeff Bingaman's (D-N.M.), could help revive efforts to address the nation’s nuclear waste management.
Bingaman sought to prohibit storing spent nuclear fuel at temporary storage sites until steps were taken to establish a permanent, long-term repository. That position led to nuclear waste talks breaking down this Congress.
Wyden’s outlook — however tentative at this point — is a big positive for moving a bill on nuclear waste management next Congress, Robert Dillon, spokesman with committee ranking member Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), told The Hill.
“If Sen. Wyden is saying he’s open to it, then that certainly tracks with Sen. Murkowski’s position,” Dillon said. “That brings renewed hope to get the ball moving again.”
In a bill he introduced late this session, Bingaman insisted an application for a permanent waste storage site be on file as a condition for using interim facilities. That was at odds with Sens. Murkowski, Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Dillon said.
Dillon explained requiring a permanent site first was a non-starter. He said the permitting process could become embroiled in a political fight that lasts decades, pointing to the long controversy over Yucca Mountain repository as an example.
The Obama administration has abandoned long-planned — and long-delayed — federal efforts to open a nuclear waste dump at Nevada's Yucca Mountain.
Bingaman, however, has defended his stance, saying that he is concerned that interim sites would become de facto permanent repositories for nuclear waste.
For her part, Murkowski said Sunday in an interview with Platts Energy Week that she hopes when Wyden steps into Bingaman’s spot, he will work with her, Feinstein and Alexander on nuclear issues.
Wyden might have more incentive to push ahead with a nuclear waste bill than Bingaman.
Wyden’s office said he wants to explore separating military spent fuel from civilian. A chunk of that military waste is stored in creaky containers at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington, just across the border from Oregon.
