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{{Short description|Unused deep geological repository facility in Nevada, US}}
{{Short description|Unused deep geological repository facility in Nevada, US}}
{{Use American English|date = November 2019}}
{{Organization
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2019}}
|OrganizationName=Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository
 
|OrganizationType=Government Corporations (Sub-organization)
{{multiple image
|Mission=The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository was intended to serve as the United States' first deep geological repository for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, aiming to safely and securely isolate this waste from the environment for thousands of years.
|direction = vertical
|OrganizationExecutive=Project Director (position no longer active)
|align = right
|Employees=Project staff numbers fluctuated; no current employees as the project is inactive.
|width = 350
|Budget=Funding ceased; previously allocated millions annually, with a total of nearly $15 billion spent over the project's lifetime.
|image1=Yucca Mountain 2.jpg
|Website=No active official site; historical information at https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/yucca-mountain-project
|image2=Yucca proposed design.jpg
|Services=Proposed long-term storage of nuclear waste; geological characterization; environmental impact assessments
|caption1= Yucca Mountain
|ParentOrganization=Department of Energy
|caption2=The proposed design<ref name="2008news">{{cite news|title=Nuclear waste repository safe for future generations |url=http://www.lanl.gov/1663/yucca_mountain_complies_with_epa_regulations_for_safety_and_risk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506090127/http://www.lanl.gov/1663/yucca_mountain_complies_with_epa_regulations_for_safety_and_risk |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |access-date=June 2, 2019 |newspaper=1663 LANL Sci/Tech Magazine |date=December 2008}}</ref>
|TopOrganization=Department of Energy
|CreationLegislation=Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, amended in 1987 to focus on Yucca Mountain
|Regulations=Proposed regulations included EPA radiation standards; NRC licensing requirements
|HeadquartersLocation=36.875000, -116.550000
|HeadquartersAddress=Yucca Mountain, Nye County, NV, USA
}}
}}
The '''Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository''', as designated by the [[Nuclear Waste Policy Act]] amendments of 1987,<ref name=usa /> is a proposed [[deep geological repository]] storage facility within [[Yucca Mountain]] for [[spent nuclear fuel]] and other [[high-level radioactive waste]] in the United States. The site is on federal land adjacent to the [[Nevada Test Site]] in [[Nye County, Nevada]], about {{convert|80|mi|abbr=on}} northwest of the [[Las Vegas Valley]].
The '''Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository''', as designated by the [[Nuclear Waste Policy Act]] amendments of 1987,<ref name=usa /> is a proposed [[deep geological repository]] storage facility within [[Yucca Mountain]] for [[spent nuclear fuel]] and other [[high-level radioactive waste]] in the United States. The site is on federal land adjacent to the [[Nevada Test Site]] in [[Nye County, Nevada]], about {{convert|80|mi|abbr=on}} northwest of the [[Las Vegas Valley]].


The project was approved in 2002 by the [[107th United States Congress]], but the [[112th United States Congress|112th Congress]] ended federal funding for the site via amendment to the [[continuing resolution|Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act]], passed on April 14, 2011, during the [[Obama administration]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/112/plaws/publ10/PLAW-112publ10.pdf |title=Publication |publisher=www.congress.gov |date= |access-date=2021-09-10}}</ref> The project has encountered many difficulties and was highly contested by the public, the [[Western Shoshone]] peoples, and many politicians.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ryan |first=Cy |date=2012-03-16 |title=Nye County, Sandoval clash over future of Yucca – Las Vegas Sun Newspaper |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2012/mar/16/nye-county-sandoval-clash-over-future-yucca/ |access-date=2020-02-19 |website=lasvegassun.com |language=en-us}}</ref> The project also faces strong state and regional opposition.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/yucca-mountain-opposition-to-be-focus-at-las-vegas-conference/ |title=Yucca Mountain opposition to be focus at Las Vegas conference|date=2017-09-05|website=Las Vegas Review-Journal|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-19}}</ref> The [[Government Accountability Office]] stated that the closure was for political, not technical or safety reasons.<ref name="GAO">{{cite news|title=GAO: Death of Yucca Mountain Caused by Political Maneuvering |url=https://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/05/10/10greenwire-gao-death-of-yucca-mountain-caused-by-politica-36298.html?pagewanted=all|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 9, 2011}}</ref>
The project was approved in 2002 by the [[107th United States Congress]], but the [[112th United States Congress|112th Congress]] ended federal funding for the site via amendment to the [[continuing resolution|Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act]], passed on April 14, 2011, during the [[Obama administration]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/112/plaws/publ10/PLAW-112publ10.pdf |title=Publication |publisher=www.congress.gov |date= |access-date=2021-09-10}}</ref> The project has encountered many difficulties and was highly contested by the public, the [[Western Shoshone]] peoples, and many politicians.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ryan |first=Cy |date=2012-03-16 |title=Nye County, Sandoval clash over future of Yucca – Las Vegas Sun Newspaper |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2012/mar/16/nye-county-sandoval-clash-over-future-yucca/ |access-date=2020-02-19 |website=lasvegassun.com |language=en-us}}</ref> The project also faces strong state and regional opposition.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/yucca-mountain-opposition-to-be-focus-at-las-vegas-conference/ |title=Yucca Mountain opposition to be focus at Las Vegas conference|date=2017-09-05|website=Las Vegas Review-Journal|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-19}}</ref> The [[Government Accountability Office]] stated that the closure was for political, not technical or safety reasons.<ref name="GAO">{{cite news|title=GAO: Death of Yucca Mountain Caused by Political Maneuvering |url=https://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/05/10/10greenwire-gao-death-of-yucca-mountain-caused-by-politica-36298.html?pagewanted=all|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 9, 2011}}</ref>


This leaves the United States government (which disposes of its [[Transuranium element|transuranic]] waste from nuclear weapons production {{convert|2150|ft|m}} below the surface at the [[Waste Isolation Pilot Plant]] in New Mexico)<ref>{{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.wipp.energy.gov/fctshts/Why_WIPP.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930145651/http://www.wipp.energy.gov/fctshts/Why_WIPP.pdf |archive-date=September 30, 2011 |access-date=2011-11-16 |website=wipp.energy.gov}}</ref> and American [[Nuclear power in the United States|nuclear power plants]] without any designated long-term storage for their high-level radioactive waste (spent fuel) stored on-site in steel and concrete casks ([[dry cask storage]]) at 76 reactor sites in 34 states.<ref name=Guard_2021-08-24 >{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/24/san-onofre-nuclear-power-plant-radioactive-waste-unsafe | title='A combination of failures:' why 3.6m pounds of nuclear waste is buried on a popular California beach |last=Mishkin |first=Kate |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=2021-08-24 |quote=Under the US Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the federal government was to move waste into a centralized, remote federal facility starting in 1998. In 2002, George W Bush approved Yucca Mountain, a site about 100 miles from Las Vegas, as a permanent underground nuclear waste repository. But in 2010, the Obama administration scrapped the controversial plan. ... Spent fuel is stored at 76 reactor sites in 34 states, according to the Department of Energy.}}</ref><ref name=DOE_FF-SNF >{{cite web |url=https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-fast-facts-about-spent-nuclear-fuel |title=5 Fast Facts about Spent Nuclear Fuel |work=[[United States Department of Energy]] |date=2020-03-30}}</ref><ref name=WSJ_2021-05-14 >{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/escape-from-yucca-mountain-biden-administration-promises-progress-on-nuclear-waste-11620984602 |title=Escape From Yucca Mountain: Biden Administration Promises Progress on Nuclear Waste |last=Rubin |first=Gabriel |newspaper=[[Wall Street Journal]] |date=2021-05-14 |quote=The only federally designated long-term disposal site for waste from the nuclear power industry is at Yucca Mountain in Nevada (there is also a site near Carlsbad, N.M., for waste generated by the government’s nuclear weapons program).}}</ref><ref name="nrc.gov">{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/locations.html |title=NRC: Locations of Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations |date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=[[U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission]] |access-date=2010-07-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527192312/http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/locations.html |archive-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref>
This leaves the United States government (which disposes of its [[Transuranium element|transuranic]] waste from nuclear weapons production {{convert|2150|ft|m}} below the surface at the [[Waste Isolation Pilot Plant]] in New Mexico)<ref>{{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.wipp.energy.gov/fctshts/Why_WIPP.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930145651/http://www.wipp.energy.gov/fctshts/Why_WIPP.pdf |archive-date=September 30, 2011 |access-date=2011-11-16 |website=wipp.energy.gov}}</ref> and American [[Nuclear power in the United States|nuclear power plants]] without any designated long-term storage for their high-level radioactive waste (spent fuel) stored on-site in steel and concrete casks ([[dry cask storage]]) at 76 reactor sites in 34 states.<ref name=Guard_2021-08-24 >{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/24/san-onofre-nuclear-power-plant-radioactive-waste-unsafe | title='A combination of failures:' why 3.6m pounds of nuclear waste is buried on a popular California beach |last=Mishkin |first=Kate |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2021-08-24 |quote=Under the US Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the federal government was to move waste into a centralized, remote federal facility starting in 1998. In 2002, George W Bush approved Yucca Mountain, a site about 100 miles from Las Vegas, as a permanent underground nuclear waste repository. But in 2010, the Obama administration scrapped the controversial plan. ... Spent fuel is stored at 76 reactor sites in 34 states, according to the Department of Energy.}}</ref><ref name=DOE_FF-SNF >{{cite web |url=https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-fast-facts-about-spent-nuclear-fuel |title=5 Fast Facts about Spent Nuclear Fuel |work=[[United States Department of Energy]] |date=2020-03-30}}</ref><ref name=WSJ_2021-05-14 >{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/escape-from-yucca-mountain-biden-administration-promises-progress-on-nuclear-waste-11620984602 |title=Escape From Yucca Mountain: Biden Administration Promises Progress on Nuclear Waste |last=Rubin |first=Gabriel |newspaper=[[Wall Street Journal]] |date=2021-05-14 |quote=The only federally designated long-term disposal site for waste from the nuclear power industry is at Yucca Mountain in Nevada (there is also a site near Carlsbad, N.M., for waste generated by the government’s nuclear weapons program).}}</ref><ref name="nrc.gov">{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/locations.html |title=NRC: Locations of Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations |date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=[[U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission]] |access-date=2010-07-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527192312/http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/locations.html |archive-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref>


Under President [[Barack Obama]], the U.S. [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]] (DOE) reviewed options other than Yucca Mountain for a [[High-level radioactive waste management|high-level waste repository]]. The [[Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future]], established by the [[United States Secretary of Energy|Secretary of Energy]], released its final report in January 2012. It detailed an urgent need to find a site suitable for constructing a consolidated geological repository, stating that any future facility should be developed by a new independent organization with direct access to the [[Nuclear Waste Fund]], which is not subject to political and financial control as the [[Cabinet (government)|Cabinet]]-level DOE is.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Hamilton |first=Lee H. |last2=Scowcroft |first2=Brent |date=January 2012 |title=Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future Final Report |url=http://brc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/brc_finalreport_jan2012.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807061024/http://brc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/brc_finalreport_jan2012.pdf |archive-date=August 7, 2012 |access-date=2012-10-25}}</ref> But the site met with strong opposition in Nevada, including from then-Senate leader [[Harry Reid]].<ref name=usa />
Under President [[Barack Obama]], the U.S. [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]] (DOE) reviewed options other than Yucca Mountain for a [[High-level radioactive waste management|high-level waste repository]]. The [[Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future]], established by the [[United States Secretary of Energy|Secretary of Energy]], released its final report in January 2012. It detailed an urgent need to find a site suitable for constructing a consolidated geological repository, stating that any future facility should be developed by a new independent organization with direct access to the [[Nuclear Waste Fund]], which is not subject to political and financial control as the [[Cabinet (government)|Cabinet]]-level DOE is.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Hamilton |first=Lee H. |last2=Scowcroft |first2=Brent |date=January 2012 |title=Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future Final Report |url=http://brc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/brc_finalreport_jan2012.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807061024/http://brc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/brc_finalreport_jan2012.pdf |archive-date=August 7, 2012 |access-date=2012-10-25}}</ref> But the site met with strong opposition in Nevada, including from then-Senate leader [[Harry Reid]].<ref name=usa />
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  |first=Michael
  |first=Michael
  |date=June 3, 2018  
  |date=June 3, 2018  
  |website=[[USA Today]]
  |website=USA Today
  }}</ref> The [[Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act]] was sponsored by [[John Shimkus]]. ''The Hill'' clarified that the bill would "set a path forward for the DOE to resume the process of planning for and building the southern Nevada site, transfer land to the DOE for it, ease the federal funding mechanism and allow DOE to build or license a temporary site to store waste while the Yucca project is being planned and built."<ref name="Timothy Cama for The Hill, Year"/>
  }}</ref> The [[Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act]] was sponsored by [[John Shimkus]]. ''The Hill'' clarified that the bill would "set a path forward for the DOE to resume the process of planning for and building the southern Nevada site, transfer land to the DOE for it, ease the federal funding mechanism and allow DOE to build or license a temporary site to store waste while the Yucca project is being planned and built."<ref name="Timothy Cama for The Hill, Year"/>


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