ANS Submits Comments to NRC on Geological Repository
Society recommends budget actions to be included for spent nuclear fuel
The American Nuclear Society (ANS) submitted recommendations to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) today to move forward with a U.S. Appellate Court ruling for the development and use of geological repositories. In his submitted comments to the NRC, ANS President Donald R. Hoffman outlined the following two actions for the NRC to take:
- With the remaining funds available to it, the Commission should issue the outstanding volumes of its Safety Evaluation Report (SER), beginning with Volume 3.
- The Commission should establish budget requirements and plans to complete the project as directed by the courts, and include them in the FY 2015 budget request it submits to the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Hoffman notes that “the remaining level of appropriations available for Yucca Mountain activities is insufficient to complete the licensing process. As such, it is our opinion that the Commission should submit a reasonable, enumerated licensing activity plan in its proposed FY 15 Congressional Budget Justification.”
The Society has long advocated for the U.S. government to create a permanent repository in order to complete the nuclear fuel cycle. ANS members and nuclear leaders from around the world will outline the benefits of a completed cycle, as well as a celebrate the 75th anniversary of the discovery of nuclear fission at the 2013 ANS Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. from November 10 -14, 2013.
