Opening Plenary
U.S. Fuel Cycle Policy: Energy Dominance Meets 15 Years of Inaction on Waste

There have been fifteen years of near-total federal government inaction on the nuclear waste front since the Department of Energy (DOE) ceased work on the Yucca Mountain geologic repository in 2010. The U.S. Congress steadfastly refuses to fund the Yucca Mountain Project, but it has made no changes to the official U.S. policy for managing used nuclear fuel, defense high-level radioactive waste, and other materials addressed by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.

Nevertheless, there are recent signs that progress may be possible. DOE is developing the design for a consolidated storage facility (CSF) for used nuclear fuel, and it is working collaboratively with stakeholders to find a willing host community and state for one or more CSFs. Voices in Congress are advocating federal actions to address the government’s obligations related to nuclear waste, evinced by the formation of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus. Private companies have entered the fray with proposals for technological innovations such as borehole disposition, as an alternative to a mined geological repository, and advanced used fuel recycling technologies, to recover fissile material and other valuable radioisotopes. One of the May 23, 2025 Executive Orders charged the Secretary of Energy to develop “… a recommended national policy to support the management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste and the development and deployment of advanced fuel cycle capabilities to establish a safe secure, and sustainable long-term fuel cycle … .” DOE is working diligently to develop the report, which is due in January 2026.

Against that backdrop, the opening plenary panelists will discuss opportunities for progress in nuclear waste management. The lack of a used fuel management program has not derailed the burgeoning interest in new nuclear energy in the U.S., but it is a sizable cloud on that horizon. What should the upcoming DOE report say? How are political and financial challenges to be addressed? How likely is congressional action, and what form will it take? What can the technical community do to help break the logjam?

Opening Speaker: Sylvia J. Saltzstein (Sandia National Laboratories)

Discussion

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