WASHINGTON, DC – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01) issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the Office of Nuclear Energy will issue $16 million as part of its consent-based siting activities which are currently focused on siting Federal interim storage facilities for commercial spent nuclear fuel.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) advances the goals of H.R. 1524, the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act, introduced by Rep. Titus in March 2021. The act would require the consent of a state’s Governor, affected local governments, and impacted tribes before the federal government can move forward with disposing nuclear waste at a specific site.

“I’m pleased that the Office of Nuclear Energy has announced this funding to better assist communities with deciding whether it is in their best interest to store nuclear waste,” said Rep. Titus. “No state or community should have a nuclear waste dump forced upon its residents. This is a step in the right direction to prevent storage at sites like Yucca Mountain where there is strong opposition from impacted stakeholders.”

Background

This new funding will provide resources to communities in the continental United States interested in learning more about consent-based siting, management of spent nuclear fuel, and consolidated interim storage facility siting considerations. Award recipients will advance mutual learning within communities, facilitate access to information, and foster open discussions.

DOE plans to fund 6 to 8 geographically diverse awardees over a period of 18 to 24 months. Tasks supported by the funding are grouped into the three following areas:

1. Organize, lead, and maintain meaningful and inclusive community engagement processes related to the management of spent nuclear fuel.
   
2. Elicit and map public values, interests, and goals to promote and enable effective collaboration and community-driven co-design related to a potential consolidated interim storage facility.
3. Develop, implement, and report outcomes and strategies that support mutual learning among stakeholders, communities, and experts on spent nuclear fuel-related topics.

At this phase, DOE hopes to encourage engagement, open dialogue, and capacity building among interested stakeholders, communities, and DOE about the consent-based siting process. DOE anticipates that academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, Tribal entities, State entities, and municipalities, may be interested in applying.

Applications to the FOA will be a step toward expanding mutual learning for the effective implementation of an integrated waste management system for our Nation’s nuclear wastes. Cooperative agreements will support ongoing and voluntary collaboration and partnership building with interested organizations, State and local governments, Tribal Nations, and communities.

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