“Over more than three decades and at every step in the process, the Yucca Mountain project has faltered because Nevadans do not want nuclear waste stored in our state,” Rep. Titus said. “We must codify this opposition into law to protect the health and safety of our communities and guarantee a process that requires the consent of state, local, and tribal leaders. Nevada is not a nuclear waste land. We don’t produce nuclear waste, and we shouldn’t be forced to store it.”
Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV-01) today reintroduced legislation that would require state, local, and tribal governments to provide consent before the construction of a permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.
“Over more than three decades and at every step in the process, the Yucca Mountain project has faltered because Nevadans do not want nuclear waste stored in our state,” Rep. Titus said. “We must codify this opposition into law to protect the health and safety of our communities and guarantee a process that requires the consent of state, local, and tribal leaders. Nevada is not a nuclear waste land. We don’t produce nuclear waste, and we shouldn’t be forced to store it.”
“I’ve said for years that Washington shouldn’t have the unilateral authority to make decisions that will impact communities and the environment in the Silver State for generations to come,” said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto. “Nevadans have made it clear, Yucca Mountain is dead. This legislation will give local and Tribal leaders the seat at the table they deserve in decision-making about nuclear repositories in their communities – in Nevada and across the country. I will continue to fight to make sure Nevadans’ voices are heard.”
“Nevadans have been overwhelmingly clear in their opposition to making Nevada the nation’s nuclear waste dumping ground,” said Senator Jacky Rosen. “This legislation will ensure that states like Nevada have a say in opposing the storage of nuclear waste in their backyard. I’ll always fight against Washington’s efforts to bring nuclear waste to our state.”
“Nevadans will not stand by at attempts to make our state a nuclear dumping ground,” Rep. Steven Horsford said. “Our public health is on the line; our environmental safety is on the line; our ability to feel secure in our communities is on the line – so our voices will not be silenced. I’m proud to cosponsor the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act to require local consent for any attempt to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, and I will always work to prevent this ill-conceived project from moving forward.”
“Nevada has made it clear for decades that we refuse to become the nation’s nuclear dumping ground,” said Rep. Susie Lee. “This bill ensures that nuclear waste projects, like Yucca Mountain, cannot move forward without consent from the communities they affect. I’ll continue fighting against attempts to revive Yucca Mountain.”
Congresswoman Titus’s long track record of elevating Nevadans’ voices in consent-based siting for nuclear waste and toxic material dates back to 2015 when she first introduced the consent-based legislation. She has introduced similar legislation in every congressional session since. Her efforts also include supporting funding for the Office of Nuclear Energy that advances the goals of the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act.
Congresswoman Titus also has worked with the State of Nevada’s Agency for Nuclear Projects to urge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to consider Nevada’s motion to reopen the licensing proceeding regarding Yucca Mountain so that a vote to suspend the project could be taken.
Congresswoman Titus’s bicameral Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act is based on the 2012 recommendations of the Department of Energy’s Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on America’s Nuclear Future and that Department’s consent-based siting report from 2017. The legislation would allow funds from the Nuclear Waste Fund to be used for construction of a nuclear waste repository only if the Secretary of Energy secured written consent from:
The Governor of the host state
Affected units of local government
Each contiguous unit of local government primarily affected by the repository
