Churchill County Nuclear Waste Oversight Program

Yucca Mountain and the Nuclear Renaissance: Assessing the Safety and Viability of a Vital National Asset, March 07, 2008
Approx. 1 1/5 hours

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Featuring Keynote Remarks by:
Edward F. Sproat III
Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, U.S. Department of EnergyFollowed by a Panel Discussion with:

Mark Peters, Ph.D., Deputy to the Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Sciences and Engineering, Argonne National LaboratorySteven Kraft Senior Director,
Used Fuel Management,
Nuclear Energy Institute

Annie Caputo, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works

Details:

Nuclear power is emerging as a solution to America’s energy concerns. Despite its impeccable safety and environmental record as well as its potential to transform America’s energy profile, questions remain about the viability of a broad expansion of nuclear power. One of the last major hurdles to overcome is what to do about Yucca Mountain. Questions remain about whether it can be opened at all and if opened, whether or not it will be sufficient to support an American nuclear renaissance.

In 1982, the U.S. Congress enacted a law called the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The Act established a comprehensive national program for the safe, permanent disposal of highly radioactive wastes.

This law is based on the principle that our society is responsible for safely disposing of the nuclear wastes we create.

The Act directed the U.S. Department of Energy to study suitable sites for a geologic repository. The geologic repository envisioned by the Act is an engineered disposal facility located deep underground. After more than two decades of scientific study, in 2002, Congress and the President approved the development of a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

Churchill County is considered a "Affected Unit of Government" by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The term "affected unit of local government" means the unit of local government with jurisdiction over the site of a repository or a monitored retrievable storage facility. Such term may, at the discretion of the Secretary, include units of local government that are contiguous with such unit. ([31] Nuclear Waste Policy Act)

The Commissioners of Churchll County establised the Yucca Mountain Oversight Program's who's primary goal is to focus the limited resources funded to the affected units of government on:

Conducting adequate program oversight and monitoring.
Identifying potential impacts affecting the local community areas.
Providing appropriate levels of public information.
Understanding key geotechnical issues facing the repository program.

On-going Socioeconomic Monitoring and Impact Assessment

Churchill County has investigated potential social and economic impacts associated with the repository program. Potential fiscal impacts including impacts to local government revenue sources, and property values have been identified and analyzed for each year. The curent update can be accessed here Baseline report (2007). The County will continue to monitor risk related behavior, its affects on tourism, and the associated economic and fiscal impacts.

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Map of the US showing the location of Yucca Mountain
Map