WASHINGTON, DC – Energy Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Environment Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL) today issued the following statement in response to a committee requested report from the nonpartisan government watchdog Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Yucca Mountain Restart Plans.

The committee leaders requested the report in February of 2016 asking GAO to assess DOE’s ability to complete the Yucca Mountain License Application. In their report, GAO outlined a series of four steps that would be needed for the licensing process to resume and be completed. In GAO’s response they write, “The steps include actions by, among others, NRC’s five-member Commission and the adjudication’s parties: DOE, NRC staff, and 17 non-federal parties likely to be affected by this proceeding. The likely key steps GAO identified are:

1. The Commission and parties receiving direction to resume the licensing process, and the Commission deciding on the timing and other details, so NRC and parties can identify their funding needs for the adjudication


2. Rebuilding organizational capacity, including, as needed, recruiting personnel to recreate DOE's, NRC's, and nonfederal parties' project offices; obtaining legal, scientific, or other experts for the adjudication; and rebuilding physical infrastructure. Also at this step, DOE and NRC may need to update key documents used for the licensing process.


3. Reconvening the parties and completing the remaining phases of the adjudication, including witness depositions and evidentiary hearings.


4. Carrying out the process's remaining steps, including the Commission's final decision on whether to authorize construction of the repository.”

“While some challenges remain, this report provides DOE and NRC a roadmap to take the necessary steps to complete the Yucca Mountain license. Completing the licensing process is of critical importance because it provides the state of Nevada the opportunity to publicly make their case in front of independent NRC judges,” said Upton and Shimkus. “As the committee works toward comprehensive legislation regarding our nuclear waste policy, we will work in coordination with DOE to address the issues outlined in this report.”

To view the GAO report, click here.

To view the letter sent by the committee to GAO in February 2016, click here.

For a comprehensive list of the committee’s work as it relates to Yucca Mountain, click here.

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