You don't normally find appropriations bills to be very pithy reading, but the House Energy and Water Full Committee FY12 budget report released yesterday rips the Obama administration in amazingly blunt and harsh language for its decision to shut down Yucca Mountain [right, credit US DOE] as the nation's planned nuclear waste repository. The House Committee includes funds in the budget plan to continue the licensing process for the Nevada waste site:
"Put simply, the Administration's anti-Yucca Mountain stance has no scientific basis, is wasting billions of taxpayer dollars, and may be illegal. The Committee rejects the Administration's plans to shut down the Yucca Mountain license application process and includes funds in the recommendation to continue the process. Once the full merits of this site are understood, and not before, the nation should determine whether to move forward with full construction of the site."The Committee recommends a budget of $25 million for FY12, an increase of $25 million over what the Administration requested. Read the entire section on pages 75-77 in the budget report.
"The Administration has unilaterally decided upon a path to close the Yucca Mountain license
application process, a decision which, if allowed, would waste over two decades of study and a public investment of over $15 billion, plus tens of billions in additional fines and penalties. The Committee strongly opposes the Administration's plans and includes funding in this recommendation under ''Nuclear Waste Disposal'' and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue the license application."