Graham Legislation Provides 'Rebate' to Consumers, Utilities, and Communities for Obama Administration's Refusal to Open Yucca Mountain

WASHINGTON, DC – March 12, 2012 – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SouthCarolina), one of the strongest supporters of nuclear energy in theSenate, has introduced legislation, The Nuclear Waste Fund Relief andRebate Act.
 
Electric utilities have been paying into the Nuclear Waste Trust Fund toconstruct and operate a permanent federal nuclear waste repository atYucca Mountain, Nevada.  The utilities have been charging theircostumers a monthly fee in each electricity bill to make thesepayments.  According to the latest information, South Carolina residentsalone have already contributed more than $1.3 billion to the fund,which has collected a total of more than $35 billion in fees.
 
The legislation introduced by Graham would rebate these monies back toelectric utilities and consumers.  Seventy-five percent of the amountrebated to utilities would be returned to their customers and theremaining portion will be used to make upgrades to on-site storagefacilities.
 
Additionally, the legislation authorizes payments to states currentlyhousing defense nuclear waste scheduled to be transferred to YuccaMountain.  These payments begin in 2017, the date in which YuccaMountain was to set to receive shipments of defense nuclear waste.
 
“No one should be required to pay for an empty hole in the Nevadadesert,” said Graham.  “The decision by the Obama Administration toclose Yucca Mountain was ill-advised and leaves our nation without adisposal plan for spent nuclear fuel or Cold War waste.  It was apolitical, not scientific, decision.  It is incumbent on theAdministration to come up with a disposal plan for this real problemfacing our nation.”
 
The major provisions of the Graham legislation include:
 

• Presidential Certification:  The Department of Energy has spentbillions of dollars and decades studying the suitability of YuccaMountain as the nation’s repository for spent nuclear fuel and defensewaste.  Consistently, the science has borne out that Yucca Mountain isthe best site to dispose of nuclear waste.  Within 30 days of passage,the President must certify that Yucca Mountain remains the preferredchoice to serve as the federal repository for spent nuclear fuel anddefense-related nuclear waste.
• Failure to Certify Leads to Rebates:  If the President fails tomake the above certification, or revokes the certification at a laterdate, all funds currently in the Nuclear Waste Trust Fund shall berebated back to the utilities.  Seventy-five percent of the amountrebated to utilities would be returned to their customers and theremaining money will be used to make security and storage upgrades atexisting nuclear power plants.
• Defense Waste:  Currently, there is at least 12,800 metric tons ofdefense-related waste at nuclear weapons complex facilities around thecountry.  Unlike commercial spent fuel, this waste has no potentialfuture defense or civilian uses.  In many states, the accumulated wasteposes the largest potential public health threat.  In order to helpmitigate the risk associated with the indefinite storage of defensewaste, the legislation authorizes payments of up to $100 million peryear if defense waste has not begun to have left the states by 2017.
• Waste Confidence:  In order to continue to renew or issue licensesfor civilian nuclear power plants, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission(NRC) must have reasonable confidence that the waste will be disposed ofsafely.  The legislation includes waste confidence language that allowsfor the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue to license nuclearreactors in the event the Presidential certification is not made.

“Our nation needs real options as a result of the uncertainty createdby the Obama Administration’s change in policy,” said Graham.  “I willpush this legislation forward and hope to have the full Senateon-the-record on this important issue.”
 
Co-sponsors of the legislation include Senators Jim DeMint (R-SouthCarolina), John McCain (R-Arizona), Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia), and RonJohnson (R-Wisconsin).