[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 84 (Friday, June 21, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5886-S5887]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       YUCCA MOUNTAIN RESOLUTION

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I want to bring to the attention of my 
colleagues the development on the Yucca Mountain resolution, 
specifically what it means, and share a few realistic observations on 
just what we are talking about as we reflect on our obligation to 
address the waste in this country.
  In the past 2 days, I have come to the Senate floor to speak in 
morning business on S.J. Res. 34. I have spoken generally on the need 
to move this resolution and the procedure under which the resolution 
will move. I was pleased to see that the two leaders had an opportunity 
to discuss this earlier in the day. I think it is fair to say that, 
clearly, we are left with the appropriate procedure, which simply 
mandates that any Member may bring this up upon recognition of the 
Chair at any time. So it is quite appropriate that the leaders related 
the parliamentary procedure.
  I want to speak specifically about what the resolution does and does 
not do. This seems to be a point of contention in the minds of some. 
The resolution merely reaffirms the present recommendation of Yucca 
Mountain as a suitable site for this Nation's permanent geologic 
repository. That is simply all there is to it. It does not license the 
repository. It does not build a repository. It does not start the 
transportation of spent fuel from reactors tomorrow or the next day. It 
does not start transportation of high-level nuclear waste from the 
Department of Energy weapon sites. It does none of those things.
  The resolution gives the Department of Energy the go ahead to begin 
the licensing process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and that 
is simply all there is to it.
  Now, I have already given, in a series of presentations, a little 
background of the fact that we have collected some $17 billion from 
ratepayers in this country, and that the Federal Government signed a 
solemn contractual commitment to take the waste in 1998. The Federal 
Government has breached the sanctity of that contract. It is estimated 
that the damages and suits against the Federal Government are somewhere 
in the area of $40 billion to $70 billion. That is an obligation to the 
U.S. taxpayers because the Congress of the United States has not 
forced, if you will, compliance of that contractual commitment.
  A lot of people simply dismiss this as something we can put off. You 
can put it off all right, but you are going to do it at the expense of 
the taxpayers. This was a contract. The ratepayers that use nuclear 
energy paid into a fund. The Federal Government has held that money to 
take the waste in 1998. The Federal Government is in violation of that 
contract. It is just that simple.
  We have an opportunity and obligation to move. The House has moved, 
the Senate has not because the licensing process is a first of its 
kind. No one anticipates it is going to move quickly or smoothly. Both 
the DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission indicated a great deal of 
work needs to be done before any repository is licensed to construct. 
The resolution is no real guarantee that Yucca will be built, but it 
certainly moves the process along. I know that is what some don't want 
to hear. I certainly hope it is not the case, but the reality is that 
we have no guarantee that the Department of Energy will be able to meet 
the licensing requirements imposed by the NRC.

  We have an obligation to move this process along under the structure 
that was agreed to many years ago. Now, it is true the NRC has issued a 
sufficiency letter that indicates the Commission believes the DOE will, 
at the appropriate time, have sufficient information to apply for and 
receive the license, but only time and additional work will tell. 
Opponents of Yucca Mountain have indicated, for instance, that we 
should not pass this resolution because there are a number of 
unresolved technical issues. As a matter of fact, there are issues that 
both DOE and NRC have agreed will be resolved in the licensing process.
  There are a number of other issues that should have been raised, such 
as transportation, that cannot and should not be resolved prior to 
making the decision regarding licensing of Yucca Mountain. 
Transportation to and from Yucca will be resolved in the licensing 
process. To use it now is as a scare tactic--which some have 
suggested--or a reason to vote no on the resolution is irresponsible.
  I want to point out that, for the past 30 years, the United States 
has seen close to 3,000 shipments of spent fuel and high-level waste go 
across the surface of our country--the railroads and the highways--and 
not one of these shipments has resulted in a harmful release of 
radiation. We are doing this now and we are doing it safely. These are 
the existing transportation routes on this chart--the interstate 
highways from the State of Washington through Idaho. It goes from 
Hanford, and you pick up the National Laboratories, you pick up Rocky 
Flats, Los Alamos, and the Livermore Lab in San Francisco. This is the 
route of movement of waste. It moves over to South Carolina and up and 
down the east coast. It

[[Page S5887]]

moves to Savannah. It moves to the Waste Isolation Plant, WIPP, where 
most of this is concentrated, but certainly not all of them.
  The point is, the waste has been moving around the country--military 
waste--for a long period of time. There are no demonstrations, there 
are no particularly extraordinary methods.
  In this photo, you can see the truck hauling the waste. It is in 
canisters that can withstand fire. At one time, we had the capability 
of designing a cask that could stand a free fall of 30,000 feet and it 
would not penetrate the interior. So we have built these casks 
adequately and safely.
  Some have indicated that these waste shipments are only a few. I 
think it is to the contrary. This chart shows spent fuel shipments 
regulated by the NRC from 1964 through the year 2000. We have had 
almost 3,000 shipments. We shipped over 1.7 million miles and we have 
had zero radiation releases. For low-level radiant waste shipments to 
WIPP from 1997 to 2001, we have had 896 shipments, and we shipped about 
900,000 miles. So we have a total of 3,800 shipments total, 2.6 million 
miles, with no harmful radiation releases.
  We have the technology and, obviously, if we can build reactors to 
generate power, we certainly have the capability to transfer and 
transport the energy, the rods that go in the reactors. Nobody seems to 
say anything or have any great concern about the reactor fueling 
process itself or how the fuel is shipped across the country. But we 
have this hue and cry that somehow it is dangerous to move this waste 
on our highways and railroads. We have that capability. We have 
responsible people--scientists, engineers--who are competent to move 
this. Some suggest we should resolve this in a town hall meeting 
atmosphere. We need experts, engineers, technicians. They are staking 
their reputation--just as those who develop the nuclear energy industry 
in this country--on their capability to move this safely.
  My point is that it has been done. It is proven. This is military 
waste, but now we are talking about private waste from our reactors. 
Some have also said this is a decision being made in haste; that we 
ought to put it off for more resolve. Nothing could be further from the 
truth. We have spent 20 years in this process. We have expended over $4 
billion at Yucca drilling into the mountain--I have been there; I have 
gone in--to determine whether the site is scientifically and 
technically suitable for development of the repository. This is not a 
decision that was made in haste. This is a decision that has been made 
actually over 24 years of extensive study by the world's best 
scientists.
  As a consequence, I am confident in the work done to date by the 
Department of Energy. But this work will not cease with this 
recommendation on the resolution. On the contrary, scientific 
investigation and analysis will continue for the life of the 
repository. In sum, I cannot think of any reason except perhaps plain 
old opposition, which we have a little bit of here, to the fact of the 
repository itself and the realization of putting off a vote on the 
resolution, which is the business at hand.
  The science is going to continue through the licensing process and 
well beyond. Transportation matters will be addressed thoroughly in the 
licensing process by the appropriate agencies. Plus, we already have an 
excellent record in that area upon which to build. The decision is not 
being rushed. It is something that has been in the works for over two 
decades.
  As we look at the competence of our nuclear program development, 
whether it be military, whether it be nuclear submarines that are on 
patrol constantly, whether it be under our agreement to reduce our 
nuclear capability by cutting up some of the old submarines, by 
removing, if you will, the reactors, we have competent people in charge 
of this operation. Anything less that would suggest we cannot move this 
waste is simply an excuse for inaction.
  Every Member has to reflect on an obligation that after we set up a 
procedure to take the waste in 1998, certainly the Federal Government 
should honor the terms and conditions of that contract, and Members 
should not look for an excuse to simply punt on this issue.
  The bottom line is, let's face it, I say to my colleagues, and the 
simple reality is, nobody wants this waste. Politically, it is 
dynamite. We have waste stored in Hanford, the State of Washington, 
Savannah, we have waste stored up and down the east coast. Do we want 
to leave it there, where it is unprotected, or do we want to move it to 
one place on which we can agree? Let's recognize the reality. We have 
expended the funds. We made the commitments. Now it is time to move. We 
cannot dodge this for another Congress.
  I thank the Presiding Officer for recognition and wish him a good 
day. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business for 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is in morning business.

                          ____________________