[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 7 (Monday, February 18, 2002)]
[Page 239]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Letter to Congressional Leaders Recommending the Yucca Mountain Site for 
the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Nuclear Waste

February 15, 2002

Dear Mr. Speaker:  (Dear Mr. President:)

    In accordance with section 114 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
1982, 42 U.S.C. 10134 (the ``Act''), the Secretary of Energy has 
recommended approval of the Yucca Mountain site for the development at 
that site of a repository for the geologic disposal of spent nuclear 
fuel and high level nuclear waste from the Nation's defense activities. 
As is required by the Act, the Secretary has also submitted to me a 
comprehensive statement of the basis of his recommendation.
    Having received the Secretary's recommendation and the comprehensive 
statement of the basis of it, I consider the Yucca Mountain site 
qualified for application for a construction authorization for a 
repository. Therefore, I now recommend the Yucca Mountain site for this 
purpose. In accordance with section 114 of the Act, I am transmitting 
with this recommendation to the Congress a copy of the comprehensive 
statement of the basis of the Secretary's recommendation prepared 
pursuant to the Act. The transmission of this document triggers an 
expedited process described in the Act. I urge the Congress to undertake 
any necessary legislative action on this recommendation in an expedited 
and bipartisan fashion.
    Proceeding with the repository program is necessary to protect 
public safety, health, and the Nation's security because successful 
completion of this project would isolate in a geologic repository at a 
remote location highly radioactive materials now scattered throughout 
the Nation. In addition, the geologic repository would support our 
national security through disposal of nuclear waste from our defense 
facilities.
    A deep geologic repository, such as Yucca Mountain, is important for 
our national security and our energy future. Nuclear energy is the 
second largest source of U.S. electricity generation and must remain a 
major component of our national energy policy in the years to come. The 
cost of nuclear power compares favorably with the costs of electricity 
generation by other sources, and nuclear power has none of the emissions 
associated with coal and gas power plants.
    This recommendation, if it becomes effective, will permit 
commencement of the next rigorous stage of scientific and technical 
review of the repository program through formal licensing proceedings 
before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Successful completion of this 
program also will redeem the clear Federal legal obligation safely to 
dispose of commercial spent nuclear fuel that the Congress passed in 
1982.
    This recommendation is the culmination of two decades of intense 
scientific scrutiny involving application of an array of scientific and 
technical disciplines necessary and appropriate for this challenging 
undertaking. It is an undertaking that was mandated twice by the 
Congress when it legislated the obligations that would be redeemed by 
successful pursuit of the repository program. Allowing this 
recommendation to come into effect will enable the beginning of the next 
phase of intense scrutiny of the project necessary to assure the public 
health, safety, and security in the area of Yucca Mountain, and also to 
enhance the safety and security of the Nation as a whole.
     Sincerely,
                                                George W. Bush

Note: Letters were sent to J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, and Richard B. Cheney, President of the Senate. An 
original was not available for verification of the content of this 
letter.