WSJ: Outgoing Regulator Slams Obama's Handling Of Yucca

By Stephen Power
Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL404 words
9 March 201018:20Dow Jones News ServiceDJEnglish
(c) 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Obama administration's decision to terminate a proposed nuclear-waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., "does not seem to rest on factual findings" and is likely to complicate efforts to find a solution for managing nuclear waste "for years to come," a federal regulator said Tuesday.

The comments by Dale Klein--a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission --represent an unusual public rebuke to the Obama administration from a commission whose members tend to refrain from publicly weighing in on matters before them. The NRC is weighing a request by the Obama administration to withdraw a license application in favor of the proposed Yucca Mountain repository. That application was submitted by the George W. Bush administration in 2008, over the fierce objections of Nevada lawmakers--most prominently, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.).

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)

Klein's comments are of limited significance because he has announced plans to step down from the commission once the U.S. Senate confirms his successor. But his remarks could give ammunition to Republicans in Congress who support the proposed repository.

"In my personal view ... I have found the handling of this matter from a national policy perspective ... unfortunate," Klein said in a speech before a conference of nuclear industry officials in Rockville, Md. "The administration's handling of the matter has already led to the filing of a number of lawsuits and clouded the path forward in a number of significant ways for years to come ... In my opinion, the administration's stated rationale for changing course does not seem to rest on factual findings and thus does not bolster the credibility of our government to handle this matter competently."

Klein was appointed to the NRC in 2006 by then-President George W. Bush and served as its chairman for several years.

Spokespersons at the White House and Department of Energy didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The administration has said it believes there are better options for disposing of nuclear waste than Yucca. It has cited improvements in scientists' understanding of some technical issues surrounding nuclear-waste disposal since the 1980s, when the Yucca was initially identified as a possible repository site. [ 03-09-10 1920ET ]