The Nuclear Waste Administration Act is a bipartisan bill which would address concerns about used nuclear fuel disposal while saving taxpayer dollars. It is based on recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission, a group of experts from government, academia and industry which was brought together to find solutions to these problems. Storage and disposal of used nuclear fuel is an important issue which must be addressed.
Background:
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 created a Nuclear Waste Fund in which nuclear utilities would pay 0.1 cents/kWh of power produced. In return, the money in the Nuclear Waste Fund was to be used for siting, licensing, transportation, and storage of commercial used nuclear fuel. Since then, the Nuclear Waste Fund has received over $28 billion from this tax. This bill also stated that the government must take possession of the used fuel by 1998.

Since then, commercial nuclear utilities have been paying additional money to store used nuclear fuel on site, in many cases having to build additional dry cask storage facilities in order to store the fuel safely. These facilities cost millions of dollars and require careful inspection, maintenance, and around the clock security. As current law dictated that used nuclear fuel was to be taken into government custody by 1998, this has caused utilities and ratepayers to pay for storage of nuclear waste twice, once in the tax, and again in on site storage. This has lead utilities to sue the government for breach of contract and for damages in the form of money for building and operating on site storage facilities. It is estimated by the Nuclear Energy Institute that damages from lawsuits will reach $20 billion by 2020.

Nuclear Waste Administration Act:
The Nuclear Waste Administration Act (NWAA) would create a new federal agency whose sole purpose is to manage used nuclear fuel. It would site a nuclear waste repository with a consent based approach, meaning state and local governments would have to agree to have the facility built. It would also properly change how the Nuclear Waste Fund money is administered so that money can be used without appropriation. It would also create an interim storage facility for used nuclear fuel so that ratepayers and utilities would not have to pay to store used fuel on site. This will save taxpayers money in lawsuits and lower electricity rates. More information about the act can be found here (http://buff.ly/15O2x2M). We strongly recommend the passage of this bill as it would manage our used nuclear fuel safely and more efficiently, instead of taxpayers paying twice for storing the same fuel.

Thanks for your support,
Nicholas Thompson
Graduate Student, Nuclear Engineering and Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
thompnw@gmail.com