Senator Tim Scott Statement: Yucca Mountain

Charleston, SC ­--U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, released the following statement regarding the report issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission today stating that Yucca Mountain is a repository for nuclear waste that will be safe for up to one million years. The Obama Administration has delayed the NRC's report for four years, and Congress has supported the Yucca Mountain project on a bipartisan basis. "Despite politically motivated delays to the Yucca Mountain project, it is clearer than ever that this is the safest, most viable location for storing our nation's nuclear waste. We must have a long-term strategy, as this is not an issue that can be wished away. South Carolina has agreed to temporarily hold some of this material with the understanding that a permanent solution would be found, and our state alone has contributed more than a billion dollars towards the Yucca Mountain project. Yucca Mountain is the law of the land and the U.S. needs a permanent repository that will be safe for up to a million years--the Obama Administration cannot continue to ignore existing law. It is well beyond time to move forward and construct Yucca." The NRC’s safety report on Yucca Mountain is available here. ###