Obama Administration also includes language to officially terminate proposed nuclear waste dump

May 6, 2009

Washington, D.C. – The proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump will begin its termination process while receiving the smallest budget in its decades-long history through the work of Nevada Senator Harry Reid and the state’s Congressional delegation.

The Obama Administration’s budget plans for the upcoming fiscal year to be officially released tomorrow follow through on its commitment to end the failed Yucca Mountain proposal and instead pursue other alternatives for storage of the nation’s nuclear waste. With a budget of less than $197 million – a cut of more than $90 million from last year – remaining funding for Yucca Mountain will be spent on the Blue Ribbon Commission examining alternate options and on phasing out work on the project in preparation for its final shutdown.

“Today’s budget announcement by the Obama Administration reaffirms its strong commitment to the death of the failed Yucca Mountain idea,” Reid said. “The termination language in its plan could not be any clearer – Yucca is history. The record-low budget for Yucca is only enough to maintain the site until it’s closed, and the people of Nevada can feel safe and secure in the knowledge that we will never be this country’s toxic dumping ground.”