Nuclear Industry Advised to Change Message, Give Up Pursuit of Yucca Mtn. Project

Radioactive Waste

House and Senate staff members from both parties told a nuclear power
forum Jan. 28 that the industry can expect lawmakers' support for their priorities but will need to *repackage its message* and stop talking
about the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository altogether.
*If the nuclear industry is willing to repackage itself, you will see
there are many opportunities for you,* said Pat Cavanaugh, legislative
director to Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), a member of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee. He advised the industry to focus its message on
*zero emissions and green jobs* and to disengage from the
*yes-to-Yucca, no-to-Yucca fight.*
Speaking at the Nuclear Fuel Supply Forum, Cavanaugh discussed the
proposed federal repository for high-level radioactive waste at Yucca
Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The nuclear industry and
the Bush administration were chief advocates of the project, while all of
Nevada's congressional delegation, the state of Nevada, and many
environmental groups have opposed the project (40 ER 234, 1/30/09).
While the wind and solar energy industries are *waving the green
flag* and trying to exclude the hydroelectric and nuclear energy
industries, Cavanaugh said, there will still be coal and nuclear
plants 20 years from now.
Lawmakers Getting *Off Soapboxes.'
Cavanaugh predicted bipartisan support for the industry as energy and
climate change policy and legislative initiatives unfold in the 111th
Congress and the Obama administration.
*There are realists on both sides of the aisle who are finally
getting off their soapboxes,* Cavanaugh said. For example, he said
that while Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) has a reputation for being
anti-nuclear, *We heard him at a recent hearing say that nuclear does
have to be part of the mix.*
Markey chairs the newly formed House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee
on Energy and Environment, and he is likely to lead the drafting of a
House climate change bill later this year, said Alex Flint, the
Nuclear Energy Institute's senior vice president for governmental affairs
(40 ER 104, 1/16/09).
Climate Change Bill Predicted by July
*Climate change is the new driver* for the nuclear industry, Flint
said at the meeting. He predicted climate change legislation would be
drafted and introduced before the G-8 Summit in Italy in July. While
it could bring some *Draconian changes* for the nuclear industry, Flint
said climate change law could at the same time result in a *more
nuclear-friendly and receptive environment.*

Flint said the $50 billion in loan guarantees to support all forms of
non-fossil fuel energy, including nuclear, proposed in the Senate
Appropriations Committee's version of an omnibus appropriations bill
Jan. 27 is especially good news for the industry.
The funding outlook for Yucca Mountain, on the other hand, is
*ominous,* Flint said.
*Harry Reid now has a friend in the White House,* Flint said.
Only $288 Million Proposed for Yucca Mountain
Jon Summers, an aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.),
told BNA Jan. 29 that the Senate's omnibus appropriations bill,
expected to be filed the week of Feb. 2, will include $288 million for the
Yucca Mountain project. Summers said the amount represents *a figure drastically lower than
the nearly $500 million former President George W. Bush requested.* It
is also $100 million less than what was appropriated last year.
*The current reductions combined with an anticipated low budget
request for next year signal the end is near for Yucca Mountain,* Reid
said in a statement. *I look forward to working with President Obama
to end this project so we can focus more resources on making Nevada
the leader in a clean energy revolution.*
Laura Haynes, an assistant to Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), told the NEI
forum, *If you persist on Yucca Mountain, you are only hurting
yourselves.* Carper is a member of the Environment and Public Works
Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change,
and Nuclear Safety.
On other nuclear power issues, however, Haynes assured the group there are Democrats on the Environment and Public Works Committee who are
*not anti-nuclear.* She said that includes Carper and Sen.Barbara Boxer, who chairs the committee.
Hearings Planned
Haynes said the senators intend to hold hearings in 2009 on research
and technology for recycling spent nuclear fuel, a top industry
priority
because it could eventually reduce the amount of radioactive waste
that power plants must store or dispose of.
According to Haynes, Carper is *a huge advocate* of nuclear power,
provided it is safe, because it addresses *clean air, climate change,
and job creation.*
Jeff Burton, on the staff of House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-
Va.),
said the nuclear industry has *friends on both sides of the aisle.*
He encouraged industry leaders and their companies to take some
initiative in letting legislators know what their priorities are.
*You are all constituents,* he said. *You all have two senators
and one representative in Congress. They want to hear from you. They
will listen. They want to get re-elected.*
Burton recommended forming alliances at the state and local levels
with those who share a stake in the nuclear industry's future. For example,
he said, the industry should get to know steelworkers, concrete
workers, and their unions.
By Janice Valverde