WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) reintroduced the bicameral Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act. This legislation would guarantee state, tribal, and local officials are given a meaningful voice in the decision-making process when a nuclear waste repository is proposed in their community. Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV-01), Steven Horsford (D-NV-04) and Susie Lee (D-NV-03) have introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Nevadans have been overwhelmingly clear in their opposition to making Nevada the nation’s nuclear waste dumping ground,” dijo el Senador Rosen. “This legislation will ensure that states like Nevada have a say in opposing the storage of nuclear waste in their backyard. I’ll always fight against Washington’s efforts to bring nuclear waste to our state.”
“I’ve said for years that Washington shouldn’t have the unilateral authority to make decisions that will impact communities and the environment in the Silver State for generations to come,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Nevadans have made it clear, Yucca Mountain is dead. This legislation will give local and Tribal leaders the seat at the table they deserve in decision-making about nuclear repositories in their communities – in Nevada and across the country. I will continue to fight to make sure Nevadans’ voices are heard.”
“Over more than three decades and at every step in the process, the Yucca Mountain project has faltered because Nevadans do not want nuclear waste stored in our state,” said Congresswoman Titus. “We must codify this opposition into law to protect the health and safety of our communities and guarantee a process that requires the consent of state, local, and tribal leaders. Nevada is not a nuclear waste land. We don’t produce nuclear waste, and we shouldn’t be forced to store it.”
“Nevadans will not stand by at attempts to make our state a nuclear dumping ground,” said Congressman Horsford. “Our public health is on the line; our environmental safety is on the line; our ability to feel secure in our communities is on the line – so our voices will not be silenced. I’m proud to cosponsor the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act to require local consent for any attempt to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, and I will always work to prevent this ill-conceived project from moving forward.”
“Nevada has made it clear for decades that we refuse to become the nation’s nuclear dumping ground,” said Congresswoman Lee. “This bill ensures that nuclear waste projects, like Yucca Mountain, cannot move forward without consent from the communities they affect. I’ll continue fighting against attempts to revive Yucca Mountain.”
los Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act is based on recommendations from Department of Energy’s (DOE) 2012 Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future and DOE’s 2017 consent-based siting report. Accordingly, this bill would require that the Secretary of Energy secure written consent from the following entities before moving forward with a nuclear waste repository:
- Governor of the host state
- Affected units of local government
- Each contiguous unit of local government primarily affected by the repository
- Affected Tribes
Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto, along with Representatives Titus, Horsford, and Lee, have all fought to ensure Yucca Mountain remains dead. These members of the Nevada delegation successfully fought the Trump Administration’s early efforts to restart the Yucca Mountain licensing process, by preventing funds from being included for the failed site in every final appropriations bill during the Trump Presidency. Last year, Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto introduced legislation to ban Yucca Mountain from being a nuclear waste dumping ground and repurpose it for alternative job-creating projects. Following Nevada’s legal motion to terminate federal licensing efforts at Yucca Mountain, Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto sent a letter to the Department of Energy reiterating their strong opposition to Yucca Mountain.
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