American Nuclear Society calls on President to sign nuclear waste storage bill
Washington, DC (April 18, 2000) - The President of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), Dr. Andrew Kadak, sent a letter to President Clinton on behalf of ANS members urging him to sign the congressionally-passed high-level waste bill. Both the House and Senate have passed identical legislation which would address the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. President Clinton has threatened to veto the measure. The text of the ANS letter is reprinted below.
As President of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), I am writing to urge you not to veto the legislation recently passed by the United States Congress which addresses the need for a solution to the problem of nuclear waste disposal. On behalf of the more than 11,000 members of ANS, I call on you to allow this measure to become law.
As you know, legislation to resolve the long standing troublesome issue of high level waste disposal has been under consideration since you became President. This legislation has the majority support of both houses of Congress, including both Democrats and Republicans. This bill is radically different from that proposed in the past. In fact, several compromises have been made by both sides to help secure your support. The ANS is a science-based organization and, in our judgement, this bill supports sound science without prejudgments. It does provide a fair path forward to finally resolve the desperately sought answer to the question of what to do with high-level waste. Your legacy would be greatly improved if you exhibited leadership on this very important question.
Under current law, the federal government was to begin accepting spent fuel from utilities across the nation more than two years ago. The date upon which acceptance was to begin came and went with no movement from the federal government to adhere to the legislation. This has resulted in utility plants nationwide being forced to expend dollars to construct temporary facilities to store the waste because the federal government has broken its promise.
It is important that the promise made to the American public be kept. The people have paid over $17.5 billion into the Nuclear Waste Fund since 1982 with the expectation that the federal government is willing to honor its commitment. The legislation passed by Congress is a step in the right direction toward bringing an end to the issue of disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Mr. President, just look at a map of the United States and see all the places where spent fuel is now being stored in dry cask storage facilities at nuclear plants so that they can continue to operate. Each year there are more waste storage applications being filed and facilities built at great and unnecessary public expense.
By vetoing this legislation, you will be sending a signal to millions of Americans that the federal government is not willing to keep its promises. The Federal Court of Appeals has ruled that the federal government, through the Department of Energy, has an obligation to take possession of spent fuel. This bill will allow the federal government to honor its commitment and move forward in settling this issue.
On behalf of 11,000 Americans who are the science and engineering professionals in the nuclear field, we are counting on you to do the right thing and enact this legislation.
