Without the Yucca mountain site, companies like Exelon have to pay extra to safely store spent fuel in pools or in concrete casks. (Photo courtesy of Lester Graham)
The federal government had one place in mind to store the country’s most hazardous nuclear waste.
It was at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
President Barack Obama recently killed that project, even though the country had spent more than nine billion dollars on it.
Shawn Allee found that figure is just the beginning:
Transcript
The federal government had one place in mind to store the country’s most hazardous nuclear waste.
It was at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
President Barack Obama recently killed that project, even though the country had spent more than nine billion dollars on it.
Shawn Allee found that figure is just the beginning.
The Yucca Mountain project claimed more money than just the nine billion that’s on the books.
It also tied up cash from electric rate payers, power companies and taxpayers.
Let’s start with the first group – rate payers.
CHA-CHING
Yucca Mountain was supposed to store the radioactive spent fuel left behind in nuclear reactors.
The U-S government charges power companies a fee to cover costs.
Power companies pass it on.
“Everybody in the state of Georgia that uses electricity and pays an electric bill is paying into this Yucca Mountain trust fund.”
This is Bobby Baker.
He’s serves on Georgia’s public service commission.
Baker says now that President Obama took Yucca Mountain off the table, the federal government should return the money.
Georgia’s share of fees and interest is more than one point two billion dollars.
“We were supposed to be shipping our spent nuclear fuel out to yucca mountain back in 1998 they were supposed to be receiving shipments at that time. The only thing that’s been done is the fact that Georgia ratepayers are continuing to pay into that trust fund and getting nothing from that trust fund other than a big hole in Nevada.”
So far, the federal government’s collected a total of 31 billion dollars in fees and interest for the nuclear waste fund.
The next group who paid extra for Yucca – power companies.
CHA-CHING
By law, the federal government’s supposed to take away radioactive spent fuel from nuclear power plants.
But without Yucca, it stays put.
John Rowe is CEO of Exelon, the country’s biggest nuclear power company.
Last hear he complained to the National Press Club.
“My mother used to say, somebody lies to you once that’s his fault … lies to you twice and you believe it, that’s your fault. I don’t know what she would have thought about somebody lying to you for fifty years.”
Rowe is especially mad because his company and others like it have to pay extra to safely store spent fuel in pools or in concrete casks.
They sue the federal government to recover costs.
The US Government Accountability Office figures the government will lose these lawsuits and owe power companies twelve point three billion dollars within a decade.
The last group that paid extra for Yucca – taxpayers.
CHA-CHING
Yucca Mountain was supposed to handle nuclear spent fuel from civilian power reactors, but it was also supposed to handle decades-worth of the military’s radioactive waste.
That includes waste from former weapons sites, like Hanford in Washington state.
Washington’s Senator Patty Murray brought it up in a recent hearing.
Here, she’s looking straight at Energy Secretary Steven Chu:
“Congress, independent studies, previous administrations pointed to, voted for and funded yucca Mountain as the best option as the nuclear repository.”
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the federal government chipped in at least three point four billion dollars to cover military costs at Yucca Mountain.
But the tab’s bigger than that.
Murray says without Yucca, Hanford has to store its waste on-site. it’s not cheap.
“Billions of dollars have been spent at Hanford and sites across the country in an effort to treat and package nuclear waste that will be sent there.”
The Obama administration’s getting complaints from states and industry and taxpayer groups.
The Administration hasn’t responded publicly, but Energy Secretary Steven Chu mentioned the financial fallout from Yucca Mountain during a U-S Senate hearing.
He said the administration’s convinced Yucca Mountain just won’t work …
So, no matter how much money people have paid so far, it makes no sense to send good money after bad.
He didn’t mention paying any money back.
For The Environment Report, I’m Shawn Allee.
