A federal panel has ruled that the U.S. Energy Department is not allowed to withdraw its application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for permits to build the nation’s permanent nuclear waste repository inside Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will also allow Aiken County and the state of South Carolina to become intervenors in the case, as well as other communities that want to keep the project alive.
State Attorney General Henry McMaster was among those leading the protest to keep the projec t open.
There are already so-called temporary storage sites in 39 states including South Carolina where nuclear waste is stored at the Savannah River Site.
Tom Clements with Friends of the Earth emphasizes that the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board doesn’t control the DOE budget but only reviews the licensing process and it can’t force the applicant to proceed with a project.
McMaster says he expects the Department of Energy to appeal but he still considers this week’s decision a step forward.
AUDIO: McMaster talks with SCRN’s Ashley Byrd (2:37)
McMaster says he now believes the Obama Administration will try to kill the operation by stopping its funding.
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