Customers who use nuclear power pay for the
disposal of spent fuel. The federal government
collects a fee of one mil (one-tenth of a
cent) per kilowatt-hour of nuclear-generated
electricity from utilities.
This money goes
into the Nuclear Waste Fund. As of late
2007, payments and interest credited to
the Fund totalled $27.2 billion.
The Department of Energy
receives money from the Nuclear Waste Fund
through congressional appropriations.
Broken down by state, the top five
contributors to the Nuclear Waste Fund
are:
- Illinois: $1.7 billion
- Pennsylvania: $1.5 billion
- South Carolina: $1.2 billion
- North Carolina: $802 million
- California: $796 million
*Does not include one-time fees paid
by utilities.
Contributions from all
states are listed
here.
This graph below shows OCRWM
budget requests in blue, the actual congressional
appropriation in yellow, and the yearly
fees and interest credited to the Nuclear
Waste Fund in red.
The Government Accountability Office,
an arm of the US Congress, is required
by the Act to conduct annual audits of
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.
Additionally, financial audits are conducted
annually by a public accounting firm.
Last reviewed: 08/08
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