Summary

In response to a congressional, GAO presented its quarterly report on the status of the Department of Energy's (DOE) nuclear waste program.

GAO found that: (1) DOE revised the release dates for its draft site characterization plans for each proposed first repository site to allow the affected states and Indian tribes to present their concerns; (2) DOE set back the date for starting exploratory drilling at the Hanford site because it needed to obtain drilling permits from the state; (3) because Congress did not act on the DOE request to delay work for a second repository, work on the second repository will resume; (4) Congress held hearings on several bills aimed at redirecting or significantly changing the nuclear waste management program; (5) the Nuclear Waste Fund received about $140 million in fees and investment income, of which DOE obligated about $72 million for program activities; and (6) the fund balance as of September 30, 1987, was about $1.5 billion.