Welcome to the Nye County Nuclear Waste Repository Project Office (NWRPO) website. The purpose of this site is to provide the public with information about Nye County's involvement with the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) and YMP issues in general.

For more than two decades, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has conducted an extensive scientific effort to determine whether Yucca Mountain, Nevada is a suitable site for a deep geologic (underground) repository to dispose of the nation's high-level radioactive waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF).

Nye County, Nevada is the single local jurisdiction selected by the federal government to host the repository.  The Nye County Board of Commissioners established the NWRPO as Nye County's staff agency to ensure County policies and actions regarding nuclear waste activities are conducted to protect the health, welfare, and economic well-being of its residents and environment, and to plan for and mitigate possible impacts of the repository, if it is located in Nye County.  

The Nye County NWRPO facility is located in Pahrump, Nevada. 

What's New?
 

NYE COUNTY SUBMITS CONTENTIONS TO THE NRC FOR THE YUCCA MOUNTAIN LICENSING PROCEEDINGS
December 19, 2008 The Nye County Nevada Nuclear Waste Repository Project Office (NWRPO) has submitted seven contentions to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the Yucca Mountain licensing proceedings. Two of these are joint contentions with Esmeralda, Mineral, Churchill, Lander and Inyo (CA) Counties. In June 2008, The Department of Energy (DOE) submitted a license application to the NRC to allow construction of the Yucca Mountain geologic repository in Nye County. In September, 2008 the NRC accepted DOE’s License Application for review.	.   The NRC’s regulations allow interested parties to participate in the Licensing Process and these potential parties must submit any contentions by December 22, 2008.. A press release and summary of the seven contentions and a full text version of the document  "Nye County, Nevada Petition to Intervene and Contentions" are available here.
PHASE VI EARLY WARNING DRILLING PROGRAM UNDERWAY
Phase VI of the NWRPO’s Early Warning Drilling Program (EWDP) began June 9, 2008 with borehole NC-EWDP-4PC (see location map).  In addition to 4PC, Phase VI of the EWDP includes boreholes 4PD, 2P, 33PA, and 8P.  These boreholes will be drilled by Drill Tech, Inc., of Chino Valley, Arizona.  Scientific objectives for each borehole are listed below:  NC-EWDP-4PC and -4PD This single- or dual-piezometer completed borehole will provide information on the hydrogeology of this site.  This information will be used in preparation for the drilling of a larger well capable of pumping high volumes (>1,000 gallons per minute) for extended periods of time, in support of a large-scale pumping test.  As this borehole will be drilled to 2,000 feet, it will provide new geologic information below ~850 feet.  Geochemical data from water samples taken from this well will contribute to the spatial characterization of arsenic concentrations in local area groundwater. 4PC Update: Due to problems encountered during drilling (including the detachment of a casing shoe in the borehole), 4PC was abandoned on July 10, 2008.  4PD Update:  Drilling operations for a replacement well (4PD) commenced on July 12, 2008.  Well 4PD is located approximately 20 feet east of 4PC, and will be completed as a large-diameter multiple-screen monitoring well. Drilling and reaming activities at 4PD were completed on October 7, 2008 at a depth of 1,860 feet.  Completion activities began October 8, 2008 with the installation of steel well casing.	4PD is planned to have 6 screened intervals.  Isolated pump tests, geochemical analysis, and other monitoring activities will be conducted in each screened interval following well development activities. NC-EWDP-2P This dual-completion piezometer will provide information on the upper alluvial aquifer zone(s). The existing well at this location (2DB) was not completed in these zones, but was drilled into the Paleozoic Carbonate Aquifer, which has a significant upward gradient.  The new well should contribute to the understanding of the relationship between the Paleozoic and upper aquifers. NC-EWDP-2DB will be completed under a cooperative program between Inyo and Nye Counties. NC-EWDP-33PA Exploratory borehole, completed as a dual, nested piezometer well.   This borehole will be drilled to approximately 2,000 ft. , and will provide information on deeper units at this location (previous borehole [33P, drilled by the DOE] was only drilled to ~650 ft), and will help contribute to our understanding of the geologic framework and hydrology of the area south of the Highway 95 Fault, and south of the terminus of the volcanic units.  NC-EWDP-8P Exploratory borehole, completed as a dual, nested piezometer.  Borehole is sited on a magnetic anomaly, probably buried basalt, at the approximate intersection of two major water controlling structures, namely the Gravity Fault and the Rock Valley Fault.  Also, no EWDP data exist east of Highway 373.