Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is seeking public comment on a National Transportation Plan that outlines DOE’s current strategy and planning for developing and implementing a system to ship spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) safely and securely from where the material is generated or stored to the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

“This Plan provides a framework for a safe, secure, and efficient transportation system, and builds upon more than four decades of national and international experience in safely transporting spent fuel,” said OCRWM Director Ward Sproat. “We are engaging in advance planning for shipments to Yucca Mountain because experience has shown us that early, collaborative planning with our stakeholders is critical to mission success. We welcome comments on the Plan and look forward to working with stakeholders as we move forward.”

Sproat said actual shipments are not expected to begin before 2020, but the transportation planning process has begun well in advance to ensure the concerns and input of State, Tribal, and local officials as well as other interested stakeholders are taken into account. The Plan will be updated as appropriate to reflect progress in the development and implementation of the transportation system, accommodate changes to the waste management system, and incorporate stakeholder and public comments. The OCRWM Director said he also anticipates that detailed implementation plans will be developed in the future in collaboration with stakeholders.

Pursuant to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended (NWPA), Yucca Mountain has been designated as the site for the Nation’s first SNF and HLW repository. DOE has submitted a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for approval to construct the repository. As part of its obligations under the NWPA, DOE is also responsible for developing and implementing a system to transport SNF and HLW to the proposed repository.

The OCRWM National Transportation Plan is available on the OCRWM website at www.ocrwm.doe.gov. Comments are being sought by electronic posting on the website, or via regular mail to Mr. Frank Moussa, U.S. Department of Energy, OCRWM Office of Logistics Management, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0001. Comments should be submitted no later than April 30, 2009.