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Bipartisan Coalition To DOE: Halt Actions To Terminate Yucca Mountain
07/06/10WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu urging the Administration to immediately halt all actions to dismantle operations at Yucca Mountain at least until legal action regarding the withdrawal of the application is resolved. Click here to read a copy of the letter signed by 91 Members of Congress.
“We are deeply disappointed that the Department has overstepped its bounds and has ignored congressional intent without peer review or proper scientific documentation in its actions regarding Yucca Mountain,” the lawmakers noted in the letter.
In 1987, Congress designated Yucca Mountain as the nation’s geological repository for spent nuclear fuel and high level defense waste. Congress has voted to reaffirm this decision several times.
On March 3, 2010, DOE filed a motion with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to withdraw its license application for Yucca Mountain. On June 29, 2010, the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board denied DOE’s motion, stating that DOE did not have the authority to unilaterally act to terminate its license application.
Earlier this year, the State of Washington, the State of South Carolina, and Tri-Cities community leaders filed suit in the D.C. Circuit Court challenging DOE’s ability to withdraw the Yucca Mountain license application. On June 15, 2010 the Court issued an order setting an expedited schedule for oral arguments, to be held September 23rd, demonstrating a clear desire to hear the merits of the case.
In the letter the lawmakers asked that DOE “recognize the letter and spirit of the law, honor the timeline set by the court and halt all efforts to reprogram funds and terminate contracts located at Yucca Mountain.”
The letter was signed by the following Members of Congress:
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
Representative Doc Hastings (R-WA) 4th
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-KY)
Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
Senator James Inhofe (R-OK)
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX)
Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY)
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO)
Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Senator George LeMieux (R-FL)
Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY)
Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Senator James Risch (R-ID)
Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Senator John Barrasso (R-WY)
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Representative Norm Dicks (D-WA) 6th
Representative John M. Jr. Spratt (D-SC) 5th
Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) 6th
Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA) 7th
Representative John Dingell (D-MI) 15th
Representative Joe Barton (R-TX)- 6th
Representative Lincoln Davis (D-GA) 4th
Representative Fred Upton (R-MI) 6th
Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) 11th
Representative Mike Pence (R-IN) 6th
Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) 5th
Representative David G. Reichert (R-WA) 8th
Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA) 1st
Representative Rick Larsen (D-WA) 2nd
Representative Gresham Barrett (R-SC) 3rd
Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) 2nd
Representative Henry Brown (R-SC) 1st
Representative Bob Inglis (R-SC) 4th
Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI) 1st
Representative Paul Broun (R-GA) 10th
Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) 13th
Representative Parker Griffith (R-AL) 5th
Representative Joseph R. Pitts (R-PA) 16th
Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) 1st
Representative John Shadegg (R-AZ) 3rd
Representative Pete Olson (R-TX) 22nd
Representative John Linder (R-GA) 7th
Representative Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL) 10th
Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL) - 13th
Representative John Kline (R-MN) 2nd
Representative Zach Wamp (R-TN) 3rd
Representative Thomas Rooney (R-FL) 16th
Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD)- 6th
Representative Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) 2nd
Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) 9th
Representative Michael K. Simpson (R-ID) 2nd
Representative Robert Andrews (D-NJ) -1st
Representative Brett Guthrie (R-KY) 2nd
Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) 6th
Representative Cliff Stearns (R-FL) 6th
Representative John Sullivan (R-OK) 1st
Representative Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA) 11th
Representative Ken Calvert (R-CA) 44th
Representative John Duncan (R-TN) 2nd
Representative Donald A. Manzullo (R-IL) 16th
Representative Edolphus Towns (D-NY) 10th
Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX) 32nd
Representative Jo Bonner (R-AL) 1st
Representative Lee Terry (R-NE) 3rd
Representative Darrell E. Issa (R-CA) 49th
Representative Greg Walden (R-OR) 2nd
Representative Jack Kingston (R-GA) 1st
Representative Steven C LaTourette (R-OH) 14th
Representative Ralph Hall (R-TX) 4th
Representative Harold Rogers (R-KY) 5th
Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT) 2nd
Representative Frank A. LoBiondo (R-NJ) 2nd
Representative Denny Rehberg (R-MT)
Representative F. James Jr. Sensenbrenner (R-WI) 5th
Representative John Shimkus (R-IL) 19th
Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) 6th
Representative Mike Rogers (R-MI) 8th
Representative Erik Paulsen (R-MN) 3rd
Representative Sue Wilkins Myrick (R-NC) 9th
Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) 10th
Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY) 1st