Porter Asks GAO to Review Yucca Schedule

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jon Porter on Monday asked congressional auditors for a second opinion on the Energy Department's new schedule to develop the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site.

The Nevada Republican asked the Government Accountability Office whether DOE's self-set deadline of June 30, 2008, to finalize a license application for the proposed repository was realistic in light of persistent shortcomings the GAO outlined in a report in March.

"I am concerned that DOE will rush submitting its application without adequately addressing these challenges," Porter said in a letter to GAO Comptroller General David Walker.

Porter, chairman of a House subcommittee watching the Yucca project, also asked GAO to estimate repository costs based on the new schedule, which projects nuclear waste arriving at the site in March 2017.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Used Fuel, Energy, Technology, Electricity, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

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