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DOE to Send Proposed Yucca Mountain Legislation to Congress

By Eric McErlain
From a Department of Energy press release:
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman announced today he will send to the U.S. Congress a legislative proposal to enhance the nation’s ability to manage and dispose of commercial spent nuclear fuel and Defense high-level radioactive waste.

“This legislative proposal reflects the Administration’s strong commitment to advancing the development of the Yucca Mountain repository, while seeking to provide stability, clarity and predictability in moving the project forward,” Secretary Bodman said. “Nuclear power is a clean, reliable domestic source of energy that currently represents approximately 20 percent of the nation’s energy supply. The Yucca Mountain repository is critical to the nation’s current and future energy and national security needs, and I look forward to working with the Congress on developing a bill that can be passed by Congress and signed by the President.”
And in a related story:
Duke Energy Carolinas and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a settlement resolving Duke Energy’s used nuclear fuel litigation against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The agreement provides for an initial payment to Duke Energy of approximately $56 million for certain storage costs incurred through July 31, 2005, with additional amounts reimbursed annually for future storage costs.

In 1983, Duke Energy entered into a contract with the DOE which provided for the removal of used fuel from nuclear power reactor sites beginning in 1998. Because the federal government did not begin used fuel removal in 1998, Duke Energy has incurred higher used fuel storage costs at the Duke Energy-operated Oconee, McGuire and Catawba nuclear stations. Under this settlement, the government will reimburse Duke Energy for qualifying storage costs from the U.S. Treasury’s Judgment Fund.

“This agreement is an important positive step for our company and the federal government,” said Brew Barron, Duke Energy chief nuclear officer. “It clarifies specific costs the DOE will pay associated with the delay in meeting its obligation for used fuel disposal. This ensures our ratepayers and shareholders do not bear the full financial burden of these delays.”
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