The US Department of Energy has notified Nevada state governor Kenneth Guinn that it will formally recommend Yucca Mountain as the final repository for the nation’s radioactive waste. The site would store 70 000 tons of material from the country’s 103 power stations for an estimated 10 000 years.
But the battle to block the facility is not over. Notification, required by the Waste Policy Act, triggers a formal site approval process. The DOE could forward its recommendation to the White House as early as February 10, and if it is accepted Nevada will have 60 days to object, something it almost certainly will do. Congress must then attempt to override the state’s objection by majorities in both chambers.
