Earth Equity News

Obama to Block Yucca Mountain Nuclear Storage. By Daniel Whitten, Bloomberg, February 26, 2009. "President Barack Obama won't let nuclear waste be stored at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, rejecting the project after 20 years of planning at a cost of at least $9 billion. Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu 'have been emphatic that nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain is not an option, period,' said department spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller. The federal budget plan Obama released today 'clearly reflects that commitment,' she said. 'The new administration is starting the process of finding a better solution for management of our nuclear waste'... Obama's decision leaves unresolved a long-term plan for nuclear waste, primarily from power plants, even as utility companies seek to build more reactors... Under Obama's budget plan the administration will devise a new strategy on waste. Spending on Yucca Mountain will be limited to the costs necessary to meet a legal requirement for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to process an application that former President George W. Bush submitted in June, the budget plan indicates... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, hailed the decision in a statement on his Web site. 'Make no mistake: this represents a significant and lasting victory in our battle to prevent Nevada from becoming the country's toxic wasteland,' Reid said."