Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy
On His Decision To Vote In Favor
On The National Nuclear Waste Depository
At Yucca Mountain
July 9, 2002

Since my first days in the United States Senate, I have expressed strong concerns about nuclear power.  The claims made in the 1970s that nuclear power was going to bring our country cheap, reliable and clean energy have turned out -- as many warned at the time -- to be far from the truth. While electricity from nuclear power has been reliable, it is neither cheap nor clean.  The waste from these plants is an enormous and undisputed economic liability for the nation, and it is far from environmentally clean.

After all these years of coasting on these false promises about nuclear power, the bill has come due.  Today we have 29 years of nuclear waste in Vermont in the form of spent fuel in temporary storage on the banks of the Connecticut River, and we cannot ignore that it needs to be managed.  Part of that management, especially since September 11^th and all of our heightened security since then, is to better secure on-site waste until it can be transported to a safer location.  And part of that management is to create that safer location, officially designating Yucca Mountain as the single, high-security site for the bulk of nuclear waste that is now dispersed across our country.

While I know that some waste will always be located on-site at operating nuclear plants, we must locate the bulk of the waste at a single, secure site.  Governor Dean and the Vermont Public Service Department have consistently called on me to support the repository, and today I again respect the wishes and long-term interests of my state.

The vote in the Senate today was about establishing a single national repository for tons of hazardous nuclear waste.  I voted in favor.  But the question of how nuclear material is safely transported to the Yucca Mountain site brings up a new set of difficult decisions that Congress has yet to face.  For the past several months, I have expressed my strong concerns about prematurely transporting nuclear waste across the nation without a plan that addresses growing concerns of state governments and local communities. 

Especially in light of fears after September 11^th, nuclear waste transportation concerns need to be discussed, debated and addressed by our nation’s leaders.  Congress has worked with the Administration to improve security at airports, border crossings and public buildings.  Yet throughout this Yucca Mountain debate, the Bush Administration has failed to fully inform Congress about security improvements envisioned for shipping  nuclear waste.  It has failed to respond to repeated questions from the American people and their local communities, and that is unacceptable.

Vermonters, in the tradition that has so distinguished our state, have actively studied the issues involved in the Yucca decision.  Many have shared their views and suggestions with me, on both sides of this question, and I deeply appreciate their counsel. The approval of Yucca as a repository is one issue that has taken years for Congress to debate and address.  This vote does not end the federal government’s obligation, by any means.  I believe the Administration must answer the concerns raised by many Americans in many states about nuclear waste transportation security before any material moves across the country and through hundreds of large cities and small towns.  Until then – and until the Yucca Mountain site is truly operational – we must focus our energy on ensuring that all nuclear waste is secured in the safest, strongest on-site storage facilities possible.

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