Rosen sponsors bill to bar action on Yucca Mountain

WASHINGTON — A House bill expected to be filed Thursday would prohibit the Energy Department from taking any action to license Yucca Mountain as a nuclear repository until the federal government studies alternative uses for the Nevada site.

Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-nev., the bill’s sponsor, said the legislation would direct the Office of Management and Budget to conduct a study on alternative uses, including defense activities like a command facility for unmanned aircraft.

The bill is the latest attempt by Nevada lawmakers to block the licensing application process halted in 2011. The Trump administration and a House committee have pushed for money to restart the licensing.

“My bill would prohibit the Department of Energy from moving forward with its dangerous and costly nuclear waste repository plan until it considers a number of other job-creating alternatives for this project,” Rosen said in a statement.

Rosen’s bill could face headwinds in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. That panel passed a bill authorizing funding and streamlining the process to open Yucca Mountain, about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Sen. Dean Heller, R-nev., issued a letter Wednesday to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on energy and water development asking that the panel again not include funding for Yucca Mountain.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has vowed to use state resources to stop federal efforts to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. He is backed by most of the state’s congressional delegation.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-nev., and rural Nevada counties, including Nye County, where Yucca Mountain is located, support continuation of licensing to determine if the site is safe for nuclear storage.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@ reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.