Question

develop an argument (on the authority of the Constitution) that:

a. The federal government was acting within the capacity of its authority when it chose Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the nuclear waste repository.

b. The federal government did not act within its authority when choosing Yucca Mountain as the nuclear repository.

( 3-4 complete sentences each)

Answer 1

Solution

(A)
DOE’s latest schedules for nuclear waste shipments and projected costs under the existing program provide a baseline for analyzing Yucca Mountain alternatives. Although the planned opening of the Yucca Mountain repository is at least 22 years later than NWPA’s 1998 deadline, and removing waste from existing storage sites would require many decades, a major redirection of the waste program would probably involve even longer time frames. Of course, there is no certainty that DOE will be able to meet its current schedules, or that the Yucca Mountain repository will receive a license from NRC under the current program. Moreover, policymakers could conclude that the benefits of redirecting the nuclear waste program now would outweigh the almost certain delays in developing a permanent repository and the increased costs of interim storage.

(B)

The Yucca Mountain repository is now in the final stages of the lengthy approval process established by NWPA. Therefore, if the Obama Administration does “not believe that Yucca Mountain is a suitable site,” what options are available at this point to stop the project?
NWPA sections 113-116 prescribed the following actions by the Secretary of Energy, the President, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission toward developing a nuclear waste repository at the Yucca Mountain site:
• The Secretary were to determine whether the site is suitable for a repository, and, if so, notify the State of Nevada and recommend that the President approve the project.
• If the President agreed with the Secretary’s recommendation, the President were to submit an approval recommendation to Congress.
• After the presidential recommendation, the Nevada Legislature or Governor were allowed to submit a notice of disapproval to Congress.
• State disapproval would block the repository unless Congress voted within 90 days for an approval resolution that was signed by the President.
• Once the presidential site designation took effect, the Secretary were required to submit a repository license application to NRC.