Energy And Water Development And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 20, 2007)

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Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

This amendment that I am offering, and plan to withdraw, is based on legislation I have introduced with Congressmen WILSON and SPACE, H.R. 2282, the Nuclear Waste Storage Prohibition Act.

Currently, there are 11 sites around our Nation that are under consideration for hosting one or more facilities related to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, called GNEP. It's an initiative that is being studied as we speak. The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant located in my district in Piketon, Ohio, is one of the 11 sites. The other sites include locations in Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky, New Mexico, Illinois, Washington and Idaho. Everyone representing one of these sites or an area nearby has a strong interest in how this important initiative proceeds.

The point of my amendment is to ensure that none of these GNEP sites that have been under consideration only become a de facto storage site for spent nuclear fuel. My amendment prohibits DOE from using funds to transfer spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste to any site unless it is a site where the reprocessing facility for this material is either under construction or has been completed.

In addition, my amendment also ensures the final end product after the fuel has been recycled is moved offsite as quickly as possible, either to the next stage in the nuclear fuel recycling process or to Yucca Mountain, which remains our Nation's long-term and permanent storage facility.

DOE has not made any statements to suggest that any of those 11 sites would ever become a de facto waste storage site. On the contrary, DOE and this Congress have made clear over the years that the final end product will be permanently stored at Yucca Mountain. However, based on feedback from my constituents, who generally speaking are very excited by the potential opportunities of this initiative, there are some concerns related to long-term storage. I am sure I am not the only one who has heard these concerns, and Congress must assure these communities that their worst fears will never become a reality. This amendment would help accomplish this goal.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mrs. SCHMIDT. I appreciate the ranking member's comments. I would like to continue to work with you so that we can put some language into the record that would assure the folks in the 11 States where GNEP is being pursued that this is indeed an interim storage facility and not a permanent storage facility.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

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