The Dept. of Energy again has proposed legislation aimed at advancing its planned Yucca Mountain, Nev., nuclear waste repository. But DOE's bill, sent to Congress on March 6, was countered immediately by a measure introduced by Nevada Sen. Harry Reid (D), a fierce Yucca Mountain opponent. His bill would require DOE to manage spent fuel at reactor sites around the country, not at Yucca Mountain.
DOE's bill is identical to one it proposed in the last Congress, which never made it out of committee. Odds of success are even longer now that Democrats control both chambers of Congress and Reid is the Senate Majority Leader. Reid blasted DOE's bill as an "attempt to breathe life into this dying beast" and pledged to use his leadership position "to prevent the dump from ever being built."