Public comment period on Yucca Mountain storage site slated for late summer

Late this summer Nevadans should have the opportunity to comment on a draft supplement to the U.S. Department of Energy's environmental impact statement (EIS) for Yucca Mountain.
The EIS addresses the storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste at the mountain, located approximately 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The DOE originally submitted a supplement in 2008, but the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission found it lacked adequate information about the impact of the storage material on groundwater or from surface discharges. Instead of preparing a supplement, as requested by the NRC, the DOE merely updated its analysis. Finding it lacking, the NRC staff was asked to prepare a supplement using the DOE study.
The supplement will address issues relating to the potential contamination of a key aquifer at Yucca Mountain and other water-related matters.
The NRC plans to issue its final supplement next spring following the public comment period and three public meetings. Nevadans will be alerted to the opportunity to voice their opinions about the supplement via the Federal Register, email, a press notice, the NRC website and the state media.