On Tuesday, an appeals court reprimanded the Department of Energy for collecting waste fees from nuclear utilities after the Obama administration cancelled the Yucca Mountain repository project.
DOE collects about $750 million annually through the one-tenth of a cent per kilowatt-hour surcharge. After the Yucca Mountain project was shelved, the Nuclear Energy Institute and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners sued. They argued DOE could no longer determine if the fee was appropriate, given there was no longer a project to evaluate. A majority on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed and ordered the agency to submit a proposal to Congress to change the fee amount to zero until DOE restarts the Yucca Mountain project, per the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, or until Congress adopts an alternative.
Following the decision, NEI general counsel Ellen Ginsberg said, "We agree with the court that unless and until the Energy Department's repository program is restarted or another waste disposal program is developed, it is appropriate that the Nuclear Waste Fund fee be suspended. The court's decision should prompt Congress to reform the government's nuclear waste disposal program. We strongly encourage Congress to establish a new waste management entity and endow it with the powers and funding necessary to achieve the goals originally established in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act."