For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 15, 2002
Presidential Letter to Congress
Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate
February 15, 2002
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
In accordance with section 114 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of
1982, 42 U.S.C. 10134 (the "Act"), the Secretary of Energy has
recommended approval of the Yucca Mountain site for the development at
that site of a repository for the geologic disposal of spent nuclear
fuel and high level nuclear waste from the Nation's defense
activities. As is required by the Act, the Secretary has
also submitted to me a comprehensive statement of the basis of his
recommendation.
Having received the Secretary's recommendation and the
comprehensive statement of the basis of it, I consider the Yucca
Mountain site qualified for application for a construction
authorization for a repository. Therefore, I now recommend the Yucca
Mountain site for this purpose. In accordance with section
114 of the Act, I am transmitting with this recommendation to the
Congress a copy of the comprehensive statement of the basis of the
Secretary's recommendation prepared pursuant to the Act. The
transmission of this document triggers an expedited process described
in the Act. I urge the Congress to undertake any necessary
legislative action on this recommendation in an expedited and
bipartisan fashion.
Proceeding with the repository program is necessary to protect
public safety, health, and the Nation's security because successful
completion of this project would isolate in a geologic repository at a
remote location highly radioactive materials now scattered throughout
the Nation. In addition, the geologic repository would
support our national security through disposal of nuclear waste from
our defense facilities.
A deep geologic repository, such as Yucca Mountain, is important
for our national security and our energy future. Nuclear
energy is the second largest source of U.S. electricity generation and
must remain a major component of our national energy policy in the
years to come. The cost of nuclear power compares favorably
with the costs of electricity generation by other sources, and nuclear
power has none of the emissions associated with coal and gas power
plants.
This recommendation, if it becomes effective, will permit
commencement of the next rigorous stage of scientific and technical
review of the repository program through formal licensing proceedings
before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Successful
completion of this program also will redeem the clear Federal legal
obligation safely to dispose of commercial spent nuclear fuel that the
Congress passed in 1982.
This recommendation is the culmination of two decades of intense
scientific scrutiny involving application of an array of scientific and
technical disciplines necessary and appropriate for this challenging
undertaking. It is an undertaking that was mandated twice by
the Congress when it legislated the obligations that would be redeemed
by successful pursuit of the repository program. Allowing
this recommendation to come into effect will enable the beginning of
the next phase of intense scrutiny of the project necessary to assure
the public health, safety, and security in the area of Yucca Mountain,
and also to enhance the safety and security of the Nation as a whole.
Sincerely,
GEORGE W. BUSH
# # #
|