LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nuclear Regulatory Commission legal panel says the federal Department of Energy can’t withdraw its application to build a national nuclear waste dump in Nevada.
Nevada and Energy Department officials said Tuesday they’ll appeal to the full five-member NRC.
The three-member Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled that Congress in 1982 directed the Energy Department to file an application for the Yucca Mountain repository, and directed the NRC to consider it.
It says letting the department “single-handedly derail” the process would be “contrary to congressional intent.”
