YUCCA MOUNTAIN REVIVAL

THIS ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO BYPASS CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION. AND HAVE THE ULTIMATE EXECUTIVE (PRESIDENT) BE THE FINAL LAW MAKER. THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT UNDER THE EXECUTIVE CONTROL HAS NO POWER TO EFFECTIVELY CHANGE LEGISLATION OUTSIDE OF CONGRESS (LIKE MAYBE FOLLOWING ARTICLE 1 SECTION 1).  THIS IS OUTRIGHT UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

THE ENERGY DEPT IS TO FACILITATE/REPORT ITS USE OF ENERGY AND REPORT ITS SAFE GUARD, NOT TO HINDER THE CREATION OF IT OR MAKE LAWS.

THIS HAS BEEN THE POWER STRUGGLE IN THIS ADMINISTRATION. CONGRESS NEEDS TO PUT THESE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES BACK IN ITS PLACE. AND TRULLY PROCLAIM THAT CONGRESS ALONE AS APPOINTED BY THE PEOPLE CAN MAKE LAWS. THESE GOV. AGENCIES ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PEOPLE AND CERTAINLY HAVE NOT BEEN APPOINTED BY THEM. IF IT WAS SO THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN BOOTED OUT ALREADY.
BUT INSTEAD THEY ACT OUTSIDE THE EYES OF THE PEOPLE AND DON'T DEBATE THE ACTION THEY INACT.

Mr. Hastings, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, says the administration "has zero authority to withdraw the [Yucca Mountain] license application."

They argue that a 1982 law prohibits the administration from abandoning the Yucca Mountain project, which Congress designated as the nation's first nuclear-waste repository.

The Energy Department moved to terminate Yucca Mountain in March 2010 when it asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to withdraw a two-year-old application to build a repository. Calling Yucca Mountain "not a workable option," the Energy Department said the science on nuclear-waste storage had evolved since the project was first proposed.

A few months later, in June, a quasi-independent NRC panel dealt a blow to the administration and denied its request, saying the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act "does not give the secretary the discretion to substitute his policy for the one established by Congress."

Mr. Hastings and other lawmakers say Mr. Jaczko and the NRC lack the authority to suspend a safety review of Yucca Mountain. Mr. Jaczko halted this review last year.

An NRC spokesman defended the chairman's decision. "It is the chairman's responsibility and authority to ensure that agency resources are used properly. He acted properly, and not unilaterally, after consulting with the chief financial officer, the executive director for operations, and the general counsel."

None of NRC commissioners has disclosed their votes on Yucca Mountain, so it's unclear how many would support or oppose the project.

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