Summary: Pursuant to the requirements of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) progress in implementing the act, focusing on: (1) the DOE approach to selecting a waste disposal site; (2) DOE negotiations with states and Indian tribes for consultation and cooperation agreements; and (3) DOE planning for monitored retrievable spent fuel storage (MRS).
GAO found that, while DOE achieved several important program objectives in 1984, such as its issuance of final repository siting guidelines and its initiation of spent fuel demonstration projects, it delayed many actions required by the act because of unrealistic scheduling and inadequate contingency planning. Specifically, GAO found that: (1) delays in the issuance of final siting guidelines occurred because DOE was overly optimistic in its planning; (2) while DOE believes that the act requires that it find only one suitable repository site after final testing, a number of states and other groups have questioned the DOE interpretation and claim that three sites must be found suitable, from which one is to be recommended for a repository; and (3) the DOE approach may jeopardize the program's success because, if backup sites are not available, a successful legal challenge to a site recommendation could cause a major setback to the program. GAO also found that: (1) DOE has negotiated with only one state and an Indian tribe for consultation and cooperation agreements; (2) other states and tribes are waiting for further DOE siting decisions before entering negotiations; and (3) one issue that could affect acceptance of such agreements is the $500-million-per-accident liability limit imposed by law for the nuclear waste activities of DOE and its contractors. In addition, GAO found that it will be difficult for DOE to develop both MRS facilities and repositories in a timely manner because the two parts of the program compete for limited staff and financial resources.
