In addition to the investigation of Yucca Mountain, the nuclear waste program includes preparations for eventually accepting and transporting spent fuel and other highly radioactive wastes from storage sites. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act does not specify a time frame in which the President must act. It May Be Premature for DOE to Make a Site Recommendation

Although within his discretion, it may be premature for the Secretary of Energy to make a site recommendation in the near future because DOE is currently not prepared to submit an acceptable license application to NRC within the statutory limits that would take effect if the President recommended the site to the Congress within the next several years. Further, site recommendation and license application are connected by law with specific timeframes that require DOE to submit a license application to NRC within about 5 to 8 months once the President considers the site qualified for a license application and makes a site recommendation to the Congress. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives for this report were to determine whether (1) the Department of Energy (DOE) has completed the work necessary to support a site recommendation for the development of a repository at Yucca Mountain, and (2) DOE’s goal of opening a repository at Yucca Mountain in 2010 is reasonable.
What GAO Found

The administration's energy policy reflects renewed interest in expanding nuclear power as a source of electricity. However, the nation lacks a facility to permanently dispose of spent fuel from commercial power plants. The Department of Energy (DOE) has been studying Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a possible repository for these highly radioactive wastes. GAO believes that it may be premature for the Secretary of Energy to recommend Yucca Mountain as a suitable site. Once the President considers the site qualified for a license application and recommends the site to Congress, the Nuclear Waste Policy act requires DOE to submit a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) within five to eight months. DOE will be unable to submit an acceptable application to NRC within the statutory time frames for several years because of unresolved technical issues. DOE is unlikely to achieve its goal of opening a repository at Yucca Mountain by 2010, and it does not have a reliable estimate of when, and at what cost, such a repository can be opened.