Nevada senators want to ensure Yucca Mountain nuclear repository ‘remains dead’

Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto are moving to keep the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository inactive, announcing they will reintroduce the Jobs, Not Waste Act on Tuesday. The legislation would repeal a provision of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 that designated Yucca Mountain as the nation’s sole atomic repository and would terminate its licensing process. It also directs the Department of Energy to reclaim and mitigate any adverse environmental impacts to the Yucca Mountain tract stemming from its licensing review and urges federal officials to consider alternative uses for the site to spur job creation and economic growth in Nevada, according to Rosen’s bureau. The senators’ announcement follows a DOE disclosure that it has entered preliminary agreements with Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Idaho to potentially host Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses. The department said those facilities would support the full nuclear fuel cycle—fabrication, enrichment and final disposition—and could generate about 25,000 jobs, attract up to $50 billion in capital investment and yield as much as $10 billion in tax revenue. Nevada has long opposed using Yucca Mountain for nuclear waste storage. Current officeholders—Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo—welcomed the DOE’s announcement. Rosen stated, “Nevadans have always been clear that we will not allow nuclear waste to be stored at Yucca Mountain – and that any effort to establish a nuclear waste repository needs to be centered on the consent of the surrounding community,” Rosen said in a press release. “I’m encouraged by the recent signal from the Trump Administration that acknowledges Yucca Mountain is not an option for nuclear waste storage, which is why I hope they will support this legislation to guarantee Yucca remains dead.” The Las Vegas Review‑Journal asked the DOE what the announcement might mean for the future of the Southern Nevada site. A bureau spokesperson replied in an email, “It is anticipated that changes to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act would be needed going forward, namely the Yucca Mountain exclusivity clause.” Similar measures have been introduced before. Rosen and Cortez Masto first offered a version of the Jobs, Not Waste Act in 2024, building on earlier attempts in 2018 and 2019. Last year they sponsored the bicameral Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act, which would require input and consent from states—including tribal and local officials—before a nuclear waste repository could be sited in their jurisdictions. Nevada’s Democratic House members introduced companion legislation; both bills stalled in committee. Cortez Masto said, “Nevadans have been clear from the outset that our state cannot and will not host the nation’s nuclear waste,” said Cortez Masto in a statement. “While I welcomed the Trump administration’s recent decision to set aside the unworkable Yucca Mountain option, we cannot take anything for granted.” She added, “It’s time to pass our Jobs, Not Waste Act to explore other uses for the Yucca tract and let states that want to store nuclear waste do so.” This is a developing story. Check back for updates.