Appeals court hits DOE over nuclear waste fee
Jun 1, 2012, 9:08 PM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court says the Energy Department did not complete a review required to continue collecting $750 million a year in fees from operators of nuclear power plants.
Bu the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia did not order the fee collection suspended. Instead, officials were given six more months to complete the review.
More than $26 billion has been paid into the federal Nuclear Waste Fund for long-term storage and disposal of nuclear waste from the nation’s 104 commercial nuclear reactors. The money has sat idle for decades amid disputes about how to dispose of the waste. The Obama administration has moved to close a nuclear dump planned at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain.
A spokeswoman said the Energy Department will comply with the order.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)