Approximate Yucca
Mountain Licensing Time Line |
| June 2008 - DOE submits license application. |
| October 2008 - The NRC decides on whether to accept (docket) license application and, if accepted, publishes a notice of hearing in the Federal Register. |
| November 2008 - Potential parties submit request to participate in the hearings. Petitions include initial contentions. |
| January 2009 - Licensing board rules on hearing participation request. |
| June 2010 - Discovery (between participants) is complete. Licensing board finalizes issues to be litigated and sets a schedule for hearings. |
| October 2010 - Hearings begin. |
| January 2011 - Hearings end. |
| May 2011 - Licensing board makes initial decision on whether to grant construction authorization. |
| July 2011 - NRC commissioners complete supervisory review of licensing board’s decision and construction authorization can be issued. |
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Current DOE Timeline
Yucca Mountain Project Update January 16, 2008
Presented to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
E. F. Sproat - Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management US DOE
Milestones
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Design for License Application Complete - Nov 2007 - Actual: Completed 12/1/07 |
LSN Certification - Dec 2007 - Actual: Oct. 2007 |
Supplemental EIS - May 2008 - Actual: Draft Issued October 2007/Hearings completed |
License Application Submittal - June 2008 - on schedule as of January 1, 2008 (impact of $108M FY 08 appropriations reduction currently being evaluated |
| Start nevada Rail Construction - Oct 2009 - delayed - inadequate funding to proceed with design
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YM Construction Authorization - Sept 2011 - Best achievable date |
Operating License Submittal - March 2013 - predicated on funding and construction schedule |
Rail Line Operational -June 2014 - 2016 is achievable only if adequate funding is provided |
Begin Receipt - March 2017 (best achievable date) currently under evaluation due to FY 07 and 08 actual funding shortfalls - firm date can't be set until funding issue resolved |
The U.S. Department of Energy submitted an 8,600-page application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission June, 2008 to store nuclear waste underground at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
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| A look at what's next for the Energy Department's application to build and operate a national nuclear waste repository in Nevada:
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| NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION: Staff will examine the 8,600-page, 17-volume application to determine if it is complete enough for a full technical review. |
| DOCKETING: NRC decides sometime from Oct. 1 to Nov. 15 whether the commission can docket the case for review. The commission also will determine whether it can adopt a final environmental study on the Yucca Mountain project. |
| CHALLENGES: Once docketed, the NRC would give prospective hearing participants 30 days to file challenges, or "contentions," to elements of the license request. |
| PARTICIPANTS: The commission will decide in early 2009 who will participate in hearings before three-member panels of Atomic Safety and Licensing Board administrative law judges at sessions in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. |
| HEARINGS: The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 calls for NRC review to take three years, but allows the commission to ask Congress for an additional year. |
| DECISION: The panels will recommend to the full commission whether the Energy Department should be licensed to proceed with plans for the repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. |
| CONSTRUCTION: Edward F. "Ward" Sproat, the Energy Department's Yucca Mountain project chief, said the earliest Yucca Mountain could open if licensing goes smoothly and funding remains stable would be 2020. He estimated the cost at up to $80 billion. |
Yucca Mountain Repository Schedule
Presented by Ward Sproat - Director of Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management for the DOE
Stated on July 19, 2006
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| License Application Docketed by NRC |
9/30/2008 |
Best-Achievable Repository Construction Schedule |
| Start Nevada Rail Construction |
10/5/2009 |
| Construction Authorization from NRC |
9/30/2011 |
| "Receive and Possess" License Application Submittal to NRC |
3/29/2013 |
| Rail Access In-Service |
6/30/2014 |
| Construction Complete for Initial Operations |
3/30/2016 |
| Start up and Pre-Op Testing Complete |
12/31/2016 |
| Begin Receipt |
3/31/2017 |
The schedule above is based on factors within the control of DOE, appropriations consistent with optimum Project execution, issuance of an NRC Construction Authorization consistent with the three year period specified in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, and the timely issuance by the NRC of a Receive and Possess license. This schedule also is dependent on the timely issuance of all necessary other authorizations and permits, the absence of litigation related delays and the enactment of pending legislation proposed by the Administration. |
The Department of Energy has submitted a license application to construct America's first national repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. For more information about the project. For more information about the licensing process.
The license application consists of a letter describing its purpose, accompanied by attachments that contain general information and a safety analysis report. The Yucca Mountain License Application is available on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's public Internet site.
- The general information portion of the application will provide an overview of the repository’s engineering design concept and will describe the natural features of the site.
- The safety analysis report (the main technical document in the licensing process) will demonstrate how the repository can be constructed, operated, and closed in a manner that protects public and worker health and safety and preserves the quality of the environment.
The NRC is the licensing and regulatory agency that will make the final decision on whether the DOE is allowed to proceed with construction and subsequent licensing to operate the repository.
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