New Mexico floated as Yucca alternative
WASHINGTON — Is a salt formation in New Mexico the new Yucca Mountain?
A trade industry publication reported Tuesday that discussions are under way to promote an existing facility in New Mexico as an alternative to storing the nation’s spent nuclear fuel in the desert north of Las Vegas.
The Obama administration has promised to “scale back” funding for the Yucca Mountain project, and the president has vowed it will not open as a waste dump.
The existing Waste Isolation Pilot Project, which handles lower-level waste in a salt formation in New Mexico, has been mentioned as a possible option.
“Nuclear industry officials and policymakers are quietly mounting support for constructing a permanent nuclear waste repository inside a large New Mexico salt formation already used for permanent storage of low-level transuranic waste,” Energy Washington Week reported.
Finally, Solis takes card-check stance
WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Hilda Solis supports the Employee Free Choice Act, a spokeswoman clarified Tuesday, even as she is leaving to Congress the best way to proceed on the thorny issue.
Solis was on the Hill on Tuesday in one of her first appearances since a prolonged confirmation process.
During her confirmation hearing, Solis declined to provide an opinion on the card-check issue, frustrating Republicans who largely oppose the measure.
“The president and I are supportive that people have the ability to bargain collectively if they choose to be part of the union; the president and I agree with that,” she told reporters after a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing. “But in terms of what the product will look like, that’s entirely up to the Senate and the House.”
— Lisa Mascaro
Source: Las Vegas Sun
