Tuesday, November 19, 2013

No Program, No Funding. So Say the Court



Well my job just got a whole lot easier. I guess it is time to book another cruise. Today the Department of Energy was told by the federal appeals court to stop the collection of fees for the storage of nuclear waste. The reason being the court said was because there was no program in place for the permanent storage of nuclear waste and therefore it was not proper to be collecting fees.

Here is the link to the New York Times article.
"In a decision written by Judge Laurence H. Silberman, the court ruled that “until the department comes to some conclusion as to how nuclear wastes are to be deposited permanently, it seems quite unfair to force petitioners to pay fees for a hypothetical option.” What they have already paid might cover that cost, Judge Silberman wrote, adding, “the government apparently has no idea.”
I wonder if the DOE plans to return all the funds that they have been collecting over the past years? I doubt it and I doubt there will ever be a central repository for the storage of nuclear waste. There will be extra money collected as in time each of our existing nuclear plants will eventually have to come up with a plan for permanent on-site storage.

Talk about a Catch 22, wow!




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