Today, Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52) voted to pass the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill would allow the nuclear waste currently stored at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in San Diego to be moved to a permanent disposal site at a remote location. The SONGS site is located on a military base, fewer than 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean, only miles from earthquake fault lines, near densely populated communities that have almost 8 million residents, and along Interstate 5—one of the nation’s most traveled freeways.

“Earlier this year, I visited Yucca Mountain and saw for myself that the site is clearly the right location for permanent nuclear waste storage. The Department of Energy chose Yucca Mountain from ten site options based on seismology, geological acceptability, and a suitable buffer from groundwater. The site also contains a range where the federal government performed over 900 nuclear detonations, which left some craters that are still too radioactive for humans to visit.

“We need to move forward on permanent storage at Yucca Mountain and preparing consolidated interim storage sites because it will be safer than housing nuclear waste near the ocean in San Diego and near bodies of water in other communities across America. Opening existing canisters to move the fuel into thicker canisters is not nearly as safe or smart as moving this spent fuel to Yucca Mountain. It’s time to bring this legislation to the House floor and move forward on smarter storage options that protect our communities and the environment,” said Rep. Peters.

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Watch Rep. Peters explain why Yucca Mountain is the best location for spent nuclear fuel disposal here.

Rep. Peters has supported efforts to move nuclear waste to permanent storage at Yucca Mountain since coming to Congress. Last year, he cosponsored a similar bipartisan nuclear waste disposal bill that passed the House by a vote of 340-72.