In March 2010 the Department of Energy informed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- the nation's independent nuclear regulatory body -- of its decision to withdraw the federal government's application to store nuclear waste deep underground at Yucca Mountain, Nev. Although the Obama administration had largely stripped funding from the project, unless it withdrew the application, another administration could restart the process.

Yucca Mountain is located about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It was chosen in the late 1980s as a possible storage site for waste material from nuclear power plants. Currently the Nuclear Waste Management Act of 1982 generally mandates that such waste be stored on the same site as the power plant that created it. There are 75,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel stored in temporary sites around the country. A recurring fear by environmentalists is that such radioactive material could contaminate groundwater. Proponents of the Yucca Mountain facility feel that this danger would be mitigated given Nevada's desert environment and geologic features.

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy under the Bush administration sought a license to store the waste at Yucca Mountain. Since then, the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal site has been tied up in legal wranglings and never utilized, due to opposition from environmental groups and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. In addition, the Energy Department now contends that fissures in Yucca Mountain could fill the caves with water at some point in the future, leading to contamination.

Although the Energy Department asked to be let out of the agreement, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has yet to make a decision in this regard. In late July, the states of Washington and South Carolina sued the commission to force it to make a ruling on the Obama administration's decision to withdraw the Yucca Mountain application. Depending upon the outcome, Energy Secretary Steven Chu stated that the department may be compelled to reopen the Yucca Mountain facility.

A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Organization concluded that the Obama administration's decision to shut down the Yucca Mountain project was a policy-oriented, rather than a scientific, decision. The administration's decision to shutter the project could possibly cost billions in taxpayer dollars as the federal government endeavors to search for another suitable disposal site. At the time of the project's cancellation, Yucca Mountain had already cost the federal government $12 billion.

To evaluate and create options for the disposal of nuclear waste, President Obama created the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future. In July 2011, the commission issued a scathing draft report of the federal government's lackluster efforts at nuclear waste disposal. Among the commission's recommendations was creating a new federal corporation that would be tasked with finding adequate disposal sites. This recommendation, along with several others, are currently in the public comment phase until October 2011. Chu will receive the final recommendations in January 2012.

There can be no doubt that the Obama administration has significant logistical, legal and financial hurdles to overcome before achieve its goal of safe nuclear disposal. The commission's conclusions, although quite critical, may spur the administration to take a more proactive stance. The promise ultimately hinges on what happens with the Yucca Mountain site. If the government cannot withdraw from the application, then the possibility of Yucca Mountain becoming a nuclear waste storage site cannot be discounted. We rate this promise as In the Works pending a final decision on Yucca Mountain.