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DOE's License Application for a High-Level Waste Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain

Aerial view of Yucca Mountain, looking northwest, showing the desert environment. The proposed geologic repository would be located about 300 meters (1,000 feet) below the eastern slope of the mountain.
Who: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
What: DOE license application seeking authorization to build a geologic repository
When: June 3, 2008 (application submitted)
Where: Yucca Mountain site in Nye County, Nevada (see map showing Location of Yucca Mountain)
Why: NRC will authorize construction only if DOE can demonstrate that it can safely build and operate the repository in compliance with NRC’s regulations.

On June 3, 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) submitted a license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), seeking authorization to construct a high-level waste geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. For details, see the following documents and correspondence from DOE:

Note: Portions of DOE's Yucca Mountain Geologic Repository license application were submitted with bookmarks, as well as hyperlinks to various reference documents (such as the Design Control Documents). However, those bookmarks and hyperlinks are currently inactive in the files that are publicly available through the links provided above. Nonetheless, the various reference documents may be obtained on DVD by contacting the staff of the NRC's Public Document Room.

NRC Issues First Volume of Staff's Safety Evaluation Report (August 23, 2010)

  • News Release
  • NUREG-1949, Volume 1, "Safety Evaluation Report Related to Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Wastes in a Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada; Volume 1: General Information"

NRC Makes Public Staff’s Postclosure Technical Evaluation Report (July 21, 2011)

  • News Release
  • NUREG-2107, “Technical Evaluation Report on the Content of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Yucca Mountain Repository License Application; Postclosure Volume: Repository Safety After Permanent Closure.” (ML11223A273)

NRC Makes Public Staff’s Preclosure Technical Evaluation Report (September 1, 2011)

  • News Release
  • NUREG-2108, “Technical Evaluation Report on the Content of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Yucca Mountain Repository License Application; Preclosure Volume: Repository Safety Before Permanent Closure” (ML11250A093)

NRC Makes Public Staff’s Administrative and Programmatic Technical Evaluation Report (September 12, 2011)

  • News Release
  • NUREG-2109, “Technical Evaluation Report on the Content of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Yucca Mountain Repository License Application; Administrative and Programmatic Volume” (ML11255A002)

For additional information and related documents, please see the following pages:

Related Information

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Thursday, March 29, 2012