The Department of Energy’s Federal Register has the attached announcement of a public comment period through March 4, 2022 for consent-based siting of spent fuel storage.

Stay tuned for sample comments from ANA and our member groups.

This is a repeat of previous bad ideas that the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability has opposed; see previous comment summaries below from 2016 & 2017:


On July 28, 2016, the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability submitted comments on “consent-based siting” of high-level radioactive waste.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has held nine public meetings across the country since January, regarding so-called “Consent-Based Siting” of centralized interim storage sites (de facto permanent parking lot dumps) for high-level radioactive waste.

The current DOE “consent-based siting process” is premature and should be terminated. Before any repository siting process can begin, there must be a public process to develop the new technical standards.

Congress must enact legislation that defines how free, prior, and informed consent can occur, including what legal or constitutional constraints prevent future congresses from overriding consent agreements or withholding funding.


On January 27, 2017, the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability submitted comments to the Department of Energy (DOE) on Private Initiatives to Develop Consolidated Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facilities.

ANA opposes private off-site consolidated SNF storage facilities, which would be dangerous because of the additional handling and transportation required, unnecessary because waste can and will remain at the existing locations for decades, and expensive because they would substantially add unneeded costs to what will be an expensive repository program. Further, such private off-site facilities are not allowed by current federal laws.