Leaked document reveals White House nuclear waste plan

[Marlin]

Leaked document reveals White House nuclear waste plan

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/27/leaked-document-reveals-white-house-nuclear-waste-plan-01012663

[Core Content]

The Trump administration is proposing legislative changes to abandon Yucca Mountain as the sole federal nuclear waste repository. The plan authorizes the Department of Energy to partner with willing states to host integrated nuclear innovation campuses, which would manage fuel production, recycling, and waste disposition alongside new reactor and data center projects.

This shift aims to resolve the long-standing impasse regarding the 95,000 metric tons of spent fuel currently stored at reactor sites. By enabling state-led partnerships and potential reprocessing, the administration seeks to clear regulatory hurdles for expanding nuclear power capacity. However, experts note that reprocessing does not eliminate the eventual requirement for a permanent geological repository for remaining waste products.

The Trump administration is seeking to move past Yucca Mountain as the nation's sole repository and store waste in willing states.

Nuclear waste storage silos in 2022 at Columbia Generating Station near Richland, Washington. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

The White House is pushing Congress to break a decades-long impasse around the handling of nuclear waste and entice states to get on board, according to a document obtained by POLITICO.

The Trump administration is seeking changes to federal law to allow the Department of Energy to partner with states willing to store waste generated at the nation's nuclear reactors, according to the document laying out "legislative principles." It has been circulating on Capitol Hill and among nuclear industry leaders.

Read the full article at politico.com:
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/27/leaked-document-reveals-white-house-nuclear-waste-plan-01012663