DOE Should Provide More Information on Monitored Retrievable Storage

GAO discussed its evaluation of the Department of Energy's (DOE) proposal for a monitored retrievable storage (MRS) facility to package and store spent nuclear fuel for transshipment to a permanent repository. GAO noted that: (1) the Nuclear Waste Policy Act authorizes MRS for a permanent repository, while DOE envisions MRS for a temporary storage facility; (2) DOE did not analyze, or provide Congress with enough information on, MRS alternatives; and (3) DOE did not fully develop its MRS cost estimates and failed to consider the cost of state and local taxes, site acquisition, or mitigating the local impacts of an MRS facility, among other elements. GAO believes that DOE should provide Congress with more comprehensive information on MRS before Congress decides whether to authorize it.