NRC to Hold Three Additional Public Meetings in Nevada on Proposed Regulations for Yucca Mountain

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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
	Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
	Washington, DC 20555-001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov

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No. 99-108
May 24, 1999

NRC TO HOLD THREE ADDITIONAL PUBLIC MEETINGS IN NEVADA
ON PROPOSED REGULATIONS FOR YUCCA MOUNTAIN

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold three public meetings in Nevada next month to provide an additional opportunity for comment on its proposed new regulations for making a decision on whether or not to license a possible future high-level radioactive waste repository that the Department of Energy (DOE) may seek to develop at Yucca Mountain.

The proposed regulations were issued on February 22, with comments requested by May 10. The NRC held two public meetings in Nevada on March 23 and 25 to discuss the proposal. In response to comments at those meetings, and written comments, the agency extended the public comment period until June 30.

Details of the new series of public meetings are:

-- Tuesday, June 15, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Amargosa Valley Community Center in Amargosa Valley.

-- Wednesday, June 16, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Richard Tam Alumni Center of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

-- Thursday, June 17, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Caliente City Hall, Caliente.

The meetings will open with an NRC presentation on the proposed rule, which would establish the criteria and standards against which NRC would evaluate a possible future DOE license application for a repository at Yucca Mountain.

This presentation will be followed by public discussion, facilitated by Francis X. Cameron, NRC Counsel for Public Liaison.

The NRC will consider comments received at the meeting in developing the final version of the proposed rule. Interested persons are also invited to send written comments on the proposed rule by June 30 to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. Alternatively, comments may be submitted via the NRC's interactive rulemaking web site at http://ruleforum.llnl.gov.