A view of Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Photo from Department of Energy

Nevada's Congressional delegation remains opposed to the controversial Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission completed a safety evaluation that found no major concerns with the site. But key lawmakers, including Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada), the Democratic leader in the Senate, said they would continue to fight the transport and storage of up to 77,000 tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste in their state.

“This project will never see the light of day and everyone should accept that and move on,” Reid said in a press release.

MAP: Tribes located near Yucca Mountain site

Tribes in Nevada also oppose the facility. Yucca Mountain is located near several reservations and the site itself sits on land that was promised to the Western Shoshone under the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley.

The Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant sits just 600 yards from the border of the Prairie Island Indian Community in Minnesota. Photo by Jonathunder / Wikipedia

The Prairie Island Indian Community of Minnesota, however, has been pushing Congress and the executive branch to address the status of "temporary" nuclear waste facilities across the nation. The reservation sits next to a nuclear power plant.

The tribe filed a lawsuit against the NRC last October, challenging the the long-term storage of the waste, which has been piling up just 600 yards from the reservation for more than two decades.

Get the Story:
Report gives Yucca positive review, stops short of full endorsement (The Las Vegas Review-Journal 1/30)
Yucca Mountain findings released (AP 1/30)

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Court orders resumption of Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site (08/14)
Prairie Island Indian Community wins a ruling on nuclear waste (6/11)