USGS/USDOE Cooperative Studies in Nevada
USGS Involvement at Yucca Mountain
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 designated Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the candidate site for the Nation's first permanent geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste. The act charges the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management with overseeing the necessary studies of the geotechnical, geochemical, geologic, and hydrologic characteristics to determine whether the Yucca Mountain site meets the technical and regulatory requirements for a permanent repository. These studies were set up as a collaborative effort between the USGS, DOE, and other cooperators. To meet this effort, USGS established the Yucca Mountain Project Branch Office (YMPB) to oversee investigations and analyses run jointly by scientists from the Water Resources Division (WRD) and the Geologic Division (GD).
The USGS-WRD office in Las Vegas assists the USGS-YMPB by maintaining a water-resources monitoring network to assist DOE in meeting environmental and water-permit requirements. Participation in other hydrologic studies will be provided in response to YMPB requests.
