Senators Pavlov, Proos, Zorn, Colbeck, Knezek, Robertson, Schmidt, Emmons, Marleau and Rocca offered the following concurrent resolution:

            Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 7.

            A concurrent resolution to memorialize the Congress of the United States to ensure a safe and permanent location to store nuclear waste and to refer the issue of locating nuclear waste repositories in the Great Lakes basin to the International Joint Commission.

            Whereas, The permanent, long-term storage of nuclear waste is an ongoing problem that must be addressed by all nations. Nuclear power provides large amounts of reliable, emission-free electricity at stable prices. It can play a major role in meeting the need for new cleanly-produced base load generating capacity as long as a solution can be found for safely dealing with the thousands of tons of radioactive waste produced each year; and

            Whereas, Decades of investigation and debate have identified Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a safe and acceptable repository for the permanent storage of high-level radioactive waste. Selected in the early 1980s as a potential site, Yucca Mountain was approved by Congress and President Bush as the site of the nation's repository in 2002. In 2008, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) accepted an application to construct and operate the repository, but two years later, at the urging of President Obama, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) chose to terminate the process. In October 2014, the NRC released a report that confirmed Yucca Mountain would meet all NRC standards for protecting people and the environment from radioactivity. Clearly, it is time to reopen the Yucca Mountain process, as it will provide the best long-term solution to our nation's nuclear waste problem; and

            Whereas, The Canadian government is also considering a proposal for a permanent nuclear waste repository. Ontario Power Generation is proposing to construct a repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste at a site less than a mile inland from the shore of Lake Huron. Placing a repository so close to the Great Lakes is a matter of serious concern. A leak or breach of radioactivity from the facility could damage the ecology of the lakes. Tens of millions of United States and Canadian citizens depend on the lakes for drinking water, fisheries, tourism, recreation, and other industrial and economic uses; and

            Whereas, Successful national nuclear policy requires a safe and permanent repository for nuclear waste in a suitable geologic location. It is ironic that our nation has adopted a process that identified a safe and scientifically-acceptable location but refuses to move forward, while at the same time, Canada is moving forward with a flawed nuclear waste policy that has led to the consideration of an inappropriate site on the shores of the Great Lakes. Congressional leadership is needed to put our national and regional nuclear policy on course; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to ensure a safe and permanent location to store nuclear waste; and be it further

            Resolved, That we urge Congress to refer the issue of locating repositories for nuclear waste in the Great Lakes basin to the International Joint Commission; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the members of the Michigan congressional delegation, and the commissioners of the International Joint Commission.