An 8-kilometer tunnel, carved into a volcanic ridge in the Mojave Desert, about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, was designed to connect to a long-term storage facility for up to 77,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel. The project, known as Yucca Mountain, was halted between 2009 and 2011. The U.S. government never claimed the mountain itself was unsuitable. The Department of Energy (DOE) did not cite any technical or safety issues. The 2010 shutdown was primarily due to political and social opposition, not because of geological or technical problems. As of 2024, spent nuclear fuel has accumulated to 92,000 tons, surpassing the legal limit of 70,000 tons. The project has been frozen since 2011, with the licensing process halted due to a lack of funding from Congress. The Yucca Mountain project began in 1982 under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which designated the site in Nevada as the only location the DOE would consider for national geological storage of nuclear waste. An amendment in 1987 confirmed it as the sole site. To study the rock, engineers built the Exploratory Studies Facility, an 8-kilometer tunnel meant to test the site's suitability. The DOE recommended the site to the president in 2002, and Congress approved the plan. The legal storage limit was set at 77,000 tons, including 63,000 tons of commercial fuel, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Other documents mention 70,000 metric tons, a difference caused by the unit of measurement, as 70,000 metric tons are roughly equivalent to 77,000 short tons. In June 2008, the DOE submitted its construction license application to the NRC. Between 2009 and 2011, the project was suspended without any technical or scientific justification. In March 2009, the Secretary of Energy announced plans to end the program and explore other options. On March 3, 2010, the DOE asked the NRC’s licensing review board to withdraw its application "with prejudice," effectively closing the door on the site. The only reason given was that Yucca Mountain would no longer be a "viable option," though no alternative was proposed at the time. An expert commission, the Blue Ribbon Commission, was tasked with studying alternatives. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), which audits federal programs, examined this decision in a 2011 report. It found that the DOE did not cite any technical or safety issues. In a 2010 response, the department even stated that the site was not considered dangerous and that no flaws were found in the license application. The Congressional Research Service also confirmed that the withdrawal was not based on scientific or technical grounds. The GAO, however, noted that the main challenge was social and political resistance, particularly from Nevada residents who opposed the project. In August 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the NRC to restart the review using existing funds. The agency completed a five-volume safety evaluation report in 2015 and published a supplement to the environmental impact study in 2016. However, the licensing process remains suspended. While the shutdown was political, it does not mean the site was validated. In 2015, the NRC president noted that an additional $330 million would be needed to complete the process, including addressing 300 objections from Nevada and other groups. The GAO noted in 2017 that resuming the license would require rebuilding the DOE and NRC capabilities, which had largely been dissolved after 2010. Meanwhile, spent nuclear fuel continues to accumulate at power plants across the country. The GAO found in 2011 that it was stored at sites in 33 states. A 2024 article in the Las Vegas Sun estimated the U.S. stock at about 92,000 tons, exceeding the legal limit of 70,000 tons for Yucca Mountain. Even if the site were authorized today, it would not be sufficient to hold all the waste unless Congress raised the limit, as some proposals have suggested, from 70,000 to 110,000 metric tons.