Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) plans to introduce an amendment to the fiscal 2013 energy and water spending bill next week that would set aside $10 million to reopen the abandoned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada.

The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Economy presented the measure in the House today, but the language won't be taken up until the bill is debated next week, said Steven Tomaszewski, a spokesman for Shimkus.

The House appropriations bill sets fiscal 2013 spending levels for the Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies. The measure already contains about $40 million to support the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's licensing of the Yucca project.

The Shimkus amendment would transfer an additional $10 million from DOE to NRC to review the Yucca Mountain site. DOE submitted an application to build the repository in Nevada about four years ago, but the Obama administration has since abandoned the project and closed out funding for the site.

But the bill faces challenges on Capitol Hill.

The White House yesterday issued a veto threat, citing cuts to clean energy promotion and other DOE priorities and "policy riders" that would reopen the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste depository. The administration also highlighted the House language that would prevent the use of appropriations to wind down the Yucca Mountain project (E&E Daily, June 1).

Also, a piece of fiscal 2013 energy and water spending legislation making its way through the Senate does not include money to advance NRC's review of the Yucca project (Greenwire, April 24).

The issue is also being handled in the courts. A federal appeals court last month signaled that it might force NRC to continue reviewing the proposed waste site, even though outgoing NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko said funding was insufficient (Greenwire, May 11).