Committee agrees to earmark $352.5 million for Yucca Mountain

A House and Senate conference committee agreed Friday to earmark $352.5 million for the civilian and defense nuclear waste storage program for fiscal year 2000.

That figure is much closer to the $355 million approved by the Senate in June. A month later, the House passed a significantly lower budget of $281 million.

The Energy Department warned that the House budget could result in layoffs of up to 1,000 Yucca Mountain employees. Most, but not all of them, would have been in Nevada.

"It's possible that there will still be layoffs, but they will be much less than there would have been at the lower figure," said Allen Benson, a Yucca Mountain spokesman.

The budget agreement is expected to be approved with no changes in the House and Senate, and signed into law by President Clinton.

At the same time it was reducing the Yucca Mountain budget, the conference committee agreed to full funding for the state of Nevada and counties surrounding Yucca Mountain to continue monitoring the department's activities, according to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who sat on the negotiating panel.

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