WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Frank H. Murkowski, the Ranking Member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement today “The Administration has made tremendous progress toward completing the Yucca Mountain project. A series of comprehensive scientific reviews, studies, and surveys are now behind us and yet another important milestone was reached today. “President Bush and Secretary Abraham reached their decision using the sound and objective science that must guide all policy makers through each step of this project. “Now, more than ever, the case for Yucca Mountain is clear. Nuclear waste is best kept in a secure, central facility where we can concentrate all of our resources on storing it safely. Without such a repository, waste today is instead kept at sites scattered across the country, in the midst of our communities, and on the shores of the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Hudson River. “2,000 metric tons of nuclear waste are in Michigan alone, while more than 2,300 tons can be found at New York’s nuclear facilities. “Placing the waste at a single site is not only a prudent measure, it was a promise made more than a decade ago by the federal government to almost every family who pays an electricity bill. As we draw closer to a final decision, we’re closer to the federal government finally keeping its word.” ###