Samuel Bodman

LAS VEGAS-Following the Department of Energy's filing of a license application this morning for the spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada's congressional delegation released a joint press release condemning the project and vowing to continue fighting against it.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the head of the delegation, said that the license application was "supposed to be filed years ago" and is "shoddy at best."

"The application, which includes designs that are only 35% complete, lacks critical information that cannot simply be overlooked," said Reid.  "For example, just how would the Energy Department respond in the event of an emergency?  We can't answer that question because the Department doesn't even know. "