Yucca Mountain in Nevada was designated as the site for a civilian HLW repository under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (amended 1987). However:
- The programme was effectively halted when the Obama administration defunded it in 2010
- Political opposition from Nevada has prevented progress
- A licence application was submitted to the NRC in 2008 but review was suspended
- The USA currently has no operating civilian HLW disposal facility
- Spent fuel remains in interim storage at reactor sites (in cooling ponds and dry cask storage)
WIPP (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant) near Carlsbad, New Mexico:
- Operational since 1999 for transuranic (TRU) military waste only
- Located at approximately 655 metres depth in a salt formation
- Salt creep gradually encapsulates and isolates the waste
- Not authorised for civilian spent fuel or HLW