Yucca Mountain was chosen by Congress as the US's sole nuclear repository in the 1980s. Twenty years and $20 billion of investment later, the project was essentially cancelled by President Obama and Energy Secretary Chu. Regardless, governmental and commercial nuclear reactors still create nuclear waste. Most of that waste is stored in dry casks or water pools on commercial plant property. This is a risk to the environment (e.g. natural disaster or leaking - think Fukushima) and national security (e.g. terrorist attack). It is evident that Senator Reid (majority leader, from Nevada) used his clout to cancel the project because he didn't want it in his state. The location is within the Nevada Test Site (barren wasteland for centuries to come) and is needed to safely store our waste.
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