Brian J. O'Connell, the director of the Nuclear Waste Project Office at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, said this does not permanently dispose of the waste and does nothing for the Energy Department and Defense Department waste, mainly from nuclear weapons construction. Weapons waste is destined for Yucca as well.

O'Connell said there is no indication of how much this will ultimately cost or how it would be run. He estimated about 40 people might be needed for security and management at the power plants just for the waste portion. He said the government would likely hire contractors to do this, which in the end could end up being the power plant itself.

"This makes security more difficult," he said.

O'Connell said using Nuclear Waste Fund money for this "cripples" the repository program and could have large implications for the future of nuclear power.

"This, in effect, says we're not going to solve the waste problem," he said.

In addition to pursuing the bill filed Wednesday, Utah's members of Congress say they will continue to work other avenues to thwart the temporary storage facility proposed for Skull Valley.

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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com