Those following nuclear waste issue in Washington say legislation expected to come down next year could put the prospect in the better category now and be the main reason for the PFS companies renewed hope.

It has been reported for months that the administration is working on an "everything Yucca" bill, although the specifics are not known. The bill could include an effort to establish a radiation protection standard as well as change how Congress allocates money to the project, but no one can confirm details.

A White House sponsored reprocessing plan is also an open secret on the Hill. Everyone from nuclear industry insiders to Senate staff hear the same rumor but specifics are not known. The 2006 energy and water spending included money for a recycling program that some say are a start to a bigger reprocessing debate.

An on-site storage bill already introduced by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and supported by the entire Utah congressional delegation would allow nuclear companies to use federal money now earmarked for Yucca to build dry container storage on site and get nuclear waste out of storage pools.

The industry opposes the bill, saying it does not solve the permanent storage solution.

The matter of potential legislation did come up in Hatch's meetings with Xcel, according to his office. Hatch spokesman Peter Carr said the Energy Department has told the companies that something is coming up but did not offer specifics because the specifics are not there yet. The department listened to alternatives the companies offered but could not confirm what would be in their proposal.

Hatch did not actually meet with Entergy personally, Carr said, but the other companies that have changed their minds went to Entergy themselves to get it to change its support for PFS.

Entergy spokesman Carl Crawford would only confirm that the company sent a letter to Hatch.

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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com