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Steven John
ST. PAUL, Minn.

Permanent storage of nuclear waste still in limbo

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Thirty years ago this week the Nuclear Waste Policy Act became law, committing the federal government to finding a permanent storage facility for the nation's nuclear waste.

The Prairie Island Indian Community took out a full-page advertisement in the Star Tribune to commemorate the anniversary — but not in celebration.

Decades after President Ronald Reagan signed the act into law, nuclear waste is still being stored in temporary facilities across the country -- including at the Prairie Island Nuclear Plant. The site that Congress approved for the permanent facility, Yucca Mountain in Nevada, was removed from consideration by the Obama administration, leaving the issue and the nuclear waste in limbo.

Phil Mahowald, general counsel for the Prairie Island Indian Community, speaks with MPR News about the subject.