Where Did the Money Go? The $40 Billion Nuclear Waste Fund with No Plan
In 1982, American utility customers using nuclear generated power began paying into the Nuclear Waste Fund—a federal program created to develop safe and permanent disposal of commercial nuclear waste. That money came directly from ratepayers like you—added to your electric bills, month after month.
📊 More than $40 billion has been collected.
🧱 Still, no permanent disposal solution exists.
💸 What Is the Nuclear Waste Fund?
The Nuclear Waste Fund was designed to build permanent nuclear waste repositories. Its mission? To ensure that spent fuel from America’s nuclear power plants is disposed of - permanently and safely - deep underground to avoid putting communities at risk.
But despite decades of contributions from energy users across the country, the federal government has not developed a path for disposal of all that deadly spent nuclear fuel.
🕳 A Fund With No Future Plan
Billions were collected, and here’s what we’re left with:
❌ No permanent waste disposal facility
❌ Waste stranded at reactor sites in temporary containers
❌ Communities in Texas and New Mexico being targeted for long-term dumping of all that stranded waste but they’d be burdened despite their opposition and without their consent
“We’ve paid for solutions. Instead, we’re getting silence, delays, and unsafe temporary fixes.”
⚠️ Why It Matters to Every American
This is about accountability. Transparency. And trust.
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act made the government responsible for assuming custody of this stranded high-level nuclear waste, but communities are still waiting, and they remain stuck with the danger. And now, private companies and the NRC are pushing forward with controversial plans that ignore public input and bypass the law entirely.
🛠 What Needs to Change
We need common sense nuclear waste policy that respects:
🧾 Fiscal accountability for billions in unused funds
🗳 Local consent before any site is approved
📣 Real oversight to prevent this failure from continuing
TAKE ACTION: Contact the White House
The American people paid for a solution—$40 billion worth—and got nothing but broken promises. The Nuclear Waste Fund was meant to ensure safe, permanent disposal of radioactive waste. Instead, decades have passed with no plan, no progress, and now a dangerous push to offload waste onto unwilling communities. Tell the White House: Demand accountability. Demand a permanent solution worthy of the billions already paid—and stop the exploitation of communities left in the dark.
Suggested Message to Copy + Paste:
"I’m writing to urge you to stop the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s plan to license a private facility for high-level nuclear waste storage in Texas. This proposal puts American communities at serious risk—transporting radioactive waste through our towns without a permanent solution or the consent of the people who live there.
The $40 billion Nuclear Waste Fund was paid by Americans for a real, long-term solution—not to benefit private companies at the expense of public safety. We need strong leadership that protects our states’ rights, our land, and our future.
Please stop this dangerous plan and ensure any nuclear waste solution is permanent, science-based, and supported by the communities affected."
📢 Share the link and encourage others to do the same.
🧭 Let’s hold our government accountable for the promises it made—and the billions we’ve already paid.