Nevada's Yucca Mountain might still become a nuclear waste repository. The Hill reports that the US House of Representatives rejected Nevada congresswoman Dina Titus's two proposals to halt the development of the facility. The first amendment would have removed a section of the fiscal 2015 Energy-Water appropriations bill, preventing funds from being used in the project. The second would have eliminated the $150 million intended for "activities related to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act," which Titus describes as "code for 'build the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository.'"

Unfortunately for Titus, other members of the House were in disagreement. Both Rep. John Shimkus and Rep. Mike Simpson argued it would be "wasteful" to cease efforts now. "It is the most studied piece of earth on this Earth, " said Simpson, who is also chairman of the House Energy-Water Appropriations subcommittee. "Yet, for political reasons, we have stopped it, and it will truly be a $15 billion waste if we don't proceed." Plans to turn Yucca Mountain into a long-term nuclear waste storage site began 27 years ago, and was briefly halted in 2010. Last year, a US Apellate court resurrected the dormant project.